§9664. Registration of lobbyists with the ethics board; compilation of information

A. Each lobbyist shall register with the ethics board as soon as possible after employment as a lobbyist or after the first action requiring his registration as a lobbyist, whichever occurs first, and in any event not later than five days after employment as a lobbyist or not later than five days after the first action requiring his registration as a lobbyist, whichever occurs first. He shall electronically file with the ethics board using forms provided by it, the following information:

(1) His name and business address.

(2) The name and address of each person by whom he is employed and, if different, whose interests he represents, including the business in which that person is engaged.

(3)(a) The name of each person by whom he is paid or is to be paid, the amount he is paid or is to be paid for the purpose of lobbying, and a characterization of such payment as paid, earned but not received, or prospective.

(b) Amounts required to be disclosed pursuant to this Paragraph shall be reported by category of value. The categories shall be:

(i) Category I, $24,999 or less.

(ii) Category II, $25,000-$49,999.

(iii) Category III, $50,000-$99,999.

(iv) Category IV, $100,000-$249,999.

(v) Category V, $250,000 or more.

(4)(a) An indication of potential subject matter about which he anticipates lobbying.

(b) Indication of potential subject matters shall be made by choosing from the following potential subject matter categories:

(i) Aerospace and space technology.

(ii) Agriculture: horticulture; livestock; poultry.

(iii) Agriculture: forestry; timber.

(iv) Alcohol and other beverages.

(v) Arts and entertainment.

(vi) Aquaculture and fisheries.

(vii) Business and private and commercial enterprises.

(viii) Banking, financial, and accounting.

(ix) Charities and social services, faith-based organizations, and community outreach.

(x) Computers, hardware, software, and intellectual property.

(xi) Construction, contracting, and real estate.

(xii) Educational services: colleges; technical schools; trade schools.

(xiii) Environmental quality, conservation, and wildlife preservation.

(xiv) Gaming.

(xv) Government: local; municipal; parish; state; federal.

(xvi) Health care: hospitals; nursing homes; elderly care; hospice.

(xvii) Health care: physicians; nurse practitioners; nurses.

(xviii) Health care: pharmaceutical and medical devices; research; development; sales.

(xix) Homeland security.

(xx) Hotels, restaurants, and tourism.

(xxi) Insurance.

(xxii) International trade.

(xxiii) Law and lawyers.

(xxiv) Manufacturing: oil and gas; mining; refining; production; chemical industry.

(xxv) Manufacturing: wholesale.

(xxvi) Military and veterans affairs.

(xxvii) Public safety, police, and fire.

(xxviii) Telecommunications.

(xxix) Tobacco industry.

(xxx) Transportation.

(xxxi) Unions, labor issues, and special advocacy groups.

(xxxii) Utilities: electric; gas; water; nuclear.

(c) The unintentional omission of a potential subject matter as provided in this Paragraph shall not be a violation of this Chapter.

(5)(a) The identity of each elected local government official or spouse of an elected local government official with whom he or his employer or principal has or has had in the preceding twelve months a business relationship.

(b) For the purposes of this Paragraph,"business relationship" means any transaction or activity that is conducted or undertaken for profit and which arises from a joint ownership interest, partnership, or common legal entity between a lobbyist or his employer or principal and an elected local government official or spouse of an elected local government official when the elected local government official or spouse of the elected local government official owns ten percent or more of such interest, partnership, or legal entity.

(6) One copy of a two-inch-by-two-inch recent photograph of the registrant made within the prior six months shall be filed with the initial registration form.

B. At the time of the initial registration of a lobbyist, the ethics board shall assign the lobbyist a registration number, which number shall be inscribed on the registration form. This number shall be inscribed on each supplemental registration form, renewal form, and expenditure report filed by the lobbyist.

C. A registration shall expire on December thirty-first of each year unless the lobbyist submits a renewal on forms provided by the ethics board along with the appropriate fee. The registrant may file his renewal any time from December first until January thirty-first. Failure to file the renewal form by January thirty-first each year shall cause the registration to expire retroactively as of December thirty-first of the preceding year.

D.(1)(a) Within ten days of termination of a registrant's employment or representation of any person, the registrant shall file a supplemental registration with the ethics board acknowledging the termination of his employment or representation.

(b) The registrant shall not be required to file a supplemental registration pursuant to Subparagraph (a) of this Paragraph if the termination of employment or representation occurs after December thirty-first and the lobbyist timely files his renewal form during the period provided in Subsection C of this Section and the renewal form accurately and completely lists the lobbyist's employment and representation as of the time the lobbyist files the renewal form.

(2) Each registrant who ceases activities requiring him to register shall file a supplemental registration with the ethics board acknowledging the termination of his lobbying activities.

(3) Each registrant who has terminated his registration must file disclosure reports for each reporting period during which he was registered.

E. The forms shall be published electronically by the ethics board. Registrations which have been filed shall be maintained by the ethics board and made available to the public via the Internet. The electronic filing by a lobbyist of any information required under this Section shall constitute a certification that the information is true and correct to the best of his knowledge, information, and belief and that no information required by this Chapter has been deliberately omitted.

F.(1) Whenever any information contained in his registration changes, or the lobbyist begins representing an additional person, a supplemental electronic registration shall be filed with the ethics board as soon as possible after such change occurs and in any event not later than five days after such change using forms provided by the ethics board.

(2) The lobbyist shall not be required to file a supplemental registration pursuant to Paragraph (1) of this Subsection if the lobbyist begins representing an additional person after December thirty-first and the lobbyist timely files his renewal form during the period provided in Subsection C of this Section and the renewal form accurately and completely lists the lobbyist's employment and representation as of the time the lobbyist files the renewal form.

G. Each lobbyist shall pay a fee of one hundred ten dollars with each registration and each renewal of registration form filed. No additional fee shall be paid for filing supplemental registration.

Acts 2010, No. 788, §2, eff. Jan. 1, 2011; Acts 2011, No. 190, §1, eff. Dec. 1, 2011; Acts 2016, No. 418, §2.