§ 500.
Definitions.(a) "Administrative
action" means any decision on, or proposal, consideration, or making of any
rule, regulation, ratemaking proceeding, or policy action, other than
ministerial action, by a governmental body.
(b) "Association" means a body of individuals
acting together for the prosecution of a common enterprise.
(c) "Business" means any corporation,
partnership, sole proprietorship, firm, enterprise, franchise, association,
organization, self-employed individual, receivership, trust, or any legal
entity through which business is conducted.
(d) "Business association" means an
association formed for the purpose of doing business, including associations
formed for the purpose of establishing an employer/employee, principal/agent
and/or an employer/independent contractor relationship.
(e)
(1)
"Family" means an individual's spouse, children of that individual or his or
her spouse, or brothers, sisters, or parents of the individual or his or her
spouse.
(2) The term "household"
includes an individual's significant other.
(3) The term "household" does not include an
individual's roommate.
(f)
(1)
"Gift" means any payment, entertainment, advance, services, or anything of
value, unless consideration of equal or greater value has been given
therefor.
(2) The term "gift" does
not include:
(A)
(i) Informational material such as books,
reports, pamphlets, calendars, or periodicals informing a public servant
regarding his or her official duties.
(ii) Payments for travel or reimbursement for
any expenses are not informational material;
(B) The giving or receiving of food, lodging,
or travel which bears a relationship to the public servant's office and when
appearing in an official capacity;
(C) Gifts which are not used and which,
within 30 days after receipt, are returned to the donor;
(D) Gifts from an individual's spouse, child,
parent, grandparent, grandchild, brother, sister, parent-in-law,
brother-in-law, sister-in-law, nephew, niece, aunt, uncle, or first cousin, or
the spouse of any of these persons, unless the person is acting as an agent or
intermediary for any person not covered by this paragraph;
(E) Campaign contributions;
(F) Any devise or inheritance;
(G) Anything with a value of less than
$100;
(g)
"Governmental body" means any office, department, commission, council, board,
committee, legislative body, agency, or other establishment of the executive,
judicial, or legislative branch of the state, municipality, county, school
district, improvement district, or any political district or subdivision
thereof.
(h) "Income" or
"compensation" means any money or anything of value received, or to be received
as a claim for future services, whether in the form of a retainer, fee, salary,
expense, allowance, forbearance, forgiveness, interest, dividend, royalty,
rent, or any other form of recompense or any combination thereof.
(i) "Legislative action" means introduction,
sponsorship, consideration, debate, amendment, passage, defeat, approval, veto,
or any other official action or nonaction on any bill, ordinance, law,
resolution, amendment, nomination, appointment, report, or other matter pending
or proposed before a committee or house of the General Assembly, a quorum
court, or a city council or board of directors of a municipality.
(j) "Lobbying" means to communicate directly
or solicit others to communicate with any public servant to influence
legislative or administrative action.
(k) "Lobbyist" means a person who is engaged
in lobbying activities as defined in § 501 of these rules.
(I) "Lobbyist's client" means the person,
such as an employer, in whose behalf the lobbyist influences or attempts to
influence legislative or administrative action.
(m) "Ministerial action" means an action in
which a person performs in a given state of facts, in a prescribed manner, in
obedience to the mandate of legal authority, without regard to or the exercise
of his or her own judgment upon the propriety of the act being done.
(n) "Paid or reimbursed" includes income
received prior, during or subsequent to the period the income is earned, or
expenses reimbursed prior, during or subsequent to the period the expenditure
is made.
(o) "Partnership" means a
syndicate, group, pool, joint venture, or other unincorporated organization,
through or by means of which any business, financial operation, or venture is
carried on, and which is not a trust or estate or a corporation.
(p) "Person" means a business, individual,
corporation, union, association, firm, partnership, committee, club, or other
organization or group of persons.
(q) "Public official" means a legislator or
any other person holding an elective office of any governmental body, whether
elected or appointed to the office.
