§ 1603. Registration of lobbyists

Legislative history

Reconstructed from this section’s Code source credit and amendment notes, resolved against the local Statutes at Large. Editorial notes are evidence, not the law that made the change.

1. 1995

   Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995

   Pub. L. 104–65 § 4 · 109 Stat. 691

   Enacted · 2 U.S.C. § 1603

   Pub. L. 104–65, § 4, Dec. 19, 1995, 109 Stat. 696

   Source evidence

   Code source credit
   Pub. L. 104–65, § 4, Dec. 19, 1995, 109 Stat. 696

   Enacted provision · exact public law section
   SEC. 4. REGISTRATION OF LOBBYISTS. (a) Registration.— (1) General rule.— No later than 45 days after a lobbyist first makes a lobbying contact or is employed or retained to make a lobbying contact, whichever is earlier, such lobbyist (or, as provided under paragraph (2), the organization employing such lobbyist), shall register with the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House of Representatives. (2) Employer filing.— Any organization that has 1 or more employees who are lobbyists shall file a single registration under this section on behalf of such employees for each client on whose behalf the employees act as lobbyists. (3) Exemption.— (A) General rule.— Notwithstanding paragraphs (1) and (2), a person or entity whose— (i) total income for matters related to lobbying activities on behalf of a particular client (in the case of a lobbying firm) does not exceed and is not expected to exceed $5,000; or (ii) total expenses in connection with lobbying activities (in the case of an organization whose employees engage in lobbying activities on its own behalf) do not exceed or are not expected to exceed $20,000, (as estimated under section 5) in the semiannual period described in section 5(a) during which the registration would be made is not required to register under subsection (a) with respect to such client. (B) Adjustment.— The dollar amounts in subparagraph (A) shall be adjusted— (i) on January 1, 1997, to reflect changes in the Consumer Price Index (as determined by the Secretary of Labor) since the date of enactment of this Act; and (ii) on January 1 of each fourth year occurring after January 1, 1997, to reflect changes in the Consumer Price Index (as determined by the Secretary of Labor) during the preceding 4-year period, rounded to the nearest $500. (b) Contents of Registration.— Each registration under this section shall contain— (1) the name, address, business telephone number, and principal place of business of the registrant, and a general description of its business or activities; (2) the name, address, and principal place of business of the registrant’s client, and a general description of its business or activities (if different from paragraph (1)); (3) the name, address, and principal place of business of any organization, other than the client, that— (A) contributes more than $10,000 toward the lobbying activities of the registrant in a semiannual period described in section 5(a); and (B) in whole or in major part plans, supervises, or controls such lobbying activities. (4) the name, address, principal place of business, amount of any contribution of more than $10,000 to the lobbying activities of the registrant, and approximate percentage of equitable ownership in the client (if any) of any foreign entity that— (A) holds at least 20 percent equitable ownership in the client or any organization identified under paragraph (3); (B) directly or indirectly, in whole or in major part, plans, supervises, controls, directs, finances, or subsidizes the activities of the client or any organization identified under paragraph (3); or (C) is an affiliate of the client or any organization identified under paragraph (3) and has a direct interest in the outcome of the lobbying activity; (5) a statement of— (A) the general issue areas in which the registrant expects to engage in lobbying activities on behalf of the client; and (B) to the extent practicable, specific issues that have (as of the date of the registration) already been addressed or are likely to be addressed in lobbying activities; and (6) the name of each employee of the registrant who has acted or whom the registrant expects to act as a lobbyist on behalf of the client and, if any such employee has served as a covered executive branch official or a covered legislative branch official in the 2 years before the date on which such employee first acted (after the date of enactment of this Act) as a lobbyist on behalf of the client, the position in which such employee served. (c) Guidelines for Registration.— (1) Multiple clients.— In the case of a registrant making lobbying contacts on behalf of more than 1 client, a separate registration under this section shall be filed for each such client. (2) Multiple contacts.— A registrant who makes more than 1 lobbying contact for the same client shall file a single registration covering all such lobbying contacts. (d) Termination of Registration.— A registrant who after registration— (1) is no longer employed or retained by a client to conduct lobbying activities, and (2) does not anticipate any additional lobbying activities for such client, may so notify the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House of Representatives and terminate its registration.

