HB523: (New Title) relative to lobbyist registration and statements, and regulation of volunteer public service.

HB 523 – AS AMENDED BY THE SENATE

27Mar2007… 0806h

05/17/07 1560s

2007 SESSION

07-0395

10/05

HOUSE BILL 523

AN ACT relative to lobbyist registration and statements, and regulation of volunteer public service.

SPONSORS: Rep. Hager, Merr 12

COMMITTEE: Legislative Administration

AMENDED ANALYSIS

This bill changes the registration requirements for lobbyists and the frequency and content of the statements required to be filed. The bill repeals the restriction on simultaneous employment and public service, and exempts certain appointed and volunteer service from the financial disclosure requirements. The bill also establishes an executive branch public register of volunteers.

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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.

Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]

Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

27Mar2007… 0806h

05/17/07 1560s

07-0395

10/05

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Seven

AN ACT relative to lobbyist registration and statements, and regulation of volunteer public service.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

1 Lobbyist Registration; Registration Required. RSA 15:1, I is repealed and reenacted to read as follows:

I.(a) The following persons shall register as lobbyists with the secretary of state:

(1) Any person who works as an independent contractor or who provides services for a fee for another to represent the other for the purposes specified in paragraph II including, but not limited to, an attorney, or a legislative or government relations representative;

(2) Any person who is an employee of any other person or employer, and who works in a representative capacity exclusively for the purposes specified in paragraph II; and

(3) Any person who is an employee of any other person or employer, who is employed for purposes in addition to or other than the purposes specified in paragraph II, and who spends more than 200 hours in a calendar year working in a representative capacity for the purposes specified in paragraph II.

(b) Each person described in subparagraphs (a)(1) and (2) shall register prior to engaging in the activities specified in paragraph II. Each person described in subparagraph (a)(3) shall register no later than one week following completion of 200 hours of such work. Each registration shall report the existence of a relationship between a single client and either a single lobbyist or a partnership, firm, or corporation with one or more partners, members, or employees of a firm acting as a lobbyist.

2 Lobbying; Registration Required. Amend RSA 15:1, II(b) to read as follows:

(b) To promote or oppose, directly or indirectly, any action by the governor[,] or governor and council[, or any state agency, as defined in RSA 15-A:2], where such action concerns legislation or contracts pending or proposed before the general court, any pending or proposed administrative rule, or the procurement of goods or services that are being or may be purchased by the state, subject to the exclusions in paragraphs III and IV.

3 Expiration Date. Amend RSA 15:1, IV to read as follows:

IV. All registrations required under this section shall expire on December [1] 31.

4 New Paragraph; Exclusions From Requirements. Amend RSA 15:1 by inserting after paragraph IV the following new paragraph:

V. The following communications are excluded from the regulation imposed by this chapter and shall not be considered in a determination of whether a person is required to register and report as a lobbyist:

(a) Public testimony before a legislative committee or sub-committee;

(b) Public testimony before any entity subject to RSA 91-A, the right-to-know law;

(c) A written document filed in the course of a public proceeding or any other communication that is made on the record in a public proceeding;

(d) Communication made by a public official acting in the public official’s official capacity;

(e) Communication made by a representative of a media organization if the purpose of the communication is gathering or disseminating news and information to the public;

(f) Communication made in a speech, article, publication, or other material that is distributed and made available to the public, or through radio, television, cable television, the internet, or other medium of mass communication; and

(g) Communication made in writing which becomes a public record subject to the provisions of RSA 91-A, the right-to-know law, provided in response to a written request by a legislative or executive branch official.

5 Lobbyist Statements. Amend RSA 15:6 to read as follows:

15:6 Statements.

I. Each lobbyist shall file with the secretary of state itemized statements under oath of:

(a) All fees received from any lobbying client that are related, directly or indirectly, to lobbying, such as public advocacy, government relations, or public relations services including research, monitoring legislation, and related legal work.

(b) All expenditures made from lobbying fees, including by whom paid or to whom charged.

(c) Any [honorarium or] expense reimbursement, as defined in RSA 15-B, or political contribution, as defined in RSA 664, made by the lobbyist in his or her professional [or personal] capacity, on behalf of the lobbyist, the partnership, firm, or corporation or by the lobbyist on behalf of the client or employer [or by a family member of the lobbyist]. The statements shall be open to public inspection. [For the purposes of this chapter, “family member” shall mean any person related to and living in the same domicile as the lobbyist, who shares a common economic interest in the expenses of daily living, including, but not limited to, a spouse, child, or parents.]

