Lobbying Reporting Requirements for Counties

The legislative session always seems to be just around the corner, and the Interims are becoming increasingly more active. Given MACo’s members are county elected officials who take great interest in governing and Montana’s laws, we are taking this moment to review the basics of lobbying:

• An elected county official may lobby for or against the introduction or enactment of legislation/policy by legislators and/or other public agencies/officials.
• While elected officials are exempt from the normal reporting requirements of lobbyists, they still may need to register with the Commissioner of Political Practices (COPP) as a “Principal” if the county pays for lobbying activities conducted on the county’s behalf by hired or contract lobbyists and/or county employees.

What is Lobbying?

Lobbying is controlled by 5-7-111, MCA, and ARM, 44.12.102-211 and is defined as

• the practice of promoting or opposing the introduction or enactment of legislation before the legislature or the members of the legislature; and
• the practice of promoting or opposing official action by any public official.

What Is Not Lobbying?

The definition of lobbying provides that actions, when performed by a legislator, public official, elected local official, elected federal official, or an elected tribal official, while acting in an official governmental capacity, is not lobbying.

Additionally, an individual is not deprived of the constitutional right to communicate with public officials. There is nothing in the laws or regulations regarding reporting requirements when an individual lobbies on his/her own behalf–not the county’s behalf.

Reporting

Montana Law does not prohibit lobbying; it imposes reporting requirements.

The Thin Line
The line between providing informational testimony and supporting or opposing legislation is often a very thin, but nevertheless, very important line.

Example
A county employee attends a bill hearing in a legislative committee and gives well-prepared and thoughtful testimony that is entirely informational in nature. The employee is then asked a question by a committee member. The county employee’s response could–and often does–enter the arena of advocating support or opposition.

The above example is not a problem, and nothing prohibits such a response; however, it could trigger reporting requirements.

When is Reporting Required?

Reporting is required when payments for lobbying activities exceed $3,000, or the county enters into a written or oral agreement for lobbying services. It’s important to know that when the $3,000 threshold is reached, it is retrospective. This means that all costs–irrespective of when incurred–must be reported.  (Reimbursement for personal living expenses do not have to be reported.)

If you do not believe your county will expend more than $3,000 on lobbying activities, you should still track ALL lobbying costs, in case you exceed the threshold.

• If you think your county will probably exceed the threshold, you should register as a Principal. Then closely track all expenditures and file the necessary reports, irrespective of the amount actually spent to-date.
• If you know your county will exceed the threshold because you plan to or have contracted with an individual for lobbying services, register as a Principal. Also, make sure that person has filed an application to be a registered lobbyist and immediately begin tracking all expenditures. You should review the reporting calendar in the L-5 report and file all reports in a timely manner.

Principle vs. Lobbyist & Requisite Forms

All information for filing is on the COPP website here.

To comply with the reporting requirements, your county must be registered as a “Principal,” and a representative must be named. This would normally be the individual who will be responsible for completing and submitting the necessary reports.

Each individual who has engaged in lobbying activities must also be registered as a lobbyist, irrespective of the amount your county spent for that individual to lobby.

• L-1 Form:  This is the application for registration as a lobbyist.
• L-2 Form:  This is the application to register as a “Principal” who pays one individual more than $3,000 to lobby on their behalf. An L-2, must be submitted for each lobbyist who is paid at least $3,000 by the Principle.
• Form L-3: This is the application to register as a Principle who will pay more than one individuals more than $3,000 to lobby on their behalf. (Principals who pay a single lobbyist $3,000 or more must file a Form L-2.)
• L-5 Form:  The financial reporting must be done viva the L-5 form. This is used when expenditures exceed the $3,000 threshold. A complete reporting calendar is incorporated in the L-5 report.