2. 2007

   Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007

   Pub. L. 110–81 § 201(b)(2)(A) · 121 Stat. 735

   Inserted · 2 U.S.C. § 1603(a)(1)

   Pub. L. 110–81, § 201(b)(2)(A), inserted “or on the first business day after such 45th day if the 45th day is not a business day,” after “earlier,”

   Source evidence

   Code amendment note
   Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 110–81, § 201(b)(2)(A), inserted “or on the first business day after such 45th day if the 45th day is not a business day,” after “earlier,”.

   Enacted provision · exact public law section
   (A) in subsection (a)(1), by inserting after “earlier,” the following: “or on the first business day after such 45th day if the 45th day is not a business day,”; and

   Effective date note
   Except as otherwise provided, amendment by Pub. L. 110–81 applicable with respect to registrations under the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (this chapter) having an effective date of Jan. 1, 2008, or later and with respect to quarterly reports under that Act covering calendar quarters beginning on or after Jan. 1, 2008, see section 215 of Pub. L. 110–81, set out as a note under section 30104 of Title 52, Voting and Elections.

3. 2007

   Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007

   Pub. L. 110–81 § 201(b)(2)(B) · 121 Stat. 735

   Substituted · 2 U.S.C. § 1603(a)(3)(A)

   Pub. L. 110–81, § 201(b)(2)(B), substituted “quarterly period” for “semiannual period” in concluding provisions

   Source evidence

   Code amendment note
   Subsec. (a)(3)(A). Pub. L. 110–81, § 201(b)(2)(B), substituted “quarterly period” for “semiannual period” in concluding provisions.

   Enacted provision · exact public law section
   (B) in subsection (a)(3)(A), by striking “semiannual period” and inserting “quarterly period”.

   Effective date note
   Except as otherwise provided, amendment by Pub. L. 110–81 applicable with respect to registrations under the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (this chapter) having an effective date of Jan. 1, 2008, or later and with respect to quarterly reports under that Act covering calendar quarters beginning on or after Jan. 1, 2008, see section 215 of Pub. L. 110–81, set out as a note under section 30104 of Title 52, Voting and Elections.

4. 2007

   Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007

   Pub. L. 110–81 § 201(b)(5)(A) · 121 Stat. 735

   Substituted · 2 U.S.C. § 1603(a)(3)(A)(i)

   Pub. L. 110–81, § 201(b)(5)(A), substituted “$2,500” for “$5,000”

   Source evidence

   Code amendment note
   Subsec. (a)(3)(A)(i). Pub. L. 110–81, § 201(b)(5)(A), substituted “$2,500” for “$5,000”.

   Enacted provision · exact public law section
   (A) in subsection (a)(3)(A)(i), by striking “$5,000” and inserting “$2,500”;

   Effective date note
   Except as otherwise provided, amendment by Pub. L. 110–81 applicable with respect to registrations under the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (this chapter) having an effective date of Jan. 1, 2008, or later and with respect to quarterly reports under that Act covering calendar quarters beginning on or after Jan. 1, 2008, see section 215 of Pub. L. 110–81, set out as a note under section 30104 of Title 52, Voting and Elections.

5. 2007

   Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007

   Pub. L. 110–81 § 201(b)(5)(B) · 121 Stat. 735

   Substituted · 2 U.S.C. § 1603(a)(3)(A)(ii)

   Pub. L. 110–81, § 201(b)(5)(B), substituted “$10,000” for “$20,000”

   Source evidence

   Code amendment note
   Subsec. (a)(3)(A)(ii). Pub. L. 110–81, § 201(b)(5)(B), substituted “$10,000” for “$20,000”.

   Enacted provision · exact public law section
   (B) in subsection (a)(3)(A)(ii), by striking “$20,000” and inserting “$10,000”;

   Effective date note
   Except as otherwise provided, amendment by Pub. L. 110–81 applicable with respect to registrations under the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (this chapter) having an effective date of Jan. 1, 2008, or later and with respect to quarterly reports under that Act covering calendar quarters beginning on or after Jan. 1, 2008, see section 215 of Pub. L. 110–81, set out as a note under section 30104 of Title 52, Voting and Elections.

