Minnesota Statutes 10A.03 – Lobbyist Registration
Subdivision 1.First registration.
A lobbyist must file a registration form with the board within five days after becoming a lobbyist or being engaged by a new individual, association, political subdivision, or public higher education system.
Subd. 2.Form.
Terms Used In Minnesota Statutes 10A.03
- Association: means a group of two or more persons, who are not all members of an immediate family, acting in concert. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01
- Board: means the state Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01
- Lobbyist: means an individual:
(1) engaged for pay or other consideration of more than $3,000 from all sources in any year:
(i) for the purpose of attempting to influence legislative or administrative action, or the official action of a political subdivision, by communicating or urging others to communicate with public or local officials; or
(ii) from a business whose primary source of revenue is derived from facilitating government relations or government affairs services if the individual's job duties include offering direct or indirect consulting or advice that helps the business provide those services to clients; or
(2) who spends more than $3,000 of the individual's personal funds, not including the individual's own traveling expenses and membership dues, in any year for the purpose of attempting to influence legislative or administrative action, or the official action of a political subdivision, by communicating or urging others to communicate with public or local officials. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01
- Political subdivision: means the Metropolitan Council, a metropolitan agency as defined in section 473. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01
- Principal: means an individual or association that:
(1) spends more than $500 in the aggregate in any calendar year to engage a lobbyist, compensate a lobbyist, or authorize the expenditure of money by a lobbyist; or
(2) is not included in clause (1) and spends a total of at least $50,000 in any calendar year on efforts to influence legislative action, administrative action, or the official action of metropolitan governmental units, as described in section 10A. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01
Terms Used In Minnesota Statutes 10A.03
- Association: means a group of two or more persons, who are not all members of an immediate family, acting in concert. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01
- Board: means the state Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01
- Lobbyist: means an individual:
(1) engaged for pay or other consideration of more than $3,000 from all sources in any year:
(i) for the purpose of attempting to influence legislative or administrative action, or the official action of a political subdivision, by communicating or urging others to communicate with public or local officials; or
(ii) from a business whose primary source of revenue is derived from facilitating government relations or government affairs services if the individual's job duties include offering direct or indirect consulting or advice that helps the business provide those services to clients; or
(2) who spends more than $3,000 of the individual's personal funds, not including the individual's own traveling expenses and membership dues, in any year for the purpose of attempting to influence legislative or administrative action, or the official action of a political subdivision, by communicating or urging others to communicate with public or local officials. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01
- Political subdivision: means the Metropolitan Council, a metropolitan agency as defined in section 473. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01
- Principal: means an individual or association that:
(1) spends more than $500 in the aggregate in any calendar year to engage a lobbyist, compensate a lobbyist, or authorize the expenditure of money by a lobbyist; or
(2) is not included in clause (1) and spends a total of at least $50,000 in any calendar year on efforts to influence legislative action, administrative action, or the official action of metropolitan governmental units, as described in section 10A. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01
The board must prescribe a registration form, which must include:
(1) the name, address, and email address of the lobbyist;
(2) the principal place of business of the lobbyist;
(3) the name and address of each individual, association, political subdivision, or public higher education system, if any, by whom the lobbyist is retained or employed or on whose behalf the lobbyist appears;
(4) the website address of each association, political subdivision, or public higher education system identified under clause (3), if the entity maintains a website;
(5) the general lobbying categories on which the lobbyist expects to lobby on behalf of a represented entity; and
(6) if the lobbyist lobbies on behalf of an association, the name and address of the officers and directors of the association.
Subd. 3.Failure to file.
If a lobbyist fails to file a registration form by the date that the form was due, the board may impose a late filing fee of $25 per day, not to exceed $1,000, starting on the day after the form was due. The board must send notice by certified mail to a lobbyist who fails to file a form within ten business days after the form was due that the lobbyist may be subject to a civil penalty for failure to file the form. A lobbyist who fails to file a form within seven days after the certified mail notice was sent by the board is subject to a civil penalty imposed by the board of up to $1,000.
Subd. 4.Publication.
The restrictions of section 10.60 notwithstanding, the board may publish the information required in subdivision 2 on its website.
Subd. 5.Exemptions.
For good cause shown, the board must grant exemptions to the requirement that email addresses be provided.
Subd. 6.General lobbying categories and specific subjects of interest.
A list of general lobbying categories and specific subjects of interest must be specified by the board and updated periodically based on public comment and information provided by lobbyists. The board must publish on its website the current list of general lobbying categories and specific subjects of interest. Chapter 14 and section 14.386 do not apply to the specification, publication, or periodic updates of the list of general lobbying categories and specific subjects of interest.