Last Updated: January 2012
Federal Update: October 2013
NEW JERSEY LOBBYING REGISTRATION AND REPORTING
Day Pitney LLP (New Jersey)
Lori J. Braender and Veronica M. Gonzalez
Foley Hoag LLP (Federal)
Tad Heuer and Pat Cerundolo
Table of Contents
1. Federal Registration and Reporting
2. New Jersey Registration and Reporting
The following is intended to provide a brief overview of the various potential registration and
reporting requirements under federal and New Jersey laws with respect to the lobbying activities
of most social sector organizations, both nonprofit and for-profit, including public charities,
social welfare organizations and other forms of organization with a social change mission. The
lobbying limitations imposed on tax-exempt organizations by the Internal Revenue Code are
described in the section entitled Nonprofit Taxation and are not reiterated here.
1. Federal Registration and Reporting
Organizations that engage in a specified amount of lobbying activities and lobbying contacts
through personnel that receive financial or other compensation are required to register and
file disclosure reports under the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995, as amended (most
recently by the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007).
Other than religious orders, tax-exempt churches, and their integrated auxiliaries, all social
sector organizations— nonprofit as well as for-profit — that otherwise meet the thresholds
on lobbying contacts and overall expenses (discussed below) must register and file reports.
a. Registration
The federal Lobbying Disclosure Act (the “Act”) is intended to reach “professional
lobbyists”— those paid to lobby on behalf of an employer or client. Thus, if a social
sector organization engages in covered “lobbying contacts” through its own staff that
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exceed the statutory thresholds, that organization must register as a lobbying entity, and
must register its individual employee-lobbyists (who are sometimes referred to as “inhouse” lobbyists). If, however, a social sector organization employs lobbyists only from
an outside lobbying firm, the outside lobbying firm must register (and identify its social
sector client) if its lobbying exceeds the statutory thresholds, but the social sector
organization itself is not required to register.
All federal lobbying registrations and reports must be filed electronically at a single
location, http://lobbyingdisclosure.house.gov/index.html, which covers registration for
both the Secretary of the Senate’s Office and the Office of the Clerk of the House.
A social sector organization is required to register its employee-lobbyists if it meets the
following two conditions:
First, the organization must have one or more compensated employees who (a) make
more than one “lobbying contact” on behalf of the organization and (b) spend at least
20% of their total time for the organization on “lobbying activities” over a given
quarterly reporting period. A “lobbying contact” is a written, oral or electronic
communication to a “covered” federal official, (which includes a Member of Congress,
congressional staff, and certain senior executive branch officials), with respect to the
formulation, modification or adoption of a federal law, regulation, rule, program, or
policy, or the administration or execution of a federal program or policy.
“Lobbying activities” include not only “lobbying contacts” but also background
activities, research, and other efforts that support lobbying contacts. Note that there are
also several enumerated exceptions to what constitutes lobbying contacts for purposes of
the Act — for instance, they do not include testifying or submitting written testimony,
and do not include lobbying either legislators or governmental bodies at the state or local
levels. A Section 501(c)(3) organization that has made the “safe harbor” election under
Section 501(h) of the Code has the option of using either the Act’s definition of
“lobbying activities” or the Internal Revenue Code’s definition of “influencing
legislation” to determine the organization’s reporting obligation.
Second, the organization must have spent more than $12,500 in a quarterly reporting
period on “lobbying activities.” The $12,500 includes salaries, overhead, and other
expenses, as well as payments to any outside lobbyists made during the three-month
reporting period. This figure is increased periodically for inflation.
If an organization hires an outside lobbyist or a lobbying firm, then the outside lobbyist
and his/her lobbying firm must register on behalf of the client/organization if he/she (a)
makes more than one lobbying contact with a covered official on behalf of that
client/organization, (b) spends at least 20% of his/her time for that client/organization in a
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given quarterly reporting period on lobbying activities, and (c) his/her/its total income
from that client/organization for lobbying exceeds $3,000 in that quarterly reporting
period.
