Source:
Office of the Clerk
U.S. House of Representatives
http://lobbyingdisclosure.house.gov/amended_lda_guide.html
December 12, 2007

The Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007 (HLOGA), enacted on September 14, 2007 (P.L. 110-81), amends the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 in eight areas.

Quarterly Filing of Lobbying Reports

The HLOGA changed the filing schedule of reports from semiannual to quarterly. The filing dates for quarterly reports are April 20th, July 20th, October 20th, and January 20th, or the next business day should the filing date occur on a weekend or holiday. The coverage periods are January 1 through March 31, April 1 through June 30, July 1 through September 30, and October 1 through December 31 for the April Quarterly (Q1), July Quarterly (Q2), October Quarterly (Q3), and January Quarterly (Q4) reports respectively.

Reduction in the Registration and Reporting Thresholds

Section 4 of the LDA was amended to reduce the financial threshold for registration to $2,500 in lobbying income for a lobbying firm. In addition, the financial threshold for registration was reduced to $10,000 in lobbying expenses for organizations that employ in-house lobbyists. The quarterly reporting financial threshold was also reduced to require amounts in excess of $5,000 to be rounded to the nearest $10,000. Amounts less than $5,000 do not have to be rounded; and the checkbox for reporting this information on Form LD-2 has been retained. The threshold as of January 1, 2008 will be as stated above. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) will be used to adjust these figures after January 1, 2009, according to the previous LDA adjustment schedule.

Additional Disclosure of a Client as a State or Local Government or Instrumentality

Section 5 of the LDA was amended to require additional disclosure regarding whether the client is a state or local government or department, agency, special purpose district, or other instrumentality controlled by one or more state or local governments. A checkbox has been added to Line 7 of LD-2 to accomplish this disclosure.

Semiannual Reports of Certain Contributions

Section 5 of the LDA was amended by mandating an additional filing requirement. Form LD-203 is required to be filed semiannually by July 30th and January 30th (or next business day should either of those days fall on a weekend or holiday) covering the first and second calendar halves of the year. Registrants and listed lobbyists must file separate reports which detail FECA contributions, honorary contributions, presidential library contributions, and payments for event costs. In addition, the filer must certify that the filer has read and understands the Rules of the House and Senate relating to gifts and travel. (See discussion in Section 7 below.)

Revised Definition of Affiliation

Section 4 of the LDA was amended to expand disclosure of previously undisclosed affiliated entities that contribute more than $5,000 toward the registrant's lobbying activities (either directly to the registrant or indirectly through the client) in a quarterly period and actively participate in the planning, supervision, or control of such lobbying activities. The revised section includes exceptions to narrow the scope of additional disclosure to make clear that an individual member or donor who only is a member or only contributes to the client or other affiliate does not have to be disclosed.

Additional Disclosure of Past Governmental Employment

Section 4 of the LDA was amended to provide for additional disclosure of previous government service. The law now requires disclosure regarding whether a lobbyist served as a covered executive branch official or a covered legislative branch official in the 20 years before the date on which the individual first acted as a lobbyist.

Mandatory Electronic Filing of LDA Documents

Section 5 of the LDA was amended to require the mandatory electronic filing of all documents required by the LDA. The only exception to mandatory electronic filing is for the purpose of amending reports in the format previously filed, or for compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Increased Civil and Criminal Penalties

Whoever knowingly fails: (1) to correct a defective filing within 60 days after notice of such a defect by the Secretary of the Senate or the Clerk of the House; or (2) to comply with any other provision of the Act, may be subject to a civil fine of not more than $200,000. Whoever knowingly and corruptly fails to comply with any provision of this Act may be imprisoned for not more than five years or fined under the title 18, United States Code, or both.

Revised Forms, Instructions and Format

LD-1, the registration form, and LD-2, the reporting form, have been revised. Previous editions of these forms are obsolete. Additionally, all LDA documents must be filed electronically (with the exceptions noted previously). Instructions for both LD-1 and LD-2 have been updated to correspond with the new forms.

LD-1 Changes

The revised LD-1 (11/07) closely resembles the obsolete LD-1. The changed content is discussed below.

• The disclosure of previous governmental service has been changed from 2 to 20 years on Line 10.
• The definition of an affiliate has been expanded on Line 13. Please note that Line 13 may only accommodate sixty (60) total listings. Those affiliates that "in whole or major part" participate in the planning, control, or supervision of the lobbying activities of the client or affiliate must be listed first, as it is mandated that they be disclosed in the filing and not through other means. The remaining active participants must be listed following the ones described above. For disclosure of more than 60 organizations, it is strongly recommended that you also either (i) complete the Internet Address field instead and list the additional affiliated organizations on your web site (as the electronic form accommodates up to 60 listings) or (ii) file an amendment(s) to your filing disclosing the other additional affiliated organizations.LD-2 Changes

LD-2 Changes

The revised LD-2 (11/07) closely resembles the obsolete LD-2. Specific refinements to LD-2 are discussed below.

• Line 7 has a checkbox for disclosing whether the client is a state or local government or instrumentality.
• The reporting thresholds on Lines 12 and 13 have been reduced.
• The disclosure of previous governmental service has been changed from 2 to 20 years on Line 18.
• The lines of the form have been renumbered.
• The definition of an affiliate has been expanded on Line 25. Please note that Line 25 may only accommodate forty (40) total listings. Those affiliates that "in whole or major part" participate in the planning, control, or supervision of the lobbying activities of the client or affiliate must be listed first, as it is mandated that they be disclosed in the filing and not through other means. The remaining active participants must be listed following the ones described above. For disclosure of more than 40 organizations, it is strongly recommended that you also either (i) complete the Internet Address field instead and list the additional affiliated organizations on your web site (as the electronic form accommodates up to 40 listings) or (ii) file an amendment(s) to your filing disclosing the other additional affiliated organizations.