Minnesota Statutes 10A.04 – Lobbyist Reports
Subdivision 1.Reports required.
A lobbyist must file reports of the lobbyist’s activities with the board as long as the lobbyist continues to lobby. The report may be filed electronically. A lobbyist may file a termination statement at any time after ceasing to lobby.
Subd. 2.Time of reports.
Terms Used In Minnesota Statutes 10A.04
- Administrative action: means an action by any official, board, commission or agency of the executive branch to adopt, amend, or repeal a rule under chapter 14. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01
- Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
- Association: means a group of two or more persons, who are not all members of an immediate family, acting in concert. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01
- Board: means the state Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01
- Candidate: means an individual who seeks nomination or election as a state constitutional officer, legislator, or judge. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01
- Designated lobbyist: means the lobbyist responsible for reporting the lobbying disbursements and activity of the entity the lobbyist represents. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01
- General lobbying category: means an area of interest for lobbying for an entity that is on a list of categories specified by the board. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01
- Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
- Legislative action: means any of the following:
(1) the development of prospective legislation, including the development of amendment language to prospective legislation;
(2) the review, modification, adoption, or rejection by a member of the legislature or an employee of the legislature, if applicable, of any (i) bill, (ii) amendment, (iii) resolution, (iv) confirmation considered by the legislature, or (v) report;
(3) the development of, in conjunction with a constitutional officer, prospective legislation or a request for support or opposition to introduced legislation; and
(4) the action of the governor in approving or vetoing any act of the legislature or portion of an act of the legislature. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01
- Lobbyist: means an individual:
(1) engaged for pay or other consideration of more than $3,000 from all sources in any year:
(i) for the purpose of attempting to influence legislative or administrative action, or the official action of a political subdivision, by communicating or urging others to communicate with public or local officials; or
(ii) from a business whose primary source of revenue is derived from facilitating government relations or government affairs services if the individual's job duties include offering direct or indirect consulting or advice that helps the business provide those services to clients; or
(2) who spends more than $3,000 of the individual's personal funds, not including the individual's own traveling expenses and membership dues, in any year for the purpose of attempting to influence legislative or administrative action, or the official action of a political subdivision, by communicating or urging others to communicate with public or local officials. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01
- Official action of a political subdivision: means any action that requires a vote or approval by one or more elected local officials while acting in their official capacity; or an action by an appointed or employed local official to make, to recommend, or to vote on as a member of the governing body, major decisions regarding the expenditure or investment of public money. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01
- Political subdivision: means the Metropolitan Council, a metropolitan agency as defined in section 473. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01
- Principal: means an individual or association that:
(1) spends more than $500 in the aggregate in any calendar year to engage a lobbyist, compensate a lobbyist, or authorize the expenditure of money by a lobbyist; or
(2) is not included in clause (1) and spends a total of at least $50,000 in any calendar year on efforts to influence legislative action, administrative action, or the official action of metropolitan governmental units, as described in section 10A. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01
- Specific subject of interest: means a particular topic or area of lobbying interest within a general lobbying category. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01
- state: extends to and includes the District of Columbia and the several territories. See Minnesota Statutes 645.44
- Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
Terms Used In Minnesota Statutes 10A.04
- Administrative action: means an action by any official, board, commission or agency of the executive branch to adopt, amend, or repeal a rule under chapter 14. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01
- Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
- Association: means a group of two or more persons, who are not all members of an immediate family, acting in concert. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01
- Board: means the state Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01
- Candidate: means an individual who seeks nomination or election as a state constitutional officer, legislator, or judge. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01
- Designated lobbyist: means the lobbyist responsible for reporting the lobbying disbursements and activity of the entity the lobbyist represents. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01
- General lobbying category: means an area of interest for lobbying for an entity that is on a list of categories specified by the board. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01
- Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
- Legislative action: means any of the following:
