Any person or entity that employs or retains another person for financial or other compensation to conduct lobbying activities on behalf of the person or entity. An organization employing its own lobbyists is considered its own client for reporting purposes.

The application of coverage of Section 3(3)(F) of the LDA (“who is a covered executive branch official?”) was intended for “Schedule C” employees only. Senior Executive Service employees are not covered executive branch officials as defined in the Act unless they fall within one of the categories below. Covered executive branch officials are: (a) The President, (b) The Vice President, (c) Officers and employees of the Executive Office of the President, (d) Any official serving in an Executive Level I-V position, (e) Any member of the uniformed services serving at grade 0–7 or above, and (f) “Schedule C” employees.

(a) a Member of Congress, (b) an elected officer of either the House or the Senate, or (c) an employee, or any other individual functioning in the capacity of an employee who works for a Member, committee, leadership staff of either the Senate or House, a joint committee of Congress, a working group or caucus organized to provide services to Members, and any other legislative branch employee serving in a position described under section 109(13) of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978.

The Honest Leadership and Open Government Act (HLOGA) also amended the rules relative to gift-giving, event attendance, and travel by Members of Congress, officers, and employees. As a general rule, under the new law a Member, officer, or employee may not knowingly accept a gift from a registered lobbyist or a private entity that retains or employs a registered lobbyist unless the gift falls under one of the enumerated exceptions. A public university is an exception and may make gifts, even exceeding the standard monetary limitation.

• Example 1: A congressional staff member requests a ticket from a lobbyist to a university event. Is this acceptable? No. Members of Congress and congressional staff may not solicit gifts. (5 USC 7353).

• Example 2: A Member of Congress champions the university’s legislation which is eventually passed into law and signed by the President. May the university send the Member of Congress or his/her staff a food basket with a note reading “thank you for all your efforts to secure passage of S.1”? No. A Member of Congress may not accept a gift of any value for, or because of, an official action. (18 USC 201)

• Example 3: The university lobbyist provides a congressional staffer a ticket to a basketball game with a value of $35. Is this acceptable? Yes. This is acceptable as the donor is a public university.

Lobbying contacts and any efforts in support of such contacts, including preparation or planning activities, research, and other background work that is intended, at the time of its preparation, for use in contacts and coordination with the lobbying activities of others.

Any oral, written, or electronic communication to a covered official that is made on behalf of IU with regard to taking action on federal legislation, rules, regulations, contracts, nominations, or any other federal program or policy. A meeting request, status inquiry, news media questions, or congressional testimony are not lobbying contacts.

• Example 1: Lobbyist “A” telephones covered official “A” in the morning to discuss proposed legislation. In the afternoon she telephones covered official “B” to discuss the same legislation. Lobbyist “A” has made more than one lobbying contact.

• Example 2: The term “lobbying contact” does not include “a request for a meeting, a request for the status of an action, or any similar administrative request, if the request does not include an attempt to influence a covered executive branch official or a covered legislative branch official.” However, a status request would constitute “lobbying activity” if it were in support of a subsequent lobbying contact.

• Example 3: Company “Z” offers temporary employment to recent college graduates. The graduates are hired to conduct surveys of congressional staff by reading prepared questions and recording the answers. The questions seek only information. These communications are not lobbying contacts.

Any individual (1) who is either employed or retained by IU for financial or other compensation (2) whose services include more than one lobbying contact and (3) whose “lobbying activities” constitute 20 percent or more of his or her services on behalf of that client during any three-month period.

If the definition of “lobbyist” is satisfied with respect to at least one individual for a particular client, the potential registrant (either a lobbying firm or an organization employing the lobbyist, or a self-employed individual lobbyist) is not required to register if it does not meet the monetary thresholds of Section 4(a)(3)(A)(ii)—$10,000 a period—for an organization employing in-house lobbyists.

• Example 1: Employee “A” of a university is a “lobbyist” who spends 25 percent of his time on lobbying activities on behalf of the university. There are $6,000 of expenses related to employee “A’s” lobbying activities. Employee “B” is not a “lobbyist” but engages in lobbying activities in support of lobbying contacts made by employee “A.” There are $6,000 of additional expenses related to the lobbying activities of employee “B.” The university is required to register because it employs a “lobbyist,” and its total expenses in connection with lobbying activities on its own behalf exceed $10,000.

• Example 2: Same as Example 2, except the expenses related to the lobbying activities of employees “A” and “B” total only $9,000, but the university also pays $9,000 to an outside consultant for lobbying activities. Registration is still required because payments to outside contractors (including lobbying firms that may be separately registered under the LDA) must be included in the total expenses of an organization employing lobbyists on its own behalf.

• Example 3: The CEO of a registrant travels to Washington to meet with a covered NSF official regarding the renewal of a government contract. The CEO is not a “lobbyist” because he does not spend 20 percent of his time on “lobbying activities” during a quarterly period. Nonetheless, the expenses reasonably allocable to the CEO’s lobbying activities (e.g., plane ticket to Washington, salary and benefit costs, etc.) will be reportable.

• Example 4: A research assistant in the Washington office of the registrant (described in the example above) researches and prepares the talking points for the CEO’s lobbying contact with the covered NSF official. Likewise, the expenses reasonably allocable to the research assistant’s lobbying activities will be included in the expense estimate for the quarterly period.

As a lobbyist employer, the university must file lobbying disclosure reports detailing issues lobbied and congressional and executive branch agencies contacted. A member of the university who makes lobbying contacts on behalf of IU must report those contacts to IU, as IU must report on the expense basis for those contacts in its quarterly reports. Changes to this reporting include:

• A change from semiannual to quarterly reporting (20th of April, July, October, and January),
• A reduction in thresholds triggering registration and reporting ($10,000 in lobbying expenses for organizations that employ in-house lobbyists and amounts in excess of $5,000 to be rounded to the nearest $10,000), and
• Changes in the reporting of lobbying participation with coalitions and associations.

A lobbying firm or an organization employing in-house lobbyists that files a registration pursuant to Section 4 of the Act. Organizations employing in-house lobbyists file a single registration. An organization is exempt from registration if its total expenses for lobbying activities do not exceed $10,000 during a quarterly period. Note: The monetary threshold is computed based on the lobbying activities of the potential registrant as a whole for the particular client in question, not simply on the lobbying activities of those individuals who are “lobbyists.”

Lobbyists and lobbyist employers are required to file semiannual reports detailing political contributions, donations, and other expenditures made to, or for the benefit of, covered legislative and executive branch officials. The reports—due 30 days after the end of the reporting period—must also include certification by lobbyists and lobbyist employers that:

• They are familiar with the House and Senate gift rules, and
• They have not provided, requested, or directed a gift (including travel) to a Member or staff in violation of such rules.