Lobbyists are required to be registered within 45 days after either (a) being hired by a
client (if the intent is that the lobbyist will make more than one lobbying contact and
meet the 20% threshold), or (b) making a second lobbying contact (if the intent to make a
second contact did not exist at the outset of the engagement) and meeting (or intending to
meet) the 20% threshold. Information required on the registration form, known as the
LD-1 form, includes: identification of the lobbyist(s); the client or employer of the
lobbyist(s); identification of any foreign entity and its contributions over $5,000 (if the
foreign entity owns 20% of the client or controls, plans or supervises its activities); and a
list of the general issue areas on which the registrant expects to lobby.
b. Reports
Registrants under the Lobbying Disclosure Act are required to file both quarterly and
semi-annual reports.
Quarterly reports by the lobbying entity (either the outside lobbying firm or the employer
of in-house lobbyists), also known as LD-2 reports, are to be filed within 20 days after
the end of each calendar quarter. Among other items, these reports must include not only
the issues lobbied upon, but the bill numbers lobbied upon, the names of the lobbyists,
and the Houses of Congress and federal executive branch agencies contacted. Reports
must also include a good faith estimate of either lobbying expenditures (for reports filed
by organizations who employ in-house lobbyists), or income received from clients (for
reports filed by outside lobbyists). Amounts in excess of $5,000 are to be rounded to the
nearest $10,000.
Semi-annual reports by individual lobbyists, also known as LD-203 reports, are due on
January 30 and July 30. The required disclosures in these reports include: the names of all
political committees established or controlled by the lobbyist or registered organization;
disclosures of contributions by each lobbyist of more than $200 to federal candidates or
officeholders, political committees, or leadership PACs; and funds disbursed for events to
honor covered government officials, to entities that are named for or “in recognition” of
such officials and to entities that are controlled or designated by such officials. The name
of each presidential library and inaugural committee to which contributions of at least
$200 were made during the semi-annual period must also be reported. Additionally,
registrants are required to certify that the organization or person filing the report has read
and is familiar with the rules of the House and Senate regarding gifts and travel, and that
they are compliant with these rules.
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For more detailed information, the House Clerk maintains a comprehensive Guide to the
Lobbying Disclosure Act at
http://lobbyingdisclosure.house.gov/amended_lda_guide.html.
c. Penalties
Amendments in 2007 to the Lobbying Disclosure Act increased the civil penalties for
violations of the Act and for failing to remedy a defective filing to up to $200,000. In
addition, the amendments imposed criminal penalties for “knowingly and corruptly”
failing to comply with the Act, with a maximum of five years’ imprisonment.
d. Grassroots Lobbying
The Lobbying Disclosure Act only applies to “direct” lobbying—direct communications
with covered federal officials, and the “lobbying activities” that the person making the
direct communication engages in to prepare for those contacts. “Grassroots” lobbying is
not covered. An organization that engages only in grassroots lobbying will not be
required under the Act to register and report.
e. Congressional Gift and Travel Rules
The Lobbying Disclosure Act imposes civil and criminal penalties on registered lobbyists
(or organizations that employ them) for violations of congressional gift and travel rules.
The Act expressly prohibits any registered lobbyist, any organization that employs them
(and is required to register), and any employee required to be listed as a lobbyist from
making a “gift” or providing “travel” to a Member of Congress or staffer (and other
“covered officials”) if the registrant “has knowledge that the gift or travel may not be
accepted” under House and Senate rules.
The congressional gift and travel rules, and the numerous exceptions to those rules, are
extremely detailed and particularly restrictive with regard to registered lobbyists. No
attempt will be made here to summarize those rules. Any questions concerning the
applicability of the congressional gift and travel rules to specific situations should be
addressed to counsel with specific expertise in this area of law.
f. Federal Funds and Grants
Grant money and funds under federal contracts may not be used by nonprofits and other
organizations for lobbying or for other advocacy or political activities unless authorized
by Congress. These restrictions apply to both direct and grassroots lobbying at the
federal, state and local levels.
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g. Resources
Jack Maskell, Lobbying Regulations on Non-Profit Organizations, CRS Report 96-809
(May 7, 2008).
The House gift and travel rules are available online at
http://ethics.house.gov/sites/ethics.house.gov/files/documents/2008_House_Ethics_Manu
al.pdf
The Senate gift and travel rules are available online at
http://rules.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=RuleXXXV
Office of the Clerk, United States House of Representatives, Guide to the Lobbying
Disclosure Act (Effective Jan. 1, 2008; Revised Feb. 15, 2013),
http://lobbyingdisclosure.house.gov/amended_lda_guide.html
William V. Luneburg, Tomas M. Susman, & Rebecca H. Gordon, The Lobbying Manual:
A Complete Guide to Federal Lobbying Law and Practice (4th ed. 2009).