(1) the development of prospective legislation, including the development of amendment language to prospective legislation;
(2) the review, modification, adoption, or rejection by a member of the legislature or an employee of the legislature, if applicable, of any (i) bill, (ii) amendment, (iii) resolution, (iv) confirmation considered by the legislature, or (v) report;
(3) the development of, in conjunction with a constitutional officer, prospective legislation or a request for support or opposition to introduced legislation; and
(4) the action of the governor in approving or vetoing any act of the legislature or portion of an act of the legislature. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01
- Lobbyist: means an individual:
(1) engaged for pay or other consideration of more than $3,000 from all sources in any year:
(i) for the purpose of attempting to influence legislative or administrative action, or the official action of a political subdivision, by communicating or urging others to communicate with public or local officials; or
(ii) from a business whose primary source of revenue is derived from facilitating government relations or government affairs services if the individual's job duties include offering direct or indirect consulting or advice that helps the business provide those services to clients; or
(2) who spends more than $3,000 of the individual's personal funds, not including the individual's own traveling expenses and membership dues, in any year for the purpose of attempting to influence legislative or administrative action, or the official action of a political subdivision, by communicating or urging others to communicate with public or local officials. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01
- Official action of a political subdivision: means any action that requires a vote or approval by one or more elected local officials while acting in their official capacity; or an action by an appointed or employed local official to make, to recommend, or to vote on as a member of the governing body, major decisions regarding the expenditure or investment of public money. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01
- Political subdivision: means the Metropolitan Council, a metropolitan agency as defined in section 473. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01
- Principal: means an individual or association that:
(1) spends more than $500 in the aggregate in any calendar year to engage a lobbyist, compensate a lobbyist, or authorize the expenditure of money by a lobbyist; or
(2) is not included in clause (1) and spends a total of at least $50,000 in any calendar year on efforts to influence legislative action, administrative action, or the official action of metropolitan governmental units, as described in section 10A. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01
- Specific subject of interest: means a particular topic or area of lobbying interest within a general lobbying category. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01
- state: extends to and includes the District of Columbia and the several territories. See Minnesota Statutes 645.44
- Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
Each report must cover the time from the last day of the period covered by the last report to 15 days before the current filing date. The reports must be filed with the board by the following dates:
(1) January 15; and
(2) June 15.
Subd. 2a.
MS 2003 Supp [Expired, 1Sp2003 c 1 art 2 s 24]
Subd. 3.Information to lobbyist.
An entity or lobbyist whose activities are reported to the board by another lobbyist is required to provide the information required by subdivision 4 to the lobbyist no later than five days before the prescribed filing date.
Subd. 4.Content.
(a) A report under this section must include information the board requires from the registration form and the information required by this subdivision for the reporting period.
(b) A lobbyist must report the specific subjects of interest for an entity represented by the lobbyist on each report submitted under this section. A lobbyist must describe a specific subject of interest in the report with enough information to show the particular issue of importance to the entity represented.
(c) A lobbyist must report every state agency that had administrative action that the represented entity sought to influence during the reporting period. The lobbyist must report the specific subjects of interest for each administrative action and the revisor of statutes rule draft number assigned to the administrative rulemaking.
(d) A lobbyist must report every political subdivision that considered official action that the represented entity sought to influence during the reporting period. The lobbyist must report the specific subjects of interest for each action.
(e) A lobbyist must report general lobbying categories and up to four specific subjects of interest related to each general lobbying category on which the lobbyist attempted to influence legislative action during the reporting period. If the lobbyist attempted to influence legislative action on more than four specific subjects of interest for a general lobbying category, the lobbyist, in consultation with the represented entity, must determine which four specific subjects of interest were the entity’s highest priorities during the reporting period and report only those four subjects.
(f) A lobbyist must report the Public Utilities Commission project name for each rate setting, power plant and powerline siting, or granting of certification of need before the Public Utilities Commission that the represented entity sought to influence during the reporting period.
(g) A lobbyist must report the amount and nature of each gift, item, or benefit, excluding contributions to a candidate, equal in value to $5 or more, given or paid to any official, as defined in section 10A.071, subdivision 1, by the lobbyist or an employer or employee of the lobbyist. The list must include the name and address of each official to whom the gift, item, or benefit was given or paid and the date it was given or paid.
