(1) Each legislative agent and employer, within seven (7) days following engagement of a legislative agent, shall file with the commission an initial registration statement listing the following:
(a) The name, business address and telephone number, and occupation of the legislative agent;
(b) The name, brief description of the nature of the business, nature and identity of the organized association, coalition, or public interest entity, business address and telephone number of the employer, and the real party in interest on whose behalf the legislative agent is lobbying, if it is different from the employer. For the purposes of this section, if a trade association or other charitable or fraternal organization that is exempt from federal income taxation under Section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code is the employer, the statement shall not list the names and addresses of each member of the association or organization, if the association or organization itself is listed;
(c) The name, bill number, or a brief description of the legislative action for which the legislative agent is or will be engaged in lobbying on behalf of their employer or as a representative of the organized association, coalition, or public interest entity;
(d) The date on which the legislative agent was engaged; and
(e) Certification by the employer and legislative agent that the information contained in the registration statement is complete and accurate.
(2) The registration shall be valid through the next thirty-first day of December of an odd-numbered year, unless previously terminated.
(3) (a) In addition to the initial registration statement required by subsection (1) of this section, each legislative agent and employer shall file an updated registration statement with the commission to be received by the commission, not later than 4 p.m. on the fifteenth day of January, February, March, April, May, and September of each year, for the period since the end of the period covered by the previous report until the last day of the month preceding the filing date. The commission may grant a reasonable extension of time for filing the updated registration statement for good cause shown.
(b) The updated registration statement shall confirm the continuing existence of each engagement described in an initial registration statement, and list the specific bills or resolutions on which the agent lobbied under that engagement during the period covered by the updated statement. Any statement of expenditures required to be filed by KRS § 6.821 and any details of financial transactions required to be filed by KRS § 6.824 shall be filed with the updated registration statement.
(4) If a legislative agent is engaged by more than one employer, the agent shall file a separate initial and updated registration statement for each engagement. If an employer engages more than one (1) legislative agent, the employer shall file only one (1) updated registration statement under subsection (3) of this section, which
shall contain the information required by subsection (3) of this section regarding all legislative agents engaged by the employer.
(5) (a) A change in any information required by subsection (1)(a), (b), or (c) of this section shall be reflected in the next updated registration statement filed under subsection (3) of this section.
(b) Within thirty (30) days after the termination of an engagement, the legislative agent who was employed under the engagement shall file written notice of the termination with the commission.
(c) If the termination of a legislative agent leaves an employer without the engagement of any legislative agents, within thirty (30) days after the termination, the employer shall file written notice with the commission of its intent to terminate its current registration.
(6) Upon registration pursuant to subsection (1) of this section, the legislative agent shall be issued a card by the commission, showing that the legislative agent is registered. The registration card shall be valid from the date of its issuance through the next thirty-first day of December of an odd-numbered year.
(7) Any legislative agent or employer who fails to file the initial registration statement or updated registration statement, or who fails to remedy a deficiency in any filing in a timely manner, may be fined by the commission an amount not to exceed one hundred dollars ($100) per day, up to a maximum total fine of one thousand dollars ($1,000) without the necessity of a complaint being filed, notwithstanding KRS
6.686(1)(a), but only after notice has been given to the alleged violator of the intent of the commission to impose a fine, including the amount of the fine, and an opportunity has been afforded the alleged violator to appear before the commission or otherwise offer evidence as he may choose in mitigation of the imposition of the fine.
(8) Any legislative agent or employer who intentionally fails to register shall be guilty of a Class D felony.
Effective: March 20, 2001
History: Amended 2001 Ky. Acts ch. 140, sec. 1, effective March 20, 2001. — Amended 2000 Ky. Acts ch. 493, sec. 7, effective July 14, 2000. — Amended 1996
Ky. Acts ch. 211, sec. 6, effective July 15, 1996. — Created 1993 (1st Extra. Sess.) Ky. Acts ch. 4, sec. 27, effective September 16, 1993.