2021 Louisiana Laws
Revised Statutes
Title 49 - State Administration
§74. Registration of lobbyists with the ethics board; compilation of information

RS 74 - Registration of lobbyists with the ethics board; compilation of information

A. Each lobbyist shall register with the ethics board as soon as possible after employment as a lobbyist or after the first action requiring his registration as a lobbyist, whichever occurs first, and in any event not later than five days after employment as a lobbyist or not later than five days after the first action requiring his registration as a lobbyist, whichever occurs first. He shall electronically file with the ethics board using forms provided by it, the following information:

(1) His name and business address.

(2) The name and address of each person by whom he is employed and, if different, whose interests he represents, including the business in which that person is engaged.

(3)(a) The name of each person by whom he is paid or is to be paid, the amount he is paid or is to be paid for the purpose of lobbying, and a characterization of such payment as paid, earned but not received, or prospective.

(b) Amounts required to be disclosed pursuant to this Paragraph shall be reported by category of value. The categories shall be:

(i) Category I, $24,999 or less.

(ii) Category II, $25,000-$49,999.

(iii) Category III, $50,000-$99,999.

(iv) Category IV, $100,000-$249,999.

(v) Category V, $250,000 or more.

(4)(a) An indication of potential subject matter about which he anticipates lobbying.

(b) Indication of potential subject matters shall be made by choosing from the following potential subject matter categories:

(i) Aerospace and space technology.

(ii) Agriculture: horticulture; livestock; poultry.

(iii) Agriculture: forestry; timber.

(iv) Alcohol and other beverages.

(v) Arts and entertainment.

(vi) Aquaculture and fisheries.

(vii) Business and private and commercial enterprises.

(viii) Banking, financial, and accounting.

(ix) Charities and social services, faith-based organizations, and community outreach.

(x) Computers, hardware, software, and intellectual property.

(xi) Construction, contracting, and real estate.

(xii) Educational services: colleges; technical schools; trade schools.

(xiii) Environmental quality, conservation, and wildlife preservation.

(xiv) Gaming.

(xv) Government: local; municipal; parish; state; federal.

(xvi) Health care: hospitals; nursing homes; elderly care; hospice.

(xvii) Health care: physicians; nurse practitioners; nurses.

(xviii) Health care: pharmaceutical and medical devices; research; development; sales.

(xix) Homeland security.

(xx) Hotels, restaurants, and tourism.

(xxi) Insurance.

(xxii) International trade.

(xxiii) Law and lawyers.

(xxiv) Manufacturing: oil and gas; mining; refining; production; chemical industry.

(xxv) Manufacturing: wholesale.

(xxvi) Military and veterans affairs.

(xxvii) Public safety, police, and fire.

(xxviii) Telecommunications.

(xxix) Tobacco industry.

(xxx) Transportation.

(xxxi) Unions, labor issues, and special advocacy groups.

(xxxii) Utilities: electric; gas; water; nuclear.

(c) The unintentional omission of a potential subject matter as provided in this Paragraph shall not be a violation of this Part.

(5)(a) The identity of each statewide elected official or executive branch department head or spouse of a statewide elected official or executive branch department head with whom he or his employer has or has had in the preceding twelve months a business relationship.

(b) For the purposes of this Paragraph, the following terms shall have the following meanings:

(i) "Executive branch department head" means:

(aa) The secretary of each of the following departments of state government:

(I) The Department of Economic Development.

(II) The Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism.

(III) The Department of Environmental Quality.

(IV) The Louisiana Department of Health.

(V) The Louisiana Workforce Commission.

(VI) The Department of Natural Resources.

(VII) The Department of Public Safety and Corrections.

(VIII) The Department of Revenue.

(IX) The Department of Children and Family Services.

(X) The Department of Transportation and Development.

(XI) The Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.

(XII) The Department of Veterans Affairs.

(bb) The executive secretary of the Public Service Commission.

(cc) The director of state civil service.

(dd) Each member of the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.

(ee) The state superintendent of education, the commissioner of higher education, and the president of each public postsecondary education system.

(ff) The commissioner of the division of administration.

