§ 263. Registration of lobbyists and employers; fees

(a) On forms provided by the Secretary of State, every lobbyist shall register with the Secretary of State before, or within 48 hours of, commencing lobbying activities. A lobbyist shall file a separate registration statement for each of the lobbyist’s employers.

(b) On forms provided by the Secretary of State, every employer shall register with the Secretary of State before, or within 48 hours of, engaging a lobbyist. If an employer engages an additional lobbyist, the employer shall file a supplemental registration statement.

(c) A registration statement filed by a lobbyist shall be signed by the lobbyist and shall contain the following information:

(1) The name, mailing address, and telephone number of the lobbyist.

(2) The name of the employer and date of employment for the biennium.

(3) A description of the matters for which lobbying has been engaged by the employer.

(4) If a lobbyist is compensated, in whole or in part, by an employer for the purpose of lobbying on behalf of another person or group or coalition, the lobbyist shall provide the name of the employer, the name of the person, group, or coalition on whose behalf he or she lobbies, and a description of the matters for which lobbying has been engaged by the employer.

(5) A current passport-type photograph of the lobbyist.

(6) All subject areas for which lobbying is performed.

(d) A registration statement filed by an employer shall be signed by the employer and shall contain the following information:

(1) the name of the employer;

(2) the trade name, if any, of the employer;

(3) the mailing address and the telephone number of the employer;

(4) the contact person for the employer;

(5) the name and mailing address of each lobbyist engaged by the employer and the date of employment or contract for the biennium.

(e) A registration shall be valid from the date of filing to December 31 of the second year of a biennium, except that a registration may be made in December of an even-numbered year for the ensuing biennium.

(f) Every employer and every lobbyist shall pay an initial registration fee of $60.00.

(g) An employer shall pay a fee of $15.00 for each lobbyist engaged by the employer. A lobbyist shall pay a fee of $15.00 for each employer represented.

(h) A person who fails to file on time a statement required by this section shall pay a late registration fee of $25.00 for each day the statement is late, not to exceed $350.00.

(i) A registration shall be terminated by the Secretary of State upon written notification by the employer or lobbyist that lobbying has ceased by or on behalf of the employer or lobbyist and that the registrant has filed a final disclosure report under section 264 of this title.

(j) The Secretary of State shall prepare a list of names and addresses of lobbyists and their employers, and the list shall be published at the end of the second legislative week of each regular or adjourned session. Supplemental lists shall be published monthly during the remainder of the legislative session. On or before March 15 of the first year of each legislative biennium, the Secretary of State shall publish no fewer than 500 booklets containing an alphabetical listing of all registered lobbyists, including, at a minimum, a current passport-type photograph of the lobbyist, the lobbyist’s business address, telephone and fax numbers, a list of the lobbyist’s clients, and a subject matter index. (Added 1989, No. 160 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. April 30, 1990; amended 1993, No. 101, § 1a; 1997, No. 155 (Adj. Sess.), § 66e; 2005, No. 99 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. Jan. 1, 2007; 2007, No. 5, § 2, eff. April 12, 2007; 2013, No. 142 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; 2013, No. 191 (Adj. Sess.), § 9; 2015, No. 131 (Adj. Sess.), § 17.)