Utah Code 36-11-201. Lobbyist, principal, and government officer financial reporting requirements — Prohibition for related person to make expenditures
36-11-201. Lobbyist, principal, and government officer financial reporting requirements — Prohibition for related person to make expenditures.
(1)
Terms Used In Utah Code 36-11-201
Aggregate daily expenditures: means :
(a)
for a single lobbyist, principal, or government officer, the total of all expenditures made within a calendar day by the lobbyist, principal, or government officer for the benefit of an individual public official;
(b)
for an expenditure made by a member of a lobbyist group, the total of all expenditures made within a calendar day by every member of the lobbyist group for the benefit of an individual public official; or
(c)
for a multiclient lobbyist, the total of all expenditures made by the multiclient lobbyist within a calendar day for the benefit of an individual public official, regardless of whether the expenditures were attributed to different clients. See Utah Code 36-11-102
Expenditure: means any of the items listed in this Subsection (11)(a) when given to or for the benefit of a public official unless consideration of equal or greater value is received:
(i)
a purchase, payment, or distribution;
(ii)
a loan, gift, or advance;
(iii)
a deposit, subscription, or forbearance;
(iv)
services or goods;
(v)
money;
(vi)
real property;
(vii)
a ticket or admission to an event; or
(viii)
a contract, promise, or agreement, whether or not legally enforceable, to provide any item listed in Subsections (11)(a)(i) through (vii). See Utah Code 36-11-102
Government officer: means :
(i)
an individual elected to a position in state or local government, when acting in the capacity of the state or local government position;
(ii)
an individual elected to a board of education, when acting in the capacity of a member of a board of education;
(iii)
an individual appointed to fill a vacancy in a position described in Subsection (15)(a)(i) or (ii), when acting in the capacity of the position; or
(iv)
an individual appointed to or employed in a full-time position by state government, local government, or a board of education, when acting in the capacity of the individual's appointment or employment. See Utah Code 36-11-102
Lobbying: means communicating with a public official for the purpose of influencing a legislative action, executive action, local action, or education action. See Utah Code 36-11-102
Lobbyist: means :
(i)
an individual who is employed by a principal; or
(ii)
an individual who contracts for economic consideration, other than reimbursement for reasonable travel expenses, with a principal to lobby a public official. See Utah Code 36-11-102
Local action: means :
(a)
an ordinance or resolution for consideration by a local government;
(b)
a nomination or appointment by a local official or a local government;
(c)
a vote on an administrative action taken by a vote of a local government's legislative body;
(d)
an adjudicative proceeding over which a local official has direct or indirect control;
Principal: means a person that employs an individual to perform lobbying, either as an employee or as an independent contractor. See Utah Code 36-11-102
Public official: means :
(a)
(i)
a member of the Legislature;
(ii)
an individual elected to a position in the executive branch of state government; or
(iii)
an individual appointed to or employed in a position in the executive or legislative branch of state government if that individual:
(A)
occupies a policymaking position or makes purchasing or contracting decisions;
(B)
drafts legislation or makes rules;
(C)
determines rates or fees; or
(D)
makes adjudicative decisions;
(b)
an immediate family member of a person described in Subsection (27)(a);
Public official type: means a notation to identify whether a public official is:
(a)
(i)
a member of the Legislature;
(ii)
an individual elected to a position in the executive branch of state government;
(iii)
an individual appointed to or employed in a position in the legislative branch of state government who meets the definition of public official under Subsection (27)(a)(iii);
(iv)
an individual appointed to or employed in a position in the executive branch of state government who meets the definition of public official under Subsection (27)(a)(iii);
(v)
a local official, including a description of the type of local government for which the individual is a local official; or
(vi)
an education official, including a description of the type of board of education for which the individual is an education official; or
(b)
an immediate family member of an individual described in Subsection (27)(a), (c), or (d). See Utah Code 36-11-102
Quarterly reporting period: means the three-month period covered by each financial report required under Subsection 36-11-201(2)(a). See Utah Code 36-11-102
Related person: means a person, agent, or employee who knowingly and intentionally assists a lobbyist, principal, or government officer in lobbying. See Utah Code 36-11-102
(a)
(i)
Except as provided in Subsection (1)(a)(ii), a lobbyist shall file financial reports with the lieutenant governor on or before the due dates specified in Subsection (2).
(ii)
A lobbyist who has not made an expenditure during a quarterly reporting period is not required to file a quarterly financial report for that quarterly reporting period.
(iii)
A lobbyist who is not required to file any quarterly reports under this section for a calendar year shall, on or before January 10 of the following year, file a financial report listing the amount of the expenditures for the entire preceding year as “none.”