(gg) Each member of the Board of Ethics and the ethics administrator.

(hh) The chief of staff of the office of the governor.

(ii) The executive counsel to the governor.

(jj) The legislative director for the governor.

(kk) The policy director for the governor.

(ll) The deputy chief of staff of the office of the governor.

(ii) "Business relationship" means any transaction or activity that is conducted or undertaken for profit and which arises from a joint ownership interest, partnership, or common legal entity between a lobbyist or his employer and an executive branch department head or spouse of an executive branch department head or a statewide elected official or spouse of a statewide elected official when the executive branch department head or spouse or the statewide elected official or spouse owns ten percent or more of such interest, partnership, or legal entity.

(6) One copy of a two-inch-by-two-inch recent photograph of the registrant made within the prior six months shall be filed with the initial registration form.

(7) If a lobbyist is compensated for lobbying and non-lobbying services, he shall reasonably allocate his compensation and report only the amount received for lobbying in the manner provided in this Part.

B. At the time of the initial registration of a lobbyist, the ethics board shall assign the lobbyist a registration number, which number shall be inscribed on the registration form. This number shall be inscribed on each supplemental registration form, renewal form, and expenditure report filed by the lobbyist.

C. A registration shall expire on December thirty-first of each year unless the lobbyist submits a renewal on forms provided by the ethics board along with the appropriate fee. The registrant may file his renewal any time from December first until January thirty-first. Failure to file the renewal form by January thirty-first each year shall cause the registration to expire retroactively as of December thirty-first of the preceding year.

D.(1)(a) Within ten days of termination of a registrant's employment or representation of any person, the registrant shall file a supplemental registration with the ethics board acknowledging the termination of his employment or representation.

(b) The registrant shall not be required to file a supplemental registration pursuant to Subparagraph (a) of this Paragraph if the termination of employment or representation occurs after December thirty-first and the lobbyist timely files his renewal form during the period provided in Subsection C of this Section and the renewal form accurately and completely lists the lobbyist's employment and representation as of the time the lobbyist files the renewal form.

(2) Each registrant who ceases activities requiring him to register shall file a supplemental registration with the ethics board acknowledging the termination of his lobbying activities.

(3) Each registrant who has terminated his registration must file disclosure reports for each reporting period during which he was registered.

E. The forms shall be published electronically by the ethics board. Registrations which have been filed shall be maintained by the ethics board and made available to the public via the Internet. The electronic filing by a lobbyist of any information required under this Section shall constitute a certification that the information is true and correct to the best of his knowledge, information, and belief and that no information required by this Part has been deliberately omitted.

F.(1) Whenever any information contained in his registration changes, or the lobbyist begins representing an additional person, a supplemental electronic registration shall be filed with the ethics board as soon as possible after such change occurs and in any event not later than five days after such change using forms provided by the ethics board.

(2) The lobbyist shall not be required to file a supplemental registration pursuant to Paragraph (1) of this Subsection if the lobbyist begins representing an additional person after December thirty-first and the lobbyist timely files his renewal form during the period provided in Subsection C of this Section and the renewal form accurately and completely lists the lobbyist's employment and representation as of the time the lobbyist files the renewal form.

G. Each lobbyist shall pay a fee of one hundred ten dollars with each registration and each renewal of registration form filed. No additional fee shall be paid for filing supplemental registration forms.

H. Each lobbyist at the time of registration or filing a renewal of registration may file a registration or renewal of registration form that indicates that he is registering or renewing registration pursuant to this Part and Part III of Chapter 1 of Title 24 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950, relative to lobbying of the legislature. A lobbyist who indicates that he is registering pursuant to this Part and Part III of Chapter 1 of Title 24 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950 shall pay the fee required by this Section and the fee required by R.S. 24:53.

Acts 2004, No. 116, §2, eff. Jan. 1, 2005; Acts 2008, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 13, §2, eff. Jan. 1, 2009; Acts 2008, No. 697, §2, eff. Jan. 1, 2009; Acts 2008, No. 709, §2, eff. Jan. 1, 2009; Acts 2008, No. 743, §7, eff. July 1, 2008; Acts 2016, No. 418, §3.