HCR 7057

1	House Concurrent Resolution
2	A concurrent resolution adopting Joint Rule One relating
3	to lobbyist registration and compensation reporting.
4
5	WHEREAS, existing Joint Rule One has regulated lobbyist
6	registration and expenditure reporting, and
7	WHEREAS, the enactment of chapter 2005-359, Laws of
8	Florida, directed the adoption of rules imposing and regulating
9	lobbyist registration and compensation reporting, and
10	WHEREAS, each house of the Legislature has inherent,
11	independent authority, acting separately or jointly, to regulate
12	legislative lobbying in each house respectively, and
13	WHEREAS, there is uncertainty about the present effect of
14	former Joint Rule One, and
15	WHEREAS, the House of Representatives and Senate desire to
16	resolve uncertainty and jointly implement the statutory
17	directive for lobbyist registration and compensation reporting,
18	NOW, THEREFORE,
19
20	Be It Resolved by the House of Representatives of the State of
21	Florida, the Senate Concurring:
22
23	That former Joint Rule One is rescinded and new Joint Rule
24	One is adopted to read:
25
26	JOINT RULE ONE
27	LOBBYIST REGISTRATION AND COMPENSATION REPORTING
28
29	1.1  Those Required to Register; Exemptions; Committee
30	Appearance Records
31	(1)  All lobbyists before the Florida Legislature must
32	register with the Lobbyist Registration Office in the Division
33	of Legislative Information Services of the Office of Legislative
34	Services. Registration is required for each principal
35	represented.
36	(2)  As used in Joint Rule One, unless the context
37	otherwise requires:
38	(a)  "Compensation" means a payment, distribution, loan,
39	advance, reimbursement, deposit, salary, fee, retainer, or
40	anything of value provided or owed to a lobbying firm, directly
41	or indirectly, by a principal for any lobbying activity.
42	(b)  "Division" means the Division of Legislative
43	Information Services within the Office of Legislative Services.
44	(c)  "Legislative action" means introduction, sponsorship,
45	testimony, debate, voting, or any other official action on any
46	measure, resolution, amendment, nomination, appointment, or
47	report of, or any matter that may be the subject of action by,
48	either house of the Legislature or any committee thereof.
49	(d)  "Lobby" or "lobbying" means influencing or attempting
50	to influence legislative action or nonaction through oral or
51	written communication or an attempt to obtain the goodwill of a
52	member or employee of the Legislature.
53	(e)  "Lobbying firm" means any business entity, including
54	an individual contract lobbyist, that receives or becomes
55	entitled to receive any compensation for the purpose of
56	lobbying, where any partner, owner, officer, or employee of the
57	business entity is a lobbyist. "Lobbying firm" does not include
58	an entity that has employees who are lobbyists if the entity
59	does not derive compensation from principals for lobbying, or
60	such compensation is received exclusively from a subsidiary
61	corporation of the employer.
62	(f)  "Lobbyist" means a person who is employed and receives
63	payment, or who contracts for economic consideration, for the
64	purpose of lobbying, or a person who is principally employed for
65	governmental affairs by another person or governmental entity to
66	lobby on behalf of that other person or governmental entity. An
67	employee of the principal is not a "lobbyist" unless the
68	employee is principally employed for governmental affairs.
69	"Principally employed for governmental affairs" means that one
70	of the principal or most significant responsibilities of the
71	employee to the employer is overseeing the employer's various
72	relationships with government or representing the employer in
73	its contacts with government. Any person employed by the
74	Governor, the Executive Office of the Governor, or any executive
75	or judicial department of the state or any community college of
76	the state who seeks to encourage the passage, defeat, or
77	modification of any legislation by personal appearance or
78	attendance before the House of Representatives or the Senate, or
79	any member or committee thereof, is a lobbyist.
80	(g)  "Payment" or "salary" means wages or any other
81	consideration provided in exchange for services, but does not
82	include reimbursement for expenses.
