West Virginia Code 6B-3-5 – Grass roots lobbying campaigns
(1) Any person who has made expenditures, not required to be reported under other sections of this chapter, exceeding $5,000 in the aggregate within any three-month period or exceeding $1,000 in the aggregate within any one-month period in presenting a program addressed to the public, a substantial portion of which is intended, designed, or calculated primarily to influence legislation, shall be required to register and report, as provided in subsection (2) of this section, as a sponsor of a grass roots lobbying campaign.
Terms Used In West Virginia Code 6B-3-5
- Business: means any entity through which business for-profit is conducted including a corporation, partnership, proprietorship, franchise, association, organization, or self-employed individual. See West Virginia Code 6B-1-3
- commission: means the West Virginia Ethics Commission. See West Virginia Code 6B-1-3
- Compensation: means money or any other thing of value received or to be received by a lobbyist from an employer for services rendered. See West Virginia Code 6B-3-1
- Legislation: means bills, resolutions, motions, amendments, nominations and other matters pending or proposed in either house of the Legislature and includes any other matters that may be the subject of action by either house or any committee of the Legislature and all bills or resolutions that, having passed both houses, are pending approval or veto by the Governor. See West Virginia Code 6B-3-1
- Person: means any individual, partnership, trust, estate, business trust, association or corporation. See West Virginia Code 6B-3-1
(2) Within 30 days after becoming a sponsor of a grass roots lobbying campaign, the sponsor shall register by filing with the Ethics Commission a registration statement, in such detail as the commission shall prescribe, showing:
(a) The sponsor’s name, address and business or occupation, and, if the sponsor is not an individual, the names, addresses, and titles of the controlling persons responsible for managing the sponsor’s affairs;
(b) The names, addresses and business or occupation of all persons organizing and managing the campaign, or hired to assist the campaign, including any public relations or advertising firms participating in the campaign, and the terms of compensation for all such persons;
(c) The names and addresses of each person contributing $1,000 or more made for the purpose of furthering the campaign and the aggregate amount contributed;
(d) The purpose of the campaign, including the specific legislation, rules, rates, standards or proposals that are the subject matter of the campaign;
(e) The totals of all expenditures made or incurred to date on behalf of the campaign, which totals shall be segregated according to financial category, including, but not limited to, the following: Advertising, segregated by media, and, in the case of large expenditures (as provided by legislative rule of the commission), by outlet; contributions; entertainment, including meals and beverages; office expenses, including rent and the salaries and wages paid for staff and secretarial assistance, or the proportionate amount thereof paid or incurred for lobbying campaign activities; consultants; and printing and mailing expenses.
(3) Every sponsor who has registered under this section shall file reports with the commission, which reports shall be filed for the same time periods required for the filing of lobbyists’ reports under the provisions of § 6B-3-4 of this code.
(4) When the campaign has been terminated, the sponsor shall file a notice of termination with the final monthly report, which notice shall state the totals of all contributions and expenditures made on behalf of the campaign, in the same manner as provided for in the registration statement.