SECOND REGULAR SESSION

HOUSE BILL NO. 1230

89TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVE DOUGHERTY.

Read 1^st time January 8, 1998 and 1000 copies ordered printed.

ANNE C. WALKER, Chief Clerk

L2608.02I

AN ACT

To repeal section 105.473, RSMo Supp. 1997, relating to lobbyists, and to enact in lieu thereof one new section for the sole purpose of protecting certain witnesses at legislative hearings.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:

Section A. Section 105.473, RSMo Supp. 1997, is repealed and one new section enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as section 105.473, to read as follows:

105.473. 1. Each lobbyist shall, not later than five days after beginning any activities as a lobbyist, file standardized registration forms, verified by a written declaration that it is made under the penalties of perjury, along with a filing fee of ten dollars, with the commission. The forms shall include the lobbyist's name and business address, the name and address of all persons such lobbyist employs for lobbying purposes, the name and address of each lobbyist principal by whom such lobbyist is employed or in whose interest such lobbyist appears or works. The commission shall maintain files on all lobbyists' filings, which shall be open to the public. Each lobbyist shall file an updating statement under oath within one week of any addition, deletion, or change in the lobbyist's employment or representation. The filing fee shall be deposited to the general revenue fund of the state.

2. Each person shall, before giving testimony before any committee of the general assembly, give to the secretary of such committee such person's name and address and the identity of any lobbyist or organization, if any, on whose behalf such person appears. A person who is not a lobbyist as defined in section 105.470 shall not be required to give such person's address if the committee determines that the giving of such address would endanger the person's physical health.

3. (1) During any period of time in which a lobbyist continues to act as an executive lobbyist, judicial lobbyist or a legislative lobbyist, the lobbyist shall file with the commission on standardized forms prescribed by the commission monthly reports which shall be due at the close of business on the tenth day of the following month;

(2) Each report filed pursuant to this subsection shall include a statement, verified by a written declaration that it is made under the penalties of perjury, setting forth the following:

(a) The total of all expenditures by the lobbyist or his or her lobbyist principals made on behalf of all public officials, their staffs and employees, and their spouses and dependent children, which expenditures shall be separated into at least the following categories by the executive branch, judicial branch and legislative branch of government: printing and publication expenses; media and other advertising expenses; travel; entertainment; honoraria; meals, food and beverages; and gifts;

(b) An itemized listing of the name of the recipient and the nature and amount of each expenditure by the lobbyist or his or her lobbyist principal, including a service or anything of value, for all expenditures made during any reporting period, paid or provided to or for a public official, such official's staff, employees, spouse or dependent children;

(c) The total of all expenditures made by a lobbyist or lobbyist principal for occasions and the identity of the group invited, the date and description of the occasion and the amount of the expenditure for each occasion when any of the following are invited in writing:

a. All members of the senate;

b. All members of the house of representatives;

c. All members of a joint committee of the general assembly or a standing committee of either the house of representatives or senate; or

d. All members of a caucus of the general assembly if the caucus consists of at least ten members, a list of the members of the caucus has been previously filed with the ethics committee of the house or the senate, and such list has been approved by either of such ethics committees;

(d) Any expenditure made on behalf of a public official, or the public official's staff, employees, spouse or dependent children, if such expenditure is solicited by such public official, the public official's staff, employees, or spouse or dependent children, from the lobbyist or his or her lobbyist principals and the name of such person or persons;

(e) A statement detailing any direct business relationship or association or partnership the lobbyist has with any public official.

The reports required by this paragraph shall cover the time periods since the filing of the last report or since the lobbyist's employment or representation began, whichever is most recent.

4. No expenditure reported pursuant to this section shall include any amount expended by a lobbyist or lobbyist principal on himself or herself. All expenditures disclosed pursuant to this section shall be valued on the report at the actual amount of the payment made, or the charge, expense, cost, or obligation, debt or bill incurred by the lobbyist or the person the lobbyist represents. Whenever a lobbyist principal employs more than one lobbyist, expenditures of the lobbyist principal shall not be reported by each lobbyist, but shall be reported by one of such lobbyists.

5. Any lobbyist principal shall provide in a timely fashion whatever information is reasonably requested by the lobbyist principal's lobbyist for use in filing the reports required by this section.

6. All information required to be filed [under] pursuant to the provisions of this section with the commission shall be kept available by the executive director of the commission at all times open to the public for inspection and copying for a reasonable fee for a period of five years from the date when such information was filed.

7. No person shall knowingly employ any person who is required to register as a registered lobbyist but is not registered pursuant to this section. Any person who knowingly violates this subsection shall be subject to a civil penalty in an amount of not more than ten thousand dollars for each violation. Such civil penalties shall be collected by action filed by the commission.

8. No lobbyist shall knowingly omit, conceal, or falsify in any manner information required pursuant to this section.

9. The prosecuting attorney of Cole County shall be reimbursed only out of funds specifically appropriated by the general assembly for investigations and prosecutions for violations of this section.

10. Any public official or other person whose name appears in any lobbyist report filed pursuant to this section who contests the accuracy of the portion of the report applicable to such person may petition the commission for an audit of such report and shall state in writing in such petition the specific disagreement with the contents of such report. The commission shall investigate such allegations in the manner described in section 105.959. If the commission determines that the contents of such report are incorrect, incomplete or erroneous, it shall enter an order requiring filing of an amended or corrected report.

11. The commission shall provide a report listing the total spent by a lobbyist for the month and year to any member or member-elect of the general assembly, judge or judicial officer, or any other person holding an elective office of state government on or before the twentieth day of each month. For the purpose of providing accurate information to the public, the commission shall not publish information in either written or electronic form for ten working days after providing the report pursuant to this subsection. The commission shall not release any portion of the lobbyist report if the accuracy of the report has been questioned pursuant to subsection 10 of this section unless it is conspicuously marked "Under Review".

12. Each lobbyist principal by whom the lobbyist was employed, or in whose behalf the lobbyist acted, shall provide a general description of the proposed legislation or action by the executive branch or judicial branch which the lobbyist supported or opposed. This information shall be supplied to the commission on March fifteenth and May thirtieth of each year.

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