2. New Jersey Registration and Reporting
The Legislative and Governmental Process Activities Disclosure Act (the “Act”) is intended
to provide rules for monitoring the actions of Governmental Affairs Agents and lobbyists.
The New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission (the “Commission”) promulgates
the rules and requirements under the Act and serves as the enforcement agency.
“Lobbying” occurs when there is an attempt to influence legislation, regulations or
governmental processes by communicating with, or providing a benefit to, a high level State
official. “Influence” means any attempt, regardless of whether it is successful. As used
herein, a “high level State official” means a member of the Legislature, legislative staff, the
Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, the Governor’s staff, or an officer or staff member of the
Executive Branch. Conversely, contact with low level officials is generally considered
routine and ministerial and therefore, not lobbying. Examples of communication for a
routine, ministerial matter include: requesting information, scheduling a meeting, and
applying for a permit or license.
“Grassroots Lobbying,” or communication with the general public, is also considered
lobbying. “Communication with the general public” is defined by the Act as information
which is mailed, publicized or broadcasted that explicitly supports or opposes certain items
of legislation or regulation and is intended to influence such legislation or regulation.
An individual is considered a “Governmental Affairs Agent” if he or she receives or agrees
to receive direct or indirect compensation of over $100 over a three-month period for
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attempting to influence legislation, regulation or governmental processes. An individual who
spends less than 20 hours (including all preparation time) per calendar year engaged in such
practices is not considered a Governmental Affairs Agent. A “Represented Entity,” or
sometimes a “lobbyist,” is any person, partnership, committee, association, labor union or
any other organization that employs, retains, designates, engages or otherwise uses the
services of any Governmental Affairs Agent to influence legislation, regulations or
governmental processes or to communicate with the general public.
a. Notice of Representation – Governmental Affairs Agent
An individual who qualifies as a Governmental Affairs Agent must file a Notice of
Representation, Form NR, with the Commission. The Governmental Affairs Agent must
file a separate Form NR for each Represented Entity, or group of entities, paying or
contributing to the Governmental Affairs Agent’s fee for acting with regards to each type
of legislation, regulation or governmental process. The completion of Form NR makes
the representation of an entity public information and must be completed within 30 days
of the employment, retainer or engagement, or prior to making any communication with,
or making expenditures providing a benefit to, any high level State official.
Each Governmental Affairs Agent will be mailed a photo identification tag once the
Notice of Representation form is completed, the $425 yearly fee has been paid and two
photographs have been submitted. This name tag must be worn when lobbying. The
Commission may terminate the active status of a Government Affairs Agent if he or she
fails to renew the name tag on or prior to its expiration date. The annual fee is due to the
Commission by November 15 and applies to the following calendar year.
The Governmental Affairs Agent must notify the Commission of any material changes in
the information provided in the Notice of Representation within 15 days of such change
or in the subsequent Quarterly Report, whichever occurs earlier.
b. Quarterly Reports
Quarterly Reports request information about the lobbying activity of a Governmental
Affairs Agent including the specific legislation, regulations or governmental processes
lobbied. Calendar year quarters end on March 31, June 30, September 30 and December
31. Quarterly Reports, Form Q-4, should be filed no later than the tenth day following
the end of each calendar quarter.
c. Annual Reports
Governmental Affairs Agents, Representative Entities and Grassroots Lobbyists each
need to file Annual Reports if they have received receipts or made expenditures in excess
of $2,500 in any calendar year for the purpose of communicating with, or providing a
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benefit to, any high level State official, or communication with the general public
(respectively, Forms L1-A, L1-L and L1-G). The Annual Report must be filed by
February 15 and pertains to the previous calendar year.
The Annual Report requires detailed information regarding money, loans, paid personal
services and other things of value contributed or expenditures made for the purpose of
communication with, or providing benefits to, a high level State official, or
communication with the general public. The general costs of lobbying, as well as the
value of certain benefits, provided must be reported. Many expenditures may be listed in
the aggregate, however, if an aggregate expenditure to a particular high level State
official exceeds $25 per day or $200 in a given year, details of those expenditures must
be provided. If more than $100 is spent on a specific occasion to communicate with the
general public, the details of such expenditure must also be provided.