(h) A lobbyist must report each original source of money in excess of $500 in any year used for the purpose of lobbying to influence legislative action, administrative action, or the official action of a political subdivision. The list must include the name, address, and employer, or, if self-employed, the occupation and principal place of business, of each payer of money in excess of $500.
(i) On each report, a lobbyist must disclose the general lobbying categories that were lobbied on in the reporting period.
Subd. 4a.
[Repealed by amendment, 1999 c 220 s 5]
Subd. 5.Late filing.
If a lobbyist or principal fails to file a report required by this section by the date the report was due, the board may impose a late filing fee of $25 per day, not to exceed $1,000, commencing the day after the report was due. The board must send notice by certified mail to any lobbyist or principal who fails to file a report within ten business days after the report was due that the lobbyist or principal may be subject to a civil penalty for failure to file the report or pay the fee. A lobbyist or principal who fails to file a report or statement or pay a fee within seven days after the certified mail notice was sent by the board is subject to a civil penalty imposed by the board of up to $1,000.
Subd. 6.Principal reports.
(a) A principal must report to the board as required in this subdivision by March 15 for the preceding calendar year.
(b) The principal must report the total amount, rounded to the nearest $9,000, spent by the principal during the preceding calendar year on each type of lobbying listed below:
(1) lobbying to influence legislative action;
(2) lobbying to influence administrative action, other than lobbying described in clause (3);
(3) lobbying to influence administrative action in cases of rate setting, power plant and powerline siting, and granting of certificates of need under section 216B.243; and
(4) lobbying to influence official action of a political subdivision.
(c) For each type of lobbying listed in paragraph (b), the principal must report a total amount that includes:
(1) the portion of all direct payments for compensation and benefits paid by the principal to lobbyists in this state for that type of lobbying;
(2) the portion of all expenditures for advertising, mailing, research, consulting, surveys, expert testimony, studies, reports, analysis, compilation and dissemination of information, social media and public relations campaigns, and legal counsel used to support that type of lobbying in this state; and
(3) a reasonable good faith estimate of the portion of all salaries and administrative overhead expenses attributable to activities of the principal for that type of lobbying in this state.
(d) The principal must report disbursements made and obligations incurred that exceed $2,000 for paid advertising used for the purpose of urging members of the public to contact public or local officials to influence official actions during the reporting period. Paid advertising includes the cost to boost the distribution of an advertisement on social media. The report must provide the date that the advertising was purchased, the name and address of the vendor, a description of the advertising purchased, and any specific subjects of interest addressed by the advertisement.
Subd. 7.Financial records.
The board may randomly audit the financial records of lobbyists and principals required to report under this section.
Subd. 8.
[Repealed by amendment, 1999 c 220 s 5]
Subd. 9.Reporting by multiple lobbyists representing the same entity.
Clauses (1) to (6) apply when a single individual, association, political subdivision, or public higher education system is represented by more than one lobbyist.
(1) The entity must appoint one designated lobbyist to report lobbyist disbursements made by the entity. An entity represented by more than one lobbyist may only have one designated lobbyist at any given time. The designated lobbyist must indicate that status on the periodic reports of lobbyist disbursements.
(2) A reporting lobbyist may consent to report on behalf of one or more other lobbyists for the same entity, in which case, the other lobbyists are persons whose activities the reporting lobbyist must disclose and are subject to the disclosure requirements of subdivision 3. Lobbyist disbursement reports filed by a reporting lobbyist must include the names and registration numbers of the other lobbyists whose activities are included in the report.
(3) Lobbyists whose activities are accounted for by a reporting lobbyist are not required to file lobbyist disbursement reports.
(4) A lobbyist whose lobbying disbursements are provided to the board through a reporting lobbyist must supply all relevant information on disbursements to the reporting lobbyist no later than five days before the prescribed filing date.
(5) The reporting periods and due dates for a reporting lobbyist are those provided in subdivision 2. The late filing provisions in subdivision 5 apply to reports required by this subdivision.
(6) The reporting lobbyist must indicate the names and registration numbers of any lobbyists who did not provide their lobbying disbursements for inclusion in a report. The late filing provisions in subdivision 5 apply to lobbyists who fail to report information to the reporting lobbyist.