6. 2007

   Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007

   Pub. L. 110–81 § 207(b) · 121 Stat. 735

   Inserted · 2 U.S.C. § 1603(b)

   Pub. L. 110–81, § 207(b), inserted concluding provisions

   Source evidence

   Code amendment note
   Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 110–81, § 207(b), inserted concluding provisions.

   Enacted provision · exact public law section
   (b) No Donor or Membership List Disclosure.— Section 4(b) of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1603(b)) is amended by adding at the end the following: “No disclosure is required under paragraph (3)(B) if the organization that would be identified as affiliated with the client is listed on the client’s publicly accessible Internet website as being a member of or contributor to the client, unless the organization in whole or in major part plans, supervises, or controls such lobbying activities. If a registrant relies upon the preceding sentence, the registrant must disclose the specific Internet address of the web page containing the information relied upon. Nothing in paragraph (3)(B) shall be construed to require the disclosure of any information about individuals who are members of, or donors to, an entity treated as a client by this Act or an organization identified under that paragraph.” .

   Effective date note
   Except as otherwise provided, amendment by Pub. L. 110–81 applicable with respect to registrations under the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (this chapter) having an effective date of Jan. 1, 2008, or later and with respect to quarterly reports under that Act covering calendar quarters beginning on or after Jan. 1, 2008, see section 215 of Pub. L. 110–81, set out as a note under section 30104 of Title 52, Voting and Elections.

7. 2007

   Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007

   Pub. L. 110–81 § 207(a)(1)(A) · 121 Stat. 735

   Amended · 2 U.S.C. § 1603(b)(3)(A)

   Pub. L. 110–81, § 207(a)(1)(A), amended subpar. (A) generally. Prior to amendment, subpar. (A) read as follows: “contributes more than $5,000 toward the lobbying activities of the registrant in a semiannual period described in section 1604(a) of this title; and”

   Source evidence

   Code amendment note
   Subsec. (b)(3)(A). Pub. L. 110–81, § 207(a)(1)(A), amended subpar. (A) generally. Prior to amendment, subpar. (A) read as follows: “contributes more than $5,000 toward the lobbying activities of the registrant in a semiannual period described in section 1604(a) of this title; and”.

   Enacted provision · exact public law section
   (A) by amending subparagraph (A) to read as follows: “(A) contributes more than $5,000 to the registrant or the client in the quarterly period to fund the lobbying activities of the registrant; and” ; and

   Effective date note
   Except as otherwise provided, amendment by Pub. L. 110–81 applicable with respect to registrations under the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (this chapter) having an effective date of Jan. 1, 2008, or later and with respect to quarterly reports under that Act covering calendar quarters beginning on or after Jan. 1, 2008, see section 215 of Pub. L. 110–81, set out as a note under section 30104 of Title 52, Voting and Elections.

8. 2007

   Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007

   Pub. L. 110–81 § 201(b)(5)(C) · 121 Stat. 735

   Substituted · 2 U.S.C. § 1603(b)(3)(A)

   Pub. L. 110–81, § 201(b)(5)(C), substituted “$5,000” for “$10,000”

   Target inherited from the preceding amendment note.

   Source evidence

   Code amendment note
   Pub. L. 110–81, § 201(b)(5)(C), substituted “$5,000” for “$10,000”.

   Enacted provision · exact public law section
   (C) in subsection (b)(3)(A), by striking “$10,000” and inserting “$5,000”; and

   Effective date note
   Except as otherwise provided, amendment by Pub. L. 110–81 applicable with respect to registrations under the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (this chapter) having an effective date of Jan. 1, 2008, or later and with respect to quarterly reports under that Act covering calendar quarters beginning on or after Jan. 1, 2008, see section 215 of Pub. L. 110–81, set out as a note under section 30104 of Title 52, Voting and Elections.

9. 2007

   Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007

   Pub. L. 110–81 § 207(a)(1)(B) · 121 Stat. 735

   Amended · 2 U.S.C. § 1603(b)(3)(B)

   Pub. L. 110–81, § 207(a)(1)(B), amended subpar. (B) generally. Prior to amendment, subpar. (B) read as follows: “in whole or in major part plans, supervises, or controls such lobbying activities.”