The Annual Report may also require the itemization of certain contributions, loans, fees
or dues received by a Lobbyist. For the purposes of this paragraph and determining the
necessary disclosure on the Annual Report, a “Lobbyist” means a person or organization
that is engaged in influencing legislation, regulation or governmental processes, or
conducting communication with the general public, as its major purpose for any calendar
year in which expenditures related to such activity constitute more than 50 percent of its
total expenditures for all purposes.
In lieu of completing their own annual report, a Representative Entity or Grassroots
Lobbyist may designate a Governmental Affairs Agent by filing Form L-2. If such
designation is filed with the Commission, a Governmental Affairs Agent may file the
Annual Report on behalf of the Representative Entity or Grassroots Lobbyist.
Note: Any benefit received by a high level State Official that must be reported in an
Annual Report should be described in a detailed written report and provided to the high
level State official prior to the filing of the Annual Report, and in no event later than
February 1.
d. Notice of Termination
Within 30 days of a Governmental Affairs Agent ceasing his or her activities on behalf of
one Represented Entity or all entities, he or she must file a Notice of Termination with
the Commission on Form NT. If the Governmental Affairs Agent is simply ending his or
her representation of one particular entity, he or she may keep the name tag previously
assigned by the Commission. If the Governmental Affairs Agent is changing employers,
a name tag with a new number will be assigned. Finally, if the Governmental Affairs
Agent is no longer conducting any activities consistent with the definition of a
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Governmental Affairs Agent, he or she must return the official name tag with the Notice
of Termination.
The Represented Entity or lobbyist, must also file a Notice of Termination with the
Commission once a Governmental Affairs Agent ceases to act on their behalf.
e. Limitations on Gifts
A Governmental Affairs Agent, Represented Entity and Lobbyist may not offer or give,
or agree to offer or give, any compensation, reward, employment, gift, honorarium or
other thing of value to an officer or staff member of the Executive Branch or member of
the Legislature or legislative staff, or any of the members of the immediate families of
such individuals, totaling more than $250 in a calendar year. “Members of the
immediate family” includes a spouse, child, parent, or a sibling of a member of the
Legislature residing in the same household as the member of the Legislature.
The above limitation on gifts does not apply if the gift is between members of the
immediate family. The limitation also does not apply if the recipient provides full
reimbursement equal to the fair market value within 90 days of that which was accepted.
The Act does not apply to communication or benefits provided to high level State
officials if it is a form of personal expression that uses personal funds, is not incident to
employment and there is no receipt of any additional compensation or award, for or as
result of the communication or provision of benefit.
f. Other Rules and Prohibitions
A Governmental Affairs Agent or Lobbyist that is not a resident of New Jersey, a New
Jersey corporation or authorized to do business in New Jersey must file a consent to
service of process at an address within New Jersey, or consent to service by regular mail
at an address outside of New Jersey prior to attempting to influence legislation,
regulations, or governmental processes, or within 30 days of the effective date of the
employment, retainer or engagement, whichever occurs earlier. This rule also applies to
Grassroots Lobbyists. Consent to service of process should be filed on Form L-3.
The Act prohibits compensation which is contingent on the outcome of the lobbying.
The Commission may conduct audits regarding the actions and expenses of
Governmental Affairs Agents and Lobbyists. All relevant documents and records must
be kept for a period of 3 calendar years following the year of the activity. Records of
single expenditures that are less than $5 are excluded.
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Note: Members of the legislature, the Governor, or head of a principal department of the
Executive Branch may not act as a Governmental Affairs Agents within one year after the
termination of their office or employment. Violations could result in penalties greater
than the standard penalties described below.
g. Penalties
The Commission has the power to bring complaint proceedings and hold hearings upon
such complaints. Civil penalties may not be in excess of $1,000; however, many
violations of the Commission’s regulations are fourth degree crimes and may also result
in an injunction against an individual or entity.
h. Instructions and Forms
The relevant forms must be filed with the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement
Commission. The instructions, forms and some general information are available at
http://www.elec.state.nj.us/forcandidates/gaa_forms.htm.
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