105.473. Duties of lobbyist--report required, contents--exception--penalties--supersession of local ordinances or charters.
Duties of lobbyist--report required,contents--exception--penalties--supersession of local ordinancesor charters.
105.473. 1. Each lobbyist shall, not later than January fifth ofeach year or five days after beginning any activities as a lobbyist, filestandardized registration forms, verified by a written declaration that itis made under the penalties of perjury, along with a filing fee of tendollars, with the commission. The forms shall include the lobbyist's nameand business address, the name and address of all persons such lobbyistemploys for lobbying purposes, the name and address of each lobbyistprincipal by whom such lobbyist is employed or in whose interest suchlobbyist appears or works. The commission shall maintain files on alllobbyists' filings, which shall be open to the public. Each lobbyist shallfile an updating statement under oath within one week of any addition,deletion, or change in the lobbyist's employment or representation. Thefiling fee shall be deposited to the general revenue fund of the state.The lobbyist principal or a lobbyist employing another person for lobbyingpurposes may notify the commission that a judicial, executive orlegislative lobbyist is no longer authorized to lobby for the principal orthe lobbyist and should be removed from the commission's files.
2. Each person shall, before giving testimony before any committee ofthe general assembly, give to the secretary of such committee such person'sname 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 asdefined in section 105.470 shall not be required to give such person'saddress if the committee determines that the giving of such address wouldendanger the person's physical health.
3. (1) During any period of time in which a lobbyist continues toact as an executive lobbyist, judicial lobbyist, legislative lobbyist, orelected local government official lobbyist, the lobbyist shall file withthe commission on standardized forms prescribed by the commission monthlyreports which shall be due at the close of business on the tenth day of thefollowing month;
(2) Each report filed pursuant to this subsection shall include astatement, verified by a written declaration that it is made under thepenalties of perjury, setting forth the following:
(a) The total of all expenditures by the lobbyist or his or herlobbyist principals made on behalf of all public officials, their staffsand employees, and their spouses and dependent children, which expendituresshall be separated into at least the following categories by the executivebranch, judicial branch and legislative branch of government: printing andpublication expenses; media and other advertising expenses; travel; thetime, venue, and nature of any entertainment; honoraria; meals, food andbeverages; and gifts;
(b) The total of all expenditures by the lobbyist or his or herlobbyist principals made on behalf of all elected local governmentofficials, their staffs and employees, and their spouses and children.Such expenditures shall be separated into at least the followingcategories: printing and publication expenses; media and other advertisingexpenses; travel; the time, venue, and nature of any entertainment;honoraria; meals; food and beverages; and gifts;
(c) An itemized listing of the name of the recipient and the natureand amount of each expenditure by the lobbyist or his or her lobbyistprincipal, including a service or anything of value, for all expendituresmade during any reporting period, paid or provided to or for a publicofficial or elected local government official, such official's staff,employees, spouse or dependent children;
(d) The total of all expenditures made by a lobbyist or lobbyistprincipal for occasions and the identity of the group invited, the date anddescription of the occasion and the amount of the expenditure for eachoccasion 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 astanding committee of either the house of representatives or senate; or
d. All members of a caucus of the majority party of the house ofrepresentatives, minority party of the house of representatives, majorityparty of the senate, or minority party of the senate;
(e) Any expenditure made on behalf of a public official, an electedlocal government official or such official's staff, employees, spouse ordependent children, if such expenditure is solicited by such official, theofficial's staff, employees, or spouse or dependent children, from thelobbyist or his or her lobbyist principals and the name of such person orpersons, except any expenditures made to any not-for-profit corporation,charitable, fraternal or civic organization or other association formed toprovide for good in the order of benevolence;
(f) A statement detailing any direct business relationship orassociation or partnership the lobbyist has with any public official orelected local government official.
The reports required by this subdivision shall cover the time periods sincethe filing of the last report or since the lobbyist's employment orrepresentation began, whichever is most recent.
4. No expenditure reported pursuant to this section shall include anyamount expended by a lobbyist or lobbyist principal on himself or herself.All expenditures disclosed pursuant to this section shall be valued on thereport at the actual amount of the payment made, or the charge, expense,cost, or obligation, debt or bill incurred by the lobbyist or the personthe lobbyist represents. Whenever a lobbyist principal employs more thanone lobbyist, expenditures of the lobbyist principal shall not be reportedby each lobbyist, but shall be reported by one of such lobbyists. Noexpenditure shall be made on behalf of a state senator or staterepresentative, or such public official's staff, employees, spouse, ordependent children for travel or lodging outside the state of Missouriunless such travel or lodging was approved prior to the date of theexpenditure by the administration and accounts committee of the house orthe administration committee of the senate.
5. Any lobbyist principal shall provide in a timely fashion whateverinformation is reasonably requested by the lobbyist principal's lobbyistfor use in filing the reports required by this section.
6. All information required to be filed pursuant to the provisions ofthis section with the commission shall be kept available by the executivedirector of the commission at all times open to the public for inspectionand copying for a reasonable fee for a period of five years from the datewhen such information was filed.
7. No person shall knowingly employ any person who is required toregister as a registered lobbyist but is not registered pursuant to thissection. Any person who knowingly violates this subsection shall besubject to a civil penalty in an amount of not more than ten thousanddollars for each violation. Such civil penalties shall be collected byaction filed by the commission.
8. No lobbyist shall knowingly omit, conceal, or falsify in anymanner information required pursuant to this section.
9. The prosecuting attorney of Cole County shall be reimbursed onlyout of funds specifically appropriated by the general assembly forinvestigations and prosecutions for violations of this section.
10. Any public official or other person whose name appears in anylobbyist report filed pursuant to this section who contests the accuracy ofthe portion of the report applicable to such person may petition thecommission for an audit of such report and shall state in writing in suchpetition the specific disagreement with the contents of such report. Thecommission shall investigate such allegations in the manner described insection 105.959. If the commission determines that the contents of suchreport are incorrect, incomplete or erroneous, it shall enter an orderrequiring filing of an amended or corrected report.
11. The commission shall provide a report listing the total spent bya lobbyist for the month and year to any member or member-elect of thegeneral assembly, judge or judicial officer, or any other person holding anelective office of state government or any elected local governmentofficial on or before the twentieth day of each month. For the purpose ofproviding accurate information to the public, the commission shall notpublish information in either written or electronic form for ten workingdays after providing the report pursuant to this subsection. Thecommission shall not release any portion of the lobbyist report if theaccuracy of the report has been questioned pursuant to subsection 10 ofthis section unless it is conspicuously marked "Under Review".
12. Each lobbyist or lobbyist principal by whom the lobbyist wasemployed, or in whose behalf the lobbyist acted, shall provide a generaldescription of the proposed legislation or action by the executive branchor judicial branch which the lobbyist or lobbyist principal supported oropposed. This information shall be supplied to the commission on Marchfifteenth and May thirtieth of each year.
13. The provisions of this section shall supersede any contradictingordinances or charter provisions.
(L. 1997 S.B. 16, A.L. 1998 H.B. 927, A.L. 1999 S.B. 31 & 285, A.L. 2006 H.B. 1900)Effective 1-01-07