NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL ASSEMBLY

1975 SESSION

 

 

CHAPTER 820

SENATE BILL 48

 

 

AN ACT TO REQUIRE PUBLIC DISCLOSURE OF LOBBYING ACTIVITIES.

 

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

 

Section 1.  Article 9 of G.S. Chapter 120 is hereby rewritten to read as follows:

"Article 9.

"§ 120-40.1.  Definitions. — For the purposes of this Article, the following terms shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section unless the context clearly indicates a different meaning:

(a)        The term 'person' means any individual, firm, partnership, committee, association, corporation or any other organization or group of persons.

(b)        The term 'legislative agent' shall mean any person who is employed or retained, with compensation, by another person to give facts or arguments to any member of the General Assembly during any regular or special session thereof upon or concerning any bill, resolution, amendment, report or claim pending or to be introduced. The term 'legislative agent' shall include, but not be limited to, corporate officers and directors and other individuals who are full or part-time employees of other persons and whose duties or activities as legislative agents, as hereinbefore defined, are incidental to the principal purposes for which they are employed or retained. The reimbursement of actual personal travel and subsistence expenses reasonably necessary to communicate with a member or members of the General Assembly shall not be considered compensation for purposes of determining whether a person is a legislative agent under this subsection.

(c)        The terms 'contribution', 'compensation' and 'expenditure' mean any advance, conveyance, deposit, payment, gift, retainer, fee, salary, honorarium, reimbursement, loan, pledge or anything of value and any contract, agreement, promise or other obligation whether or not legally enforceable.

"§ 120-40.2.  Registration procedure. — (a) In each General Assembly session and for each employer, or retainer, every person employed or retained as a legislative agent in this State shall, before engaging in any activities as a legislative agent, register with the Secretary of State.

(b)        The form of such registration shall be prescribed by the Secretary of State and shall include the registrant's full name, firm, and complete address; the registrant's place of business; the full name and complete address of each person by whom the registrant is employed or retained; and a general description of the matters on which the registrant expects to act as legislative agent.

(c)        Each legislative agent shall register again with the Secretary of State no later than 10 days after any change in the information supplied in his last registration under subsection (b). Such supplementary registration shall include a complete statement of the information that has changed.

(d)        Within 20 days after the convening of each session of the General Assembly, the Secretary of State shall furnish each member of the General Assembly and the State Legislative Library a list of all persons who have registered as a legislative agent and whom they represent. A supplemental list shall be furnished periodically each 20 days thereafter as the session progresses.

"§ 120-40.3.  Written authority from employer to be filed; copy for legislative committee. — Each legislative agent shall file with the Secretary of State within 10 days after his registration a written authorization to act as such, signed by the person employing him.

"§ 120-40.4.  Contingency lobbying fees and election influence prohibited. — (a) No person shall act as a legislative agent for compensation which is dependent in any manner upon the passage or defeat of any proposed legislation or upon any other contingency connected with any action of the General Assembly, the House, the Senate or any committee thereof.

(b)        No person shall attempt to influence the action of any member of the General Assembly by the promise of financial support of his candidacy, or by threat of financial contribution in opposition to his candidacy in any future election.

"§ 120-40.5.  Statements of legislative agent's lobbying expenses required. — Each legislative agent shall file annually, within 30 days after the final adjournment of the regular session of the General Assembly held in a calendar year, a report with respect to each person represented setting forth the date, to whom paid, and amount of each expenditure made during the previous year in connection with promoting or opposing any legislation in any manner covered by this Article, in each of the following categories: (1) transportation, (2) lodging, (3) entertainment, (4) food, (5) any item having a cash equivalent value of more than twenty-five dollars ($25.00) and (6) contributions made, paid, incurred or promised, directly or indirectly. It shall not be necessary to report expenditures in a particular category if the total amount expended in the particular category on behalf of a person represented is twenty-five dollars ($25.00) or less. A report shall be filed annually whether or not contributions or expenditures are made. All reports shall be in such form as shall be prescribed by the Secretary of State and shall be open to public inspection. When a legislative agent fails to file a lobbying expense report as required herein, the Secretary of State shall send a certified or registered letter advising the agent of his delinquency and the penalties provided by law. Within 20 days of the receipt of such letter, the agent shall deliver or post by United States mail to the Secretary of State the required report and an additional late filing fee of ten dollars ($10.00). Filing of the required report and payment of the additional fee within the time extended shall constitute compliance with this section. Failure to file an expense report in one of the manners prescribed herein shall result in revocation of any and all registrations of a legislative agent under this Article. No legislative agent may register or re-register under this Article until he has fully complied with this section.