(r) "Public servant" means all public
officials, public employees, and public appointees.
(s) "Registered lobbyist" means a lobbyist
registered pursuant to the provisions of this subchapter.
(t) "Special event" is a planned activity
hosted by a lobbyist as detailed and explained in § 513 of these
rules.
§ 501.
Definition of "lobbyist."(a) For
purposes of this section and subsection, persons engaged in lobbying activity
as defined by § 500 will be considered lobbyists, subject to registration
and regulation, if the person:
(1) is paid or
reimbursed in a combined amount of $250 or more in a calendar quarter to lobby
one or more governmental bodies; or
(2) expends $250 or more in a calendar
quarter to lobby one or more governmental bodies, excluding the cost of
personal travel, lodging, meals or dues; or
(3) expends $250 or more in a calendar
quarter, including postage, for the express purpose of soliciting others to
communicate with any public servant to influence any legislative action or
administrative action of one or more governmental bodies unless the
communication has been filed with the Secretary of State or has been published
in the news media. If the communication is filed with the Secretary of State,
the filing shall include the approximate number of recipients.
(b) All persons who act as
lobbyists shall register as lobbyists pursuant to § 502 of these rules
unless specifically exempted from registration pursuant to § 504
herein.
(c) Whether a person is a
lobbyist is a factual determination made by the Arkansas Ethics Commission on a
case-by-case basis.
§
502.
Lobbyist registration and re-registration.
(a) It is the intent of the Arkansas Ethics
Commission that the public have full disclosure of the items required to be
reported under this subchapter.
(b)
A lobbyist shall register no later than five days after beginning
lobbying.
(c) A lobbyist will not
be considered registered until the registration form is delivered to the
appropriate office under § 505 of these rules; this registration form
shall report:
(1) the name, address, and
telephone number of the lobbyist;
(2) the date the lobbyist began the lobbying
that prompted the current registration;
(3) the name, address, and telephone number
of the lobbyist's client(s); .
(4)
the kind of business of the lobbyist's ciient(s);
(5) an identification, from a list of
categories provided by the Arkansas Ethics Commission, of the general subject
matter or category in which the lobbyist will engage in lobbying;
(6) the name and address of a legislative or
administrative official who:
(A) is employed
by; or
(B) has a direct business
association with the lobbyist within the past 12 months; and
(7) certification by the lobbyist
that the information contained on the lobbyist registration form is true and
correct.
(d) A firm or
other organization shall register as a lobbyist if it has members or employees
who lobby only on behalf of that organization. Both the organization and the
lobbyist(s) it employs shall be responsible for compliance with all of these
rules. In addition to the other requirements of this rule, the organization's
registration form must list:
(1) the name of
each person who is authorized to lobby for the firm; and
(2) the name of a contact person within the
organization.
If the organization hires a lobbyist who also lobbies
independently for other organizations, that individual lobbyist shall be solely
responsible for compliance with these rules.
(e) In order to maintain continued status as
a registered lobbyist, each registered lobbyist shall re-register by January 15
of each year. The lobbyist re-registration form will not be considered filed
until it is delivered to the appropriate office under § 505 of these
rules.
(f) Lobbyist registration
and re-registration are only valid for the calendar year in which the
registration or re-registration took place.
(g) For purposes of this section, a
registration or re-registration form may be delivered either in person, through
the mail or by facsimile. If delivery of the form is in person, it will be
considered filed on the date of delivery to the appropriate office. If the
delivery is by mail, it will be considered filed on the postmark date. If the
delivery is by facsimile, it will be considered filed on the date the facsimile
is received. In any case, the form will not be considered filed unless it has
been delivered to the appropriate office.
(h) Each lobbyist who continues to lobby or
file lobbyist activity reports but fails to re-register under paragraphs (c)
and (d) of this section may be subject to fines under § 507.
§ 504.