83	(h)  "Principal" means the person, firm, corporation, or
84	other entity that has employed or retained a lobbyist. When an
85	association has employed or retained a lobbyist, the association
86	is the principal; the individual members of the association are
87	not principals merely because of their membership in the
88	association.
89	(3)  For purposes of this rule, the terms "lobby" and
90	"lobbying" do not include any of the following:
91	(a)  Response to an inquiry for information made by any
92	member, committee, or staff of the Legislature.
93	(b)  An appearance in response to a legislative subpoena.
94	(c)  Advice or services that arise out of a contractual
95	obligation with the Legislature, a member, a committee, any
96	staff, or any legislative entity to render the advice or
97	services where such obligation is fulfilled through the use of
98	public funds.
99	(d)  Representation of a client before the House of
100	Representatives or the Senate, or any member or committee
101	thereof, when the client is subject to disciplinary action by
102	the House of Representatives or the Senate, or any member or
103	committee thereof.
104	(4)  For purposes of registration and reporting, the term
105	"lobbyist" does not include any of the following:
106	(a)  A member of the Legislature.
107	(b)  A person who is employed by the Legislature.
108	(c)  A judge who is acting in that judge's official
109	capacity.
110	(d)  A person who is a state officer holding elective
111	office or an officer of a political subdivision of the state
112	holding elective office and who is acting in that officer's
113	official capacity.
114	(e)  A person who appears as a witness or for the purpose
115	of providing information at the written request of the chair of
116	a committee, subcommittee, or legislative delegation.
117	(f)  A person employed by any executive or judicial
118	department of the state or any community college of the state
119	who makes a personal appearance or attendance before the House
120	of Representatives or the Senate, or any member or committee
121	thereof, while that person is on approved leave or outside
122	normal working hours, and who does not otherwise meet the
123	definition of lobbyist.
124	(5)  When a person, whether or not the person is registered
125	as a lobbyist, appears before a committee of the Legislature,
126	that person must submit a Committee Appearance Record as
127	required by the respective house.
128	1.2  Method of Registration
129	(1)  Each person who is required to register must register
130	on forms furnished by the Lobbyist Registration Office, on which
131	that person must state, under oath, that person's full legal
132	name, business address and telephone number, the name and
133	business address of each principal that person represents, and
134	the extent of any direct business association or partnership
135	that person has with any member of the Legislature. In addition,
136	if the lobbyist is a partner, owner, officer, or employee of a
137	lobbying firm, the lobbyist must state the name, address,
138	Federal Employer's Identification Number (FEIN), contact name,
139	and telephone number of each lobbying firm to which the lobbyist
140	belongs. The Lobbyist Registration Office or its designee is
141	authorized to acknowledge the oath of any person who registers
142	in person. Any changes to the information provided in the
143	registration form must be reported to the Lobbyist Registration
144	Office in writing within 15 days on forms furnished by the
145	Lobbyist Registration Office.
146	(2)  Any person required to register must do so with
147	respect to each principal prior to commencement of lobbying on
148	behalf of that principal. At the time of registration, the
149	registrant shall provide a statement on a form provided by the
150	Lobbyist Registration Office, signed by the principal or
151	principal's representative that the registrant is authorized to
152	represent the principal. On the authorization statement the
153	principal or principal's representative shall also identify and
154	designate the principal's main business pursuant to a
155	classification system approved by the Office of Legislative
156	Services that shall be the North American Industry
157	Classification System (NAICS) six-digit numerical code that most
158	accurately describes the principal's main business.
159	(3)  Any person required to register must renew the
160	registration annually for each calendar year.
161	(4)  A lobbyist shall promptly send a notice to the
162	Lobbyist Registration Office on forms furnished by the Lobbyist
163	Registration Office, canceling the registration for a principal
164	upon termination of the lobbyist's representation of that
165	principal. A notice of cancellation takes effect the day it is
166	received by the Lobbyist Registration Office. Notwithstanding
167	this requirement, the Lobbyist Registration Office may remove
168	the name of a lobbyist from the list of registered lobbyists if
169	the principal notifies the Lobbyist Registration Office that the
170	lobbyist is no longer authorized to represent that principal.
