Lobbying Registration - Maurice Aguirre Washington DC

Maurice Aguirre Lobbyist Who Must Register and When?

Lobbying firms are required to file a separate registration for each client. A lobbying firm
is exempt from registration for a particular client if its total income from that client for
lobbying activities does not exceed and is not expected to exceed $6,000 during a
semiannual period.
Note: A lobbyist is not the registrant unless he/she is self-employed. In that case, the selfemployed lobbyist is treated as a lobbying firm.
Organizations employing in-house lobbyists file a single registration. An organization is
exempt from registration if its total expenses for lobbying activities do not exceed and are
not expected to exceed $24,500 during a semiannual period.
Registration is required no later than 45 days after a lobbyist first makes a lobbying
contact or is employed or retained to make a lobbying contact.
Preparing to File a Registration - Threshold Requirements
In order to determine the applicability of the LDA, one must first look at the definition of
"lobbyist" under Section 3(10). Under this definition, an individual is a "lobbyist" with
respect to a particular client if he or she makes more than one lobbying contact and his or
her "lobbying activities" (as defined in Section 3(7)) constitute at least 20 percent of the
individuals time in services for THAT client over any six-month period.
Maurice Aguirre DG Group LLP - More than One Lobbying Contact
"More than one lobbying contact" means more than one communication to a covered
official. Note that an individual falls within the definition of "lobbyist" by making more
than one lobbying contact over the course of services provided for a particular client
(even if the second contact occurs in a later semiannual period).
Example 1: Lobbyist "A" telephones Covered Official "A" in the morning to discuss
proposed legislation. In the afternoon she telephones Covered Official "B" to discuss the
same legislation. Lobbyist "A" has made more than one lobbying contact.
Example 2: Under some circumstances a series of discussions with a particular official
might be considered a single communication, such as when a telephone call is interrupted
and continued at a later time. Discussions taking place on more than one day with the
same covered official, however, should be presumed to be more than one lobbying
contact.