Guides to the LDA:

Federal lobbyists currently abide by the laws as outlined in the 1995 Lobbying Disclosure Act (LDA) and as amended in the 2007 Honest Leadership and Open Government Act. Guides are available online from both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate.

• U.S. House of Representatives, Office of the Clerk:
  http://lobbyingdisclosure.house.gov/amended_lda_guide.html
• U.S. Senate, Secretary of the Senate:
  http://www.senate.gov/legislative/resources/pdf/S1guidance.pdf 

Lobbyist:

Any individual who is employed or retained by a client for financial or other compensation for services that include:

• Two or more lobbying contacts.
• At least one employee who spends 20% or more of his or her working time engaged in lobbying activity.
• Spending $11,500 or more on lobbying activity over a 3-month period. 

Lobbying Activity:

Lobbying contacts and any efforts in support of such contacts, including:

• Preparation or planning activities.
• Research and other background work that is intended for use in contacts.
• Coordination with the lobbying activities of others. 

Lobbying Contacts:

Any oral, written, or electronic communication to a covered official that attempts to influence legislation, formal rulemaking by an agency, or any other position of the federal government.  Covered officials include:

• Congressional members and staff
• Executive Branch officials (as determined by chosen guidelines: LDA or IRC)
  • LDA: White House staff and Presidential and Schedule C appointees but not SES employees
  • IRC: White House staff, Cabinet Secretaries, and Deputy Secretaries 

Registering as a Lobbyist:

• To determine whether you are required to register as a lobbyist, check the registration requirements here: http://lobbyingdisclosure.house.gov/amended_lda_guide.html#section4
• If you are required to register, you must complete an LD-1 registration form found online here: http://lobbyingdisclosure.house.gov/        
  o Line by line instructions are available in the Appendicies section.
  o If you are registering for the first time with the U.S. Senate, you must request a user name and password, which will be activated the day following submission. For instructions to submit a first-time registration in the U.S. Senate, click here: http://soprweb.senate.gov/
• Frequently asked questions and answers can be viewed here: http://lobbyingdisclosure.house.gov/help/default.htm?url=WordDocuments/frequentlyaskedquestions.htm

Reporting Lobbying Activity:

• Quarterly Report Filing Dates:
  o April 20th (or next business day) for January 1- March 31
  o July 20th (or next business day) for April 1 - June 30
  o October 20th (or next business day) for July 1 - September 30
  o January 20th (or next business day) for October 1 - December 31
• Electronic Filing:
  o HLOGA amends the LDA to now require mandatory electronic filing.
• Semi-Annual/Contributions Report Filing Dates:
  o July 30th (or next business day) for January 1- June 30 
  o January 30th (or next business day) for July 1 - December 31

Last updated: August 19, 2009