   Source evidence

   Code amendment note
   Subsec. (b)(3)(B). Pub. L. 110–81, § 207(a)(1)(B), amended subpar. (B) generally. Prior to amendment, subpar. (B) read as follows: “in whole or in major part plans, supervises, or controls such lobbying activities.”

   Enacted provision · exact public law section
   (B) by amending subparagraph (B) to read as follows: “(B) actively participates in the planning, supervision, or control of such lobbying activities;” .

   Effective date note
   Except as otherwise provided, amendment by Pub. L. 110–81 applicable with respect to registrations under the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (this chapter) having an effective date of Jan. 1, 2008, or later and with respect to quarterly reports under that Act covering calendar quarters beginning on or after Jan. 1, 2008, see section 215 of Pub. L. 110–81, set out as a note under section 30104 of Title 52, Voting and Elections.

10. 2007

    Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007

    Pub. L. 110–81 § 201(b)(5)(D) · 121 Stat. 735

    Substituted · 2 U.S.C. § 1603(b)(4)

    Pub. L. 110–81, § 201(b)(5)(D), substituted “$5,000” for “$10,000” in introductory provisions

    Source evidence

    Code amendment note
    Subsec. (b)(4). Pub. L. 110–81, § 201(b)(5)(D), substituted “$5,000” for “$10,000” in introductory provisions.

    Enacted provision · exact public law section
    (D) in subsection (b)(4), by striking “$10,000” and inserting “$5,000”.

    Effective date note
    Except as otherwise provided, amendment by Pub. L. 110–81 applicable with respect to registrations under the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (this chapter) having an effective date of Jan. 1, 2008, or later and with respect to quarterly reports under that Act covering calendar quarters beginning on or after Jan. 1, 2008, see section 215 of Pub. L. 110–81, set out as a note under section 30104 of Title 52, Voting and Elections.

11. 2007

    Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007

    Pub. L. 110–81 § 208 · 121 Stat. 735

    Substituted · 2 U.S.C. § 1603(b)(6)

    Pub. L. 110–81, § 208, substituted “in the 20 years before the date on which the employee first acted” for “in the 2 years before the date on which such employee first acted (after December 19, 1995)”

    Source evidence

    Code amendment note
    Subsec. (b)(6). Pub. L. 110–81, § 208, substituted “in the 20 years before the date on which the employee first acted” for “in the 2 years before the date on which such employee first acted (after December 19, 1995)”.

    Enacted provision · exact public law section
    SEC. 208. DISCLOSURE BY REGISTERED LOBBYISTS OF PAST EXECUTIVE BRANCH AND CONGRESSIONAL EMPLOYMENT.   Section 4(b)(6) of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1603(b)(6)) is amended by striking “in the 2 years” and all that follows through “Act)” and inserting “in the 20 years before the date on which the employee first acted”.

    Effective date note
    Except as otherwise provided, amendment by Pub. L. 110–81 applicable with respect to registrations under the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (this chapter) having an effective date of Jan. 1, 2008, or later and with respect to quarterly reports under that Act covering calendar quarters beginning on or after Jan. 1, 2008, see section 215 of Pub. L. 110–81, set out as a note under section 30104 of Title 52, Voting and Elections.

12. 2019

    Justice Against Corruption on K Street Act of 2018

    Pub. L. 115–418 § 2(a) · 132 Stat. 5440

    Added · 2 U.S.C. § 1603(b)(7)

    Pub. L. 115–418 added par. (7)

    Source evidence

    Code amendment note
    Subsec. (b)(7). Pub. L. 115–418 added par. (7).

    Enacted provision · exact public law section
    (a) Registration.— Section 4(b) of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1603(b)) is amended— (1) in paragraph (5), by striking “and” at the end; (2) in paragraph (6), by striking the period at the end and inserting “; and”; and (3) by inserting after paragraph (6) the following: “(7) for any listed lobbyist who was convicted in a Federal or State court of an offense involving bribery, extortion, embezzlement, an illegal kickback, tax evasion, fraud, a conflict of interest, making a false statement, perjury, or money laundering, the date of the conviction and a description of the offense.” .

12 of 12 references resolved to an enrolled provision