171	(5)  The Lobbyist Registration Office shall publish on the
172	first Monday of each regular session and weekly thereafter
173	through the end of that session a compilation of the names of
174	persons who have registered and the information contained in
175	their registrations.
176	(6)  The Lobbyist Registration Office shall retain all
177	original documents submitted under this rule.
178	(7)  A person who is required to register under this rule,
179	or who chooses to register, shall be considered a lobbyist of
180	the Legislature for the purposes of sections 11.045, 112.3148,
181	and 112.3149, Florida Statutes.
182	1.3  Registration Costs
183	(1)  To cover the costs incurred in administering the
184	legislative Lobbyist Registration Office, each person who
185	registers must pay an annual registration fee to the Lobbyist
186	Registration Office. The annual period runs from January 1 to
187	December 31. These fees must be paid at the time of
188	registration.
189	(2)  An annual fee up to $50 per each house for a person to
190	register shall be established annually by the President of the
191	Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. The fees
192	set shall be adequate to ensure operation of the lobbyist
193	registration and reporting operations of the Lobbyist
194	Registration Office. The fees collected by the Lobbyist
195	Registration Office under this Joint Rule One shall be deposited
196	in the State Treasury and credited to the Legislative Lobbyist
197	Registration Trust Fund specifically to cover the costs incurred
198	in administering the Lobbyist Registration Office.
199	1.4  Reporting of Lobbying Firm Compensation
200	(1)(a)  Each lobbying firm shall file a compensation report
201	with the division for each calendar quarter during any portion
202	of which one or more of the firm's lobbyists were registered to
203	represent a principal. The report shall include the:
204	1.  Full name, business address, and telephone number of
205	the lobbying firm;
206	2.  Registration name of each of the firm's lobbyists; and
207	3.  Total compensation provided or owed to the lobbying
208	firm from all principals for the reporting period, reported in
209	one of the following categories: $0; $1 to $49,999; $50,000 to
210	$99,999; $100,000 to $249,999; $250,000 to $499,999; $500,000 to
211	$999,999; $1 million or more.
212	(b)  For each principal represented by one or more of the
213	firm's lobbyists, the lobbying firm's compensation report shall
214	also include the:
215	1.  Full name, business address, and telephone number of
216	the principal; and
217	2.  Total compensation provided or owed to the lobbying
218	firm for the reporting period, reported in one of the following
219	categories: $0; $1 to $9,999; $10,000 to $19,999; $20,000 to
220	$29,999; $30,000 to $39,999; $40,000 to $49,999; or $50,000 or
221	more. If the category "$50,000 or more" is selected, the
222	specific dollar amount of compensation must be reported, rounded
223	up or down to the nearest $1,000.
224	(c)  If the lobbying firm subcontracts work from another
225	lobbying firm and not from the original principal:
226	1.  The lobbying firm providing the work to be
227	subcontracted shall be treated as the reporting lobbying firm's
228	principal for reporting purposes under this paragraph; and
229	2.  The reporting lobbying firm shall, for each lobbying
230	firm identified as the reporting lobbying firm's principal under
231	paragraph (b), identify the name and address of the principal
232	originating the lobbying work.
233	(d)  The senior partner, officer, or owner of the lobbying
234	firm shall certify to the veracity and completeness of the
235	information submitted pursuant to this Rule 1.4, and certify
236	that no compensation has been omitted from this report by
237	deeming such compensation as "consulting services," "media
238	services," "professional services," or anything other than
239	compensation, and certify that no officer or employee of the
240	firm has made an expenditure in violation of section 11.045,
241	Florida Statutes, as amended by chapter 2005-359, Laws of
242	Florida.
243	(2)  For each principal represented by more than one
244	lobbying firm, the division shall aggregate the reporting-period
245	and calendar-year compensation reported as provided or owed by
246	the principal. Compensation reported within a category shall be
247	aggregated as the arithmetic mean of the category.
