SB 106 – AS AMENDED BY THE HOUSE
31May2007… 1761h
2007 SESSION
09/04
SENATE BILL 106
AN ACT allowing lobbyists and those connected with lobbyists to sit on committees established by the judicial branch, and relative to lobbyist registration and statements and regulation of volunteer public service.
COMMITTEE: Election Law and Internal Affairs
This bill allows lobbyists and those connected with lobbyists to sit on committees established by the judicial branch.
This bill changes the registration requirements for lobbyists and the frequency and content of the statements required to be filed. The bill also repeals the restriction on simultaneous employment and public service.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
31May2007… 1761h
07-1209
09/04
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Seven
AN ACT allowing lobbyists and those connected with lobbyists to sit on committees established by the judicial branch, and 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 Restrictions on Simultaneous Employment and Public Service. Amend RSA 21-G:25, III(e) and (f) to read as follows:
(e) Ownership of publicly-traded stock; [or]
(f) A public employee, appointee, or volunteer's personal application for any license, permit, or ruling from a state agency[.]; or
(g) Service on a multi-branch commission, committee, board, or similar governmental entity established by the judicial branch.
2 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 RSA 15:1, I is repealed and reenacted to read as follows: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.
3 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.
4 Expiration Date. Amend RSA 15:1, IV to read as follows:
IV. All registrations required under this section shall expire on December [1] 31.
5 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.
6 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.
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.
7 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.
8 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.
9 Executive Branch; Code of Ethics; Volunteer Service. RSA 21-G:25 is repealed and reenacted to read as follows:
21-G:25 Ethical Standards for Volunteer Public Service. Volunteers shall not use public service for an executive branch agency, directly or indirectly, and whether for themselves or for their employers or business associates:
I. To obtain economic benefit; or
II. To advance personal or pecuniary interests through non-public communications with executive branch officials for the purpose of influencing the performance of their duties.
10 Effective Date.
I. Section 1 of this act shall take effect upon its passage.
II. The remainder of this act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.