Exceptions to the lobbyist
registration requirement.(a) A
lobbyist is not required to register if he or she lobbies only in one or more
of the following ways:
(1) By acting only as
an agent of the news media publishing news items, editorials or other comments
or paid advertisements in the ordinary course of business which urge
legislative or administrative action;
(2) Lobbying exclusively on behalf of an
Arkansas church which qualifies as a tax exempt organization under § 501
(c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code when lobbying solely for the purpose of
protecting the rights of members or adherents to practice the religious
doctrines of the church;
(3) Acting
in his or her official capacity as a public servant unless he or she:
(A) is paid by a non-governmental person over
$250 in a quarter for lobbying; or
(B) pays, incurs or is reimbursed over $250
in a quarter, regardless of the source, for lobbying, excluding the cost of
informational material and personal travel, lodging, meals and dues.
(4) Drafting
legislation;
(5) Appearing in a
judicial proceeding, a proceeding or hearing that is a matter of public record
or a hearing or appeal conducted pursuant to the Arkansas Administrative
Procedure Act, Ark. Code Ann. §
25-15-201 et
seq.;
(6) Assisting an executive
agency, at that agency's written request, in drafting administrative
regulations or in publicizing or assisting in the implementation of final
administrative actions;
(7)
Testifying as an individual at a public hearing in support of or in opposition
to legislation or administrative action, testifying on behalf of a corporation,
partnership, association or other organization of which the person is an
employee, officer, member, or partner or testifying at the request of a
legislative committee; or
(8)
Contractors or their employees selling to a governmental body by showing or
describing goods or services or asking about specifications or terms and
conditions of a purchase unless the contractor or its employees pays or incurs
more than $250 in a calendar quarter for food, lodging, travel or gifts to
benefit public servants who buy goods or services on behalf of a governmental
body.
(b) A person whose
only act of lobbying is to pay or reimburse a registered lobbyist on his or her
own behalf is not required to register as a lobbyist.
(c) Whether a person falls under an exception
to the lobbyist registration requirement is a factual determination made by the
Arkansas Ethics Commission on a case-by-case basis.
§ 505.
Where to register and make
other filings.(a)
(1) A lobbyist who lobbies public servants of
state government shall register and make other filings with the Secretary of
State as required by these rules and the laws of Arkansas.
(2) A lobbyist who lobbies public servants of
municipal government shall register and make other filings as required by these
rules and the laws of Arkansas with the city clerk or recorder of the
municipality, as the case may be.
(3) A lobbyist who lobbies public servants of
county government or any government body not otherwise covered by this section
shall register and make other filings with the county clerk of the county as
required by these rules and the laws of Arkansas.
(4) A lobbyist who lobbies public servants of
a governmental body covering a district that includes all or part of more than
one county shall file with the Secretary of State and the county clerk of his
or her principal place of business or residence within the state.
(b) A lobbyist who would be
required to register and file with more than one public official under this
section may instead register and make other filings as required by these rules
and the laws of Arkansas with the Secretary of State and the county clerk of
his or her principal place of business or residence within the state.
§ 506.
Termination of
lobbyist registration.(a) A lobbyist
may terminate his or her lobbyist registration by filing a report required
under this section.
(b) When a
registered lobbyist's employment or designation as a lobbyist is terminated, a
written notice of termination shall be given by the lobbyist or his or her
designated agent to the public official with whom the lobbyist is
registered.
(c) If a registered
lobbyist either fails to re-register as detailed in § 502 of these rules
or fails to submit a notice of termination under this section, his or her
registration as a lobbyist will automatically expire at midnight January 15 of
the year following the last year in which the lobbyist is registered. A
lobbyist whose registration expires or is terminated pursuant to this
subsection shall not lobby until the lobbyist re-registers pursuant to §
502 of these rules under threat of penalties as detailed in § 507 of these
rules.
(d) The written notice of
termination shall:
(1) report the registered
lobbyist's name;
(2) report the
date the registered lobbyist's employment is terminated or his or her
designation as a lobbyist is terminated; and
(3) report any activity to be reported during
the period in which the registration was in effect that has not already been
reported.