(b)
Except as provided in Subsection (1)(c), a government officer or principal that makes an expenditure during any of the quarterly reporting periods under Subsection (2)(a) shall file a financial report with the lieutenant governor on or before the date that a report for that quarter is due.
(c)
(i)
As used in this Subsection (1)(c), “same local government type” means:
(A)
for a county government, the same county government or another county government;
(B)
for a municipal government, the same municipal government or another municipal government;
(C)
for a board of education, the same board of education;
for a special district, the same special district or another special district or a special service district;
(F)
for a special service district, the same special service district or another special service district or a special district; or
(G)
for a participant in an interlocal agreement, another participant in the same interlocal agreement.
(ii)
A local official or an education official is not required, under this section, to report an expenditure made by the local official or education official to another local official or education official of the same local government type as the local official or education official making the expenditure.
(2)
(a)
A financial report is due quarterly on the following dates:
(i)
April 10, for the period of January 1 through March 31;
(ii)
July 10, for the period of April 1 through June 30;
(iii)
October 10, for the period of July 1 through September 30; and
(iv)
January 10, for the period of October 1 through December 31 of the previous year.
(b)
If the due date for a financial report falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the report is due on the next succeeding business day.
(c)
A financial report is timely filed if it is filed electronically before the close of regular office hours on or before the due date.
(3)
A financial report shall contain:
(a)
the total amount of expenditures made to benefit any public official during the quarterly reporting period;
(b)
the total amount of expenditures made, by the type of public official, during the quarterly reporting period;
(c)
for the financial report due on January 10:
(i)
the total amount of expenditures made to benefit any public official during the last calendar year; and
(ii)
the total amount of expenditures made, by the type of public official, during the last calendar year;
(d)
a disclosure of each expenditure made during the quarterly reporting period to reimburse or pay for travel or lodging for a public official, including:
(i)
each travel destination and each lodging location;
(ii)
the name of each public official who benefitted from the expenditure on travel or lodging;
(iii)
the public official type of each public official named;
(iv)
for each public official named, a listing of the amount and purpose of each expenditure made for travel or lodging; and
(v)
the total amount of expenditures listed under Subsection (3)(d)(iv);
(e)
a disclosure of aggregate daily expenditures greater than $10 made during the quarterly reporting period including:
(i)
the date and purpose of the expenditure;
(ii)
the location of the expenditure;
(iii)
the name of any public official benefitted by the expenditure;
(iv)
the type of the public official benefitted by the expenditure; and
(v)
the total monetary worth of the benefit that the expenditure conferred on any public official;
(f)
for each public official who was employed by the lobbyist, principal, or government officer, a list that provides:
(i)
the name of the public official; and
(ii)
the nature of the employment with the public official;
(g)
each bill or resolution, by number and short title, on behalf of which the lobbyist, principal, or government officer made an expenditure to a public official;
(h)
a description of each executive action on behalf of which the lobbyist, principal, or government officer made an expenditure to a public official;
(i)
a description of each local action or education action regarding which the lobbyist, principal, or government officer made an expenditure to a local official or education official;
(j)
the general purposes, interests, and nature of the entities that the lobbyist, principal, or government officer filing the report represents; and
(k)
for a lobbyist, a certification that the information provided in the report is true, accurate, and complete to the lobbyist’s best knowledge and belief.
(4)
A related person may not, while assisting a lobbyist, principal, or government officer in lobbying, make an expenditure that benefits a public official under circumstances that would otherwise fall within the disclosure requirements of this chapter if the expenditure was made by the lobbyist, principal, or government officer.
(5)
The lieutenant governor shall:
(a)
(i)
develop a preprinted form for a financial report required by this section; and
(ii)
make copies of the form available to a lobbyist, principal, or government officer who requests a form; and
(b)
provide a reporting system that allows a lobbyist, principal, or government officer to submit a financial report required by this chapter via the Internet.
(6)
(a)
A lobbyist and a principal shall continue to file a financial report required by this section until the lobbyist or principal files a statement with the lieutenant governor that:
(i)
(A)
for a lobbyist, states that the lobbyist has ceased lobbying activities; or
(B)
for a principal, states that the principal no longer employs an individual as a lobbyist;
(ii)
in the case of a lobbyist, states that the lobbyist is surrendering the lobbyist’s license;
(iii)
contains a listing, as required by this section, of all previously unreported expenditures that have been made through the date of the statement; and
(iv)
states that the lobbyist or principal will not make any additional expenditure that is not disclosed on the statement unless the lobbyist or principal complies with the disclosure and licensing requirements of this chapter.
(b)
Except as provided in Subsection (1)(a)(ii), a lobbyist or principal that is required to file a financial report under this section is required to file the report quarterly until the lobbyist or principal files the statement required by Subsection (6)(a).