248	(3)  The reporting statements shall be filed no later than
249	45 days after the end of each reporting period. The four
250	reporting periods are from January 1 through March 31, April 1
251	through June 30, July 1 through September 30, and October 1
252	through December 31, respectively. The statements shall be
253	rendered in the identical form provided by the respective houses
254	and shall be open to public inspection. Reporting statements may
255	be filed by electronic means, when feasible.
256	(4)  Reports shall be filed no later than 5 p.m. of the
257	report due date. However, any report that is postmarked by the
258	United States Postal Service no later than midnight of the due
259	date shall be deemed to have been filed in a timely manner, and
260	a certificate of mailing obtained from and dated by the United
261	States Postal Service at the time of the mailing, or a receipt
262	from an established courier company that bears a date on or
263	before the due date, shall be proof of mailing in a timely
264	manner.
265	1.5  Failure to File Timely Compensation Report; Notice and
266	Assessment of Fines; Appeals
267	(1)  Upon determining that the report is late, the person
268	designated to review the timeliness of reports shall immediately
269	notify the lobbying firm as to the failure to timely file the
270	report and that a fine is being assessed for each late day. The
271	fine shall be $50 per day per report for each late day, not to
272	exceed $5,000 per report.
273	(2)  Upon receipt of the report, the person designated to
274	review the timeliness of reports shall determine the amount of
275	the fine due based upon the earliest of the following:
276	(a)  When a report is actually received by the division.
277	(b)  When the report is postmarked.
278	(c)  When the certificate of mailing is dated.
279	(d)  When the receipt from an established courier company
280	is dated.
281	(3)  Such fine shall be paid within 30 days after the
282	notice of payment due is transmitted by the person designated to
283	review the timeliness of reports, unless appeal is made to the
284	division. The moneys shall be deposited into the Legislative
285	Lobbyist Registration Trust Fund.
286	(4)  A fine shall not be assessed against a lobbying firm
287	the first time the report for which the lobbying firm is
288	responsible is not timely filed. However, to receive the one-
289	time fine waiver, the report for which the lobbying firm is
290	responsible must be filed within 30 days after notice that the
291	report has not been timely filed is transmitted by the person
292	designated to review the timeliness of reports. A fine shall be
293	assessed for any subsequent late-filed reports.
294	(5)  Any lobbying firm may appeal or dispute a fine, based
295	upon unusual circumstances surrounding the failure to file on
296	the designated due date, and may request and shall be entitled
297	to a hearing before the General Counsel of the Office of
298	Legislative Services, who shall recommend to the President of
299	the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, or
300	their respective designees, that the fine be waived in whole or
301	in part for good cause shown. The President of the Senate and
302	the Speaker of the House of Representatives, or their respective
303	designees, may by joint agreement concur in the recommendation
304	and waive the fine in whole or in part. Any such request shall
305	be made within 30 days after the notice of payment due is
306	transmitted by the person designated to review the timeliness of
307	reports. In such case, the lobbying firm shall, within the 30-
308	day period, notify the person designated to review the
309	timeliness of reports in writing of his or her intention to
310	request a hearing.
311	(6)  A lobbying firm may request that the filing of a
312	report be waived upon good cause shown, based on unusual
313	circumstances. The request must be filed with the General
314	Counsel of the Office of Legislative Services, who shall make a
315	recommendation concerning the waiver request to the President of
316	the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. The
317	President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of
318	Representatives may, by joint agreement, grant or deny the
319	request.
320	(7)(a)  All lobbyist registrations for lobbyists who are
321	partners, owners, officers, or employees of a lobbying firm that
322	fails to timely pay a fine are automatically suspended until the
323	fine is paid or waived, and the division shall promptly notify
324	all affected principals and the President of the Senate and the
325	Speaker of the House of Representatives of any suspension or
326	reinstatement. All lobbyists who are partners, owners, officers,
327	or employees of a lobbying firm are jointly and severally liable
328	for any outstanding fine owed by a lobbying firm.