II. Lobbyists shall file statements no later than the second Friday of each [month] January, April, July, and October covering all fees received and expenditures[, contributions, honorariums,] or expense reimbursements made [during the previous month,] since the last required filing, from fees received at any time from a lobbying client or employer or from funds otherwise provided by the lobbyist, partnership, firm, or corporation, or from the client or employer. The first statement filed by persons who register as lobbyists pursuant to RSA 15:1, I(a)(3) shall cover all fees received and expenditures or expense reimbursements made from such fees received and funds provided during the 200 hours worked prior to registration.

III. In this chapter “value” means the amount at which property or services would change hands between a willing buyer and a willing seller when neither is under any compulsion to buy or sell and both have reasonable knowledge of the relevant facts.

[IV. A lobbyist, in his or her professional or personal capacity, or a family member of a lobbyist making a contribution, honorarium, or expense reimbursement, in a form other than cash, check or negotiable instrument, to a person with a duty to report that contribution, honorarium, or expense reimbursement pursuant to RSA 15-B or RSA 664 shall provide the recipient with a written statement of the value of the contribution, honorarium, or expense reimbursement if the value is different than any price or value printed on the contribution, honorarium, or expense reimbursement or if the contribution, honorarium, or expense reimbursement does not have a price affixed to it.]

[V.] IV. The lobbyist statement shall be in the form prescribed by the secretary of state, may be in paper or electronic form, and shall include at a minimum:

(a) The full name of each lobbyist covered by the report.

(b) The name of the lobbyist partnership, firm, or corporation, if any.

(c) The business address and telephone number for the lobbyist, partnership, firm, or corporation.

(d) For each lobbying client, the full name and business address of the client, the scope of the representation or lobbyist services being paid for, the gross amount of all fees received from that client, not reduced by any expenses, that are related, directly or indirectly, to lobbying, such as public advocacy, government relations, or public relations services including research, monitoring legislation, and related legal work, a statement of the aggregate total of fees received that are related, directly or indirectly, to lobbying services during the calendar year, and a statement of any fee payment due, but not yet paid.

(e) For each [honorarium or] expense reimbursement made, that is reportable pursuant to RSA 15-B:

(1) The name of the client on whose behalf the expense reimbursement [or honorarium] was made, if any.

(2) The name of the person receiving the [honorarium or] expense reimbursement.

(3) A brief description of the event to which the [honorarium or] expense reimbursement relates.

(4) The value of the [honorarium or] expense reimbursement.

(f) [For each political contribution made that is reportable pursuant to RSA 664:

(1) The name of the candidate.

(2) The office the candidate is seeking.

(3) The value of the contribution.

(4) If the contribution is an in-kind contribution, a brief description of the contribution.

(g)] For all expenditures for salaries, benefits, support staff, and office expenses, related directly or indirectly to lobbying, a statement of the total aggregate expenses for salaries, support staff, and office expenses related directly or indirectly to lobbying shall satisfy the requirement that an itemized statement of these expenses be filed.

[(h)] (g) The following statement followed by a line for each person filing the form to sign and date the form: “I have read RSA 15[, RSA 15-B, and RSA 664] and hereby swear or affirm that the foregoing information is true and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.” [This statement shall be made under oath before a notary public or justice of the peace.]

[VI.] V. The secretary of state shall maintain the statements required by this section for 6 years from the date of filing, after which time the statements may be destroyed. The public information on the forms shall be available to the public in the form of a photocopy or an electronic record. The secretary of state shall, as soon as is practical, implement an electronic record keeping system that makes lobbyist registration forms and fee and expense reports available to the public through the internet.

6 Gifts; Exclusion From Definition. Amend RSA 15-B:2, V(c)(5) and (6) to read as follows:

(5) Objects or services which primarily serve an informational purpose provided in the ordinary course of business, such as reports, books, maps, or charts.

(6) Money in any form, an object, or an intangible thing or service of economic value, where the donor’s act of giving is purely private and personal in nature and the money, object, or intangible thing or service of economic value would have been given and received even if the person were not an elected official, public official, public employee, constitutional official, or legislative employee.

7 New Subparagraph; Definition of Gift; Exclusion Added. Amend RSA 15-B:2, V(c) by inserting after subparagraph (12) the following new subparagraph:

(13) Information or advice concerning any state law or rule, any legislation pending or proposed before the general court, or any pending or proposed administrative rule.

