Frequently asked questions regarding the new lobbyist ordinance effective January 1, 2010
An individual who has registered as a lobbyist before January 1, 2010 does not make a contact with a City officer until March 2010. Does the individual remain lobbyist under the recent amendments to the Lobbyist Ordinance, effective January 1, 2010? When could the individual qualify as a lobbyist under the amendments?
Once the amendments go into operation, individuals who previously registered as lobbyists should re-examine whether they would continue to qualify as a lobbyist. The amendments alter the definition of lobbyist, as well as other terms in the Lobbyist Ordinance, and may result in changes to an individual's status and legal obligations.
The individual may qualify as a lobbyist in March due to his or her contact with a City officer. To qualify as a lobbyist, an individual must receive $3,000 or more in compensation within three consecutive calendar months for lobbyist services and on behalf of the source of income, must make a contact with a City officer. The individual has made a contact with a City officer, but he or she should also determine whether the compensation threshold has been satisfied. If so, the individual must register online with the Ethics Commission within five business days of qualifying as a lobbyist and prior to making any additional contacts with a City officer. The individual must file report his or her first monthly disclosure report regarding lobbying activity no later than April 15, 2010.
What are lobbyist services?
Lobbyist services are services rendered for the purpose of influencing or attempting to influence local legislative or administrative action, including making contacts with City officers. Lobbyist services may include preliminary research and strategic activities performed by the lobbyist to prepare for his or her, or otherwise relates to, contact with a City officer. In general, if the ultimate purpose of the activity is to influence legislative or administrative action, it is likely a lobbyist service.
Gian earns $2,000 in each of January, February and March to research the feasibility of converting a portion of a neighborhood park into a soccer field. Gian never makes a contact with a City officer. Is Gian a lobbyist?
No.
Shara earns $2,000 in January; makes one contact with a City officer to influence local legislative or administrative action on January 25; earns $500 in February and contacts a City officer to influence local legislative or administrative action on February 25; earns $800 in March and makes no contact with any City officer in March. When does Shara qualify as a lobbyist and what information must Shara include in her first monthly report?
Shara qualifies as a lobbyist when she earns or is promised $3,000 or more within three consecutive months for lobbyist services and, on behalf of the persons providing the economic consideration, makes any contact with a City officer. Here, Shara contacts City officers to influence legislative or administrative action in January and February; thus, she meets the “contact” threshold in January. Shara earns $2,000 in January, $500 in February, and $800 in March. Thus, she also meets the monetary threshold to qualify as a lobbyist, but not until March. Shara qualifies as a lobbyist in March. She must register as a lobbyist within five business days of qualifying as a lobbyist and prior to making any additional contacts with a City officer. She must also pay a $500 registration fee by sending a check to the Ethics Commission made payable to the City and County of San Francisco.
Shara must file her first monthly disclosure report no later than April 15, 2010. She must report, among other things, information about clients for whom she provided lobbyist services in January, February and March; the names of City officer(s) she contacted; the dates of the contacts; the legislative or administrative action(s) she sought to influence; the client(s) on whose behalf each contact was made; the amount of economic consideration she received or expected from each client; activity expenses; and political contributions she made or delivered. In her April 15 report, Shara’s reporting period must cover January 1 – March 31, 2010, to disclose the lobbyist services she provided from the time she initially received or was promised consideration until the time she met the $3,000 earnings threshold, plus any other lobbyist services she provided in March 2010.
ABC Lobbying Firm (“Firm”) received $15,000 from two clients (“Client A” and “Client B”) in March 2010. “Firm” assigns work to its employees, Taylor and Mackenzie, both to research and contact City officers as appropriate in representing the client. Who reports what?
Both Taylor and Mackenzie may qualify as lobbyists if they each earn at least $3,000 over a consecutive three-month period and make at least one contact with a City officer. In their respective reports on activities they undertook in March 2010, which may be filed by the Firm on their behalf, Taylor and Mackenzie will report:
- the name, address and business telephone number of the Firm (as the person from whom they each received economic consideration for lobbyist services);
- the name(s) of each City officer they contacted;
- the date(s) of each contact;
- the legislative or administrative action(s) they sought to influence;
- the client(s) on whose behalf each contact was made;
- the amount of economic consideration expected or received from each client (to lobbyist or the Firm) during March;
- all activity expenses incurred;
- political contributions of $100 or more made or delivered by lobbyist or Firm; and
- any changes to their registration information.
Where can I obtain a list of the information that needs to be entered into the lobbyist's electronic account?
The Commission has compiled a list of fields to be completed in the lobbyist's electronic account.