"§ 120-40.6.  Statements of employer lobbying expenses required. — Each person who employs or retains a legislative agent shall file annually, within 30 days after the final adjournment of the regular session of the General Assembly held in a calendar year, a report with respect to each agent employed or retained setting forth the date, to whom paid, and amount of each expenditure made during the previous year in connection with promoting or opposing any legislation in any manner covered by this Article, in each of the following categories: (1) transportation, (2) lodging, (3) entertainment, (4) food, (5) any item having a cash equivalent value of more than twenty-five dollars ($25.00), (6) contributions made, paid, incurred or promised, directly or indirectly, and (7) compensation to legislative agents. It shall not be necessary to report expenditures in any particular category if the total amount expended in the particular category on behalf of a person represented is twenty-five dollars ($25.00) or less. In the category of compensation to legislative agents it shall not be necessary to report the full salary, or any portion thereof, of a legislative agent who is a full-time employee of or is annually retained by the reporting employer. A report shall be filed annually whether or not payments are made. All reports shall be in the form prescribed by the Secretary of State and open to public inspection. When an employer or retainer of a legislative agent fails to file a lobbying expense report as required herein, the Secretary of State shall send a certified or registered letter advising the employer or retainer of his delinquency and the penalties provided by law. Within 20 days of the receipt of such letter, the employer or retainer shall deliver or post by United States mail to the Secretary of State the required report and a late filing fee of ten dollars ($10.00). Filing of the required report and payment of the late fee within the time extended shall constitute compliance with this section.

"§ 120-40.7.  Persons exempted from provisions of Article. — The provisions of this Article shall not be construed to apply to any of the following:

(a)        An individual, not acting as a legislative agent, solely engaged in expressing a personal opinion on legislative matters to his own legislative delegation or other members of the General Assembly.

(b)        A person appearing before a legislative committee at the invitation or request of the committee or a member thereof and who engages in no further activities as a legislative agent in connection with that or any other legislative matter.

(c)        A duly elected or appointed official or employee of the State, the United States, a county, municipality, school district or other governmental agency, when appearing solely in connection with matters pertaining to his office and public duties.

(d)        A person performing professional services in drafting bills or in advising and rendering opinions to clients as to the construction and effect of proposed or pending legislation where such professional services are not otherwise, directly or indirectly, connected with legislative action.

(e)        A person who owns, publishes or is employed by any news medium while engaged in the acquisition or dissemination of news on behalf of such news medium.

(f)         Notwithstanding the persons exempted in this section, the Governor, Council of State, and all appointed heads of State departments, agencies and institutions, shall designate all authorized official legislative liaison personnel and shall file and maintain current lists of designated legislative liaison personnel with the Secretary of State and shall likewise file with the Secretary of State a full and accurate accounting of all money expended in influencing or attempting to influence legislation, other than the salaries of regular full-time employees.

(g)        Members of the General Assembly.

"§ 120-40.8.  Punishment for violation. — Whoever willfully violates any provision of this Article shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be fined not less than fifty dollars ($50.00) nor more than one thousand dollars ($1,000), or imprisoned not exceeding two years, or both. In addition, no legislative agent who is convicted of a violation of the provisions of this Article shall in any way act as a legislative agent for a period of two years following his conviction.

"§ 120-40.9.  Enforcement of Article by Attorney General. — The Secretary of State shall report apparent violations of this Article to the Attorney General. The Attorney General shall, upon complaint made to him of violations of this Article, make an appropriate investigation thereof, and he shall forward a copy of the investigation to the district attorney of the judicial district of which Wake County is a part, who shall prosecute any person who violates any provisions of this Article."

Sec. 2.  Present Article 9 of G.S. Chapter 120, G.S. 120-40 through G.S. 120-47, as it appears in the 1974 Replacement Volume 3B of the General Statutes and its 1974 Supplement is repealed.

Sec. 3.  If any word, clause, sentence, paragraph, section, or other part of this act shall be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment shall not affect, impair, or invalidate the remainder thereof.

Sec. 4.  This act shall become effective January 1, 1977.

In the General Assembly read three times and ratified, this the 25th day of June, 1975.