8 Executive Branch; Code of Ethics; Appointee and Volunteer Service. RSA 21-G:25 is repealed and reenacted to read as follows:

21-G:25 Ethical Standards for Appointee and Volunteer Public Service. Appointee and volunteer public service within the executive branch is an honorable tradition that should be encouraged and maintained. Appointees and volunteers shall not use such public service, directly or indirectly:

I. For personal financial gain; or

II. To facilitate nonpublic communications with executive branch officials for the purpose of promoting or advancing any matter on behalf of themselves, their employers or business associates, or any other third party.

9 Purpose; Financial Disclosure. The general court finds that many public spirited citizens perform volunteer service for the state each year under circumstances where their service does not create any appreciable opportunity to influence the setting of public policy, the expenditure of state funds, or the selection of vendors for the state. Recognizing that the purpose of financial disclosure is to ensure the public has access to information about the financial interests of those who act on the public's behalf when setting public policy, spending state funds, or choosing vendors to do work for the state, requiring volunteers who do not perform such actions to file statements of financial interests does not advance the purpose of the statute and may chill volunteerism. The general court intends to exempt from financial disclosure requirements those individuals who serve the state solely in a volunteer capacity and whose service does not afford any appreciable opportunity to influence public policy or spending, including but not limited to individuals who assist with search and rescue, teach hunter safety, work on recreational trials, or assist with the annual Easter egg hunt.

10 Financial Disclosure; Filing. Amend RSA 15-A:3 to read as follows:

15-A:3 Persons Required to File.

I. The following persons shall file a statement of financial interests as required by this chapter:

[I.] (a) All candidates who file for state or county office.

[II.] (b) All persons filing an acceptance of nomination form for state or county office.

[III.] (c) Every person appointed by the governor, governor and council, president of the senate, or the speaker of the house of representatives to any board, commission, committee, board of directors, authority, or equivalent state entity whether regulatory, advisory, or administrative in nature.

[IV.] (d) All agency heads.

[V.] (e) Any public official designated, due to the responsibilities of the position, by the agency head.

[VI.] (f) The secretary of state and the treasurer, and any of their subordinates designated, due to the responsibilities of the position, by the secretary of state or treasurer.

[VII.] (g) All persons elected to state or county office, and all persons appointed to such elective office to fill a vacancy; and

[VIII.] (h) Any person, not employed by or working under contract for the state, who is acting on behalf of the governor or an agency while engaged in state business.

II.(a) Any person who is otherwise subject to the filing requirements of paragraph I (h) shall be exempt from filing a statement of financial interests provided the head of the executive branch entity for whom the individual is volunteering certifies in a public register of volunteers, to be maintained by the secretary of state, that the volunteer's work for the state:

(1) Does not directly or indirectly influence the setting of public policy;

(2) Does not directly or indirectly influence decisions on how state funds will be expended; and

(3) Does not directly or indirectly influence the selection of vendors for the state.

(b) The secretary of state shall establish a public register of volunteers for the state that shall include the name and town or city of residence of the volunteer and the executive branch entity for whom the volunteer work is done. The name and residence of exempt volunteers shall not be listed for volunteers who provide service occurring at a single event that does not exceed one day in duration, provided the head of the executive branch entity accepting the volunteer service submits a brief description of the event and an estimate of the number of volunteers to the secretary of state for inclusion in the register.

(c) The head of any executive branch entity that accepts volunteer work shall cause a list of volunteers who qualify for this exemption to be certified to the secretary of state. An annual certification shall be submitted not later than the third Friday in January listing all exempt volunteers who are expected to volunteer during that calendar year. A certification shall be submitted no later than the third Friday of each month certifying all new exempt volunteers who started service with that entity during the previous month.

11 Executive Branch Volunteer List. Each head of an executive branch entity that accepts volunteer work shall cause a list of volunteers providing service to the state on the effective date of this act who qualify for the exemption set forth in RSA 15-A:3, II to be submitted to the secretary of state within 60 days of the effective date of this act.

12 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.

LBAO

07-0395

Amended 04/04/07

HB 523 FISCAL NOTE

AN ACT relative to lobbyist registration and statements, and regulations of volunteer public service.

FISCAL IMPACT:

The Department of State indicates this bill, as amended by the House (Amendment #2007-0806h), will increase state expenditures by $250,000 in FY 2008 and $45,000 each year thereafter. There will be no fiscal impact on county and local expenditures or state, county and local revenue.

METHODOLOGY:

The Department of State indicates this bill as amended requests the Department to implement an on-line filing system for lobbyists to register and file expenditure reports with the capability of allowing the general public to view the reports over the internet. The Department estimates the cost of a system for this purpose at $250,000 with annual maintenance contracts of $45,000.