The Lobbying Disclosure Act (LDA) of 1995 allows entities (usually companies or influential organizations) to lobby federal officials and members of Congress in the United States. By lobbying, these entities attempt to influence legislation or government decisions in their favor. The Act requires lobbyists to register with the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House of Representatives and to file regular reports detailing their lobbying activities, expenditures, and the issues they are lobbying on. Moreover, the Secretary of the Senate is required to make all reports filed under the LDA, as amended, available to the public over the Internet.
Additional details
As any law, there are a lot of details that anyone interested in this topic should be aware of.
Entities involved
- Registrant: an individual or, more often, a company or organization that employs lobbyists to engage in lobbying activities on the behalf of the client.
- Client: the person or organization that the lobbying activities are being conducted for.
- Lobbyist: an individual who is employed or retained by a registrant to conduct lobbying activities on behalf of a client.
Types of reports
There are different categories of reports that must be filed under the LDA, including:
- LD-1: Initial Lobbying Registration
- LD-2: Quarterly Lobbying Report
- LD-203: Contributions report
LD-1: Initial Lobbying Registration
Lobbying firms are required to file a separate registration for each client. Organizations employing in-house lobbyists file a single registration.
A lobbying firm is exempt from registration for a particular client if its total income from that client for lobbying activities does not exceed and is not expected to exceed 13,000 during a quarterly period.
Content of the registration
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LD-2: Quarterly Lobbying Report
A registrant must file a report for the semiannual period for which it initially registered and for each semiannual period thereafter, including the reporting period during which it terminates. Lobbying firms who act as lobbyists for outside clients are required to file a separate report for each client covered by a registration. Organizations employing in-house lobbyists file a single report for each semiannual period.
Whoever knowingly fails: (1) to correct a defective filing within 60 days after notice of such a defect; or (2) to comply with any other provision of the Act, may be subject to a civil fine of not more than $50,000.
Content of the report
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The Lobbying activities section must indicate the General lobbying issue area with one of the approved 3 letter codes, and the Specific lobbying issue, where the specific issue, bill, reform or what not must be indicated, making sure to be as specific as possible. Moreover, this section must indicate the Contacts, i.e., the government agencies contacted, all the Lobbyist involved and any of the activities, and the Foreign interests, if any.