329	(b)  No such lobbyist may be reinstated in any capacity
330	representing any principal until the fine is paid or until the
331	fine is waived as to that lobbyist. A suspended lobbyist may
332	request a waiver upon good cause shown, based on unusual
333	circumstances. The request must be filed with the General
334	Counsel of the Office of Legislative Services who shall, as soon
335	as practicable, make a recommendation concerning the waiver
336	request to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the
337	House of Representatives. The President of the Senate and the
338	Speaker of the House of Representatives may, by joint agreement,
339	grant or deny the request.
340	(8)  The person designated to review the timeliness of
341	reports shall notify the director of the division of the failure
342	of a lobbying firm to file a report after notice or of the
343	failure of a lobbying firm to pay the fine imposed.
344	1.6  Open Records
345	All of the lobbyist registration and compensation reports
346	received by the Lobbyist Registration Office shall be available
347	for public inspection and for duplication at reasonable cost.
348	1.7  Records Retention and Inspection and Complaint
349	Procedure
350	(1)  Each lobbying firm and each principal shall preserve
351	for a period of 4 years all accounts, bills, receipts, computer
352	records, books, papers, and other documents and records
353	necessary to substantiate compensation reports.
354	(2)  Upon receipt of a complaint based upon the personal
355	knowledge of the complainant made pursuant to the Senate Rules
356	or Rules of the House of Representatives, any such documents and
357	records may be inspected when authorized by the President of the
358	Senate or the Speaker of the House of Representatives, as
359	applicable. The person authorized to perform the inspection
360	shall be designated in writing and shall be a member of The
361	Florida Bar or a certified public accountant licensed in
362	Florida. Any information obtained by such an inspection may only
363	be used for purposes authorized by law, this Joint Rule One,
364	Senate Rules, or Rules of the House of Representatives, which
365	purposes may include the imposition of sanctions against a
366	person subject to this rule or Senate Rules or the Rules of the
367	House of Representatives. Any employee who uses that information
368	for an unauthorized purpose is subject to discipline. Any member
369	who uses that information for an unauthorized purpose is subject
370	to discipline under the applicable rules of each house.
371	(3)  The right of inspection may be enforced by appropriate
372	writ issued by any court of competent jurisdiction.
373	1.8  Questions Regarding Interpretation of this Joint Rule
374	One
375	(1)  A person may request in writing an informal opinion
376	from the General Counsel of the Office of Legislative Services
377	as to the application of this Joint Rule One to a specific
378	situation. The General Counsel shall issue the opinion within 10
379	days after receiving the request. The informal opinion may be
380	relied upon by the person who requested the informal opinion. A
381	copy of each informal opinion that is issued shall be provided
382	to the presiding officer of each house. A committee of either
383	house designated pursuant to section 11.045(5), Florida
384	Statutes, may revise any informal opinion rendered by the
385	General Counsel through an advisory opinion to the person who
386	requested the informal opinion. The advisory opinion shall
387	supersede the informal opinion as of the date the advisory
388	opinion is issued.
389	(2)  Persons in doubt about the applicability or
390	interpretation of this Joint Rule One may submit in writing the
391	facts for an advisory opinion to the committee of either house
392	designated pursuant to section 11.045(5), Florida Statutes, and
393	may appear in person before the committee in accordance with
394	section 11.045(5), Florida Statutes.
395	1.9  Application of Section 11.0455, Florida Statutes;
396	Recommendations
397	Prior to the 2006 Organizational Session, the House of
398	Representatives and the Senate should consider what changes
399	should be made to this Joint Rule One to implement section
400	11.0455, Florida Statutes.
401	1.10  Effect of Former Joint Rule One
402	Every obligation under former Joint Rule One, rescinded
403	upon adoption of this Joint Rule One, is hereby waived and
404	abolished. The obligations under Joint Rules 1.1, 1.2, and 1.3
405	are to be enforced retroactively to January 1, 2006, provided
406	that substantial compliance with the provisions of former Joint
407	Rules 1.1, 1.2, and 1.3 on or before the effective date of this
408	Joint Rule One shall be deemed to be compliance with any
409	retroactive requirements of this Joint Rule One.

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.