Ethics and Compliance
Training
for Lobbyists and Employers
Alaska Public Offices Commission
January 2008
Course Overview
In this course, you will receive
information about:
Alaska00 lobbying law and regulations Requirements for lobbyist registration Reporting requirements for lobbyistsand their employers
Prohibited actions related to lobbying and gifts Changes to state ethics laws from passage of HB 109 How did we get here?
(See:
AS 24.45.031(a)(6)
Who Administers Laws
Pertaining to Public Officials, Legislators, Lobbyists and Campaign
Finance
Legislators and legislative staff: Select Committee on Legislative Ethics, APOC (AS 24.60)
Candidates, groups, state and local elected officials, lobbyists and their employers: APOC (AS 15.13, AS 24.45)
Alaska Public Offices
Commission (APOC)
APOC Contact Information
Anchorage: (907) 276-4176
2221 E. Northern Lights Blvd, Suite 128,
Anchorage 99508-4149
Juneau: (907) 465-4864
240 Main Street , Suite 201
Juneau 99811-0222
Website: www.apoc.alaska.gov
Lobbying and Democracy
00the operation of responsible representative democracy requires that the fullest opportunity be afforded to the people to petition their government for the redress of grievances and to express freely to individual members of the legislature, to its committees, and to officials of the executive branch, their opinions on pending legislation or administrative actions; 000 AS 24.45.011
Lobbying and citizens00
right to know
000 and that the people are entitled to know the identity, income, expenditures, and activities of those persons who pay, are paid or reimbursed for expenses, or who make expenditures or other payments in an effort to influence legislative or administrative action.00nbsp;
AS 24.45.011 Legislative Declaration of Purpose
Definitions, or
What do I need to know?
The short answer is: everything. It is YOUR responsibility as a
lobbyist or employer of lobbyists to read and know the law, including
definitions in AS 24.45.171 and in 2
AAC 50.545.
Click on 00efinitions00to access a complete list of lobbyist and
employer definitions contained in statute and regulations.
Lobbyist Registration
Process
Who is a lobbyist ?
Do you have a contractual agreement and receive $$ to communicate with public officials to influence legislation or administrative action? AND Are you an employee lobbying as part of your duties more than 10 hours in any 30 day period in a calendar year? OR Do you represent yourself as engaging in the influencing of legislative or administrative action as a business, occupation or professionRepresentational lobbyists
(2AAC 50.511)
IF: You receive reimbursement for travel and expenses
but no compensation, you are a representational lobbyist
You must register, but don00 pay the registration feeYou are not required to take the lobbyist ethics course and not required to file any lobbyist reports
The ten hour threshold definition doesn00 apply
The entity reimbursing you must file quarterly employer of lobbyist reports
You are not subject to the lobbyist prohibitions of AS 15.13.074(g) or AS 24.45.121(a)(8)
Registration: When?
Before exceeding the time threshold of 10 hours in any 30 day period for part-time lobbyists (Part-time/Employee lobbyists)
Registration expires December 31 each year
You may not register
as a lobbyist if you:
Are the spouse or domestic partner of an Alaska legislator
Are a former member of the legislature (must wait one year)
Have held any positions listed in AS 39.52.180 (d) in the past year (Governor, Lt. Gov, Commissioner or Deputy Commissioner, Director, legislative liaison, certain policy-making positions in Governor/Lt. Gov office 00)
Registration: How ?
Fill out APOC registration form 24-1
Pay required $250 registration fee
Complete a separate registration for each client
Renewing lobbyists must complete any lobbying reports from previous period
Reporting Requirements:
WHO ?
Lobbyists: All registered lobbyists, except
those who are representational or
volunteer, must file reports (AS 24.45.051)
Employers: Who employ or retain the
services of one or more lobbyists,
including representational lobbyists
(AS 24.45.061, 2 AAC 50.511)
How often do I report
?
Lobbyists: Monthly during legislative session (including
special sessions) and quarterly otherwise
Employers: Quarterly reports
year round
DUE: No sooner than the 1st day and no
later than the last day of the month
following the reporting period
Click for the NO 00/b>
Did you give one or more legislators or legislative employees a compassionate gift as
defined in AS 24.60.075? YES 00/b> NO 00/b>
Did you present a gift, or a series of gifts, of more than $100 in value to any public
official during this reporting period? (The cost of tickets to charity events must be
included in calculating the total value
of a series of gifts.) YES 00/b> NO 00/b>
Did you have an exchange of more than $100 in value, of money, goods, or services,
with any public official or a member of the immediate family of a public official?
YES 00/b> NO 00/b>
Did you have an exchange of more than $100 in value with a business entity that is
owned or controlled by a public official?
YES 00/b> NO 00/b>
Taken from Lobbyist Report, APOC Form 24-3
Lobbyists: Schedule A
1. Report both reimbursable and non-reimbursable expenditures in the following
categories for the reporting period:
Expenses Total
2. Report compensation for the reporting
period:
Compensation
Total
To complete your Schedule A: Add the totals in all columns from this report period to
the year-to date totals from your last report and enter the new year-to-date totals.
Lobbyist Reports: Remember
Lobbyist Reports: Don00
forget to
Include year to date totals from last report
Check your math
Lobbyist Reports:
Complete Schedule A-1
IF you provided or paid for food or beverage
for immediate consumption to a:
where the total (excluding tax and tip)
exceeds $15.00 per individual
** If none during this period, check zero report box
for Schedule A-1 on page one of lobbyist report
Information on Schedule
A-1
** Transfer amounts from Schedule
A-1 to your Schedule A, food and beverage totals
Click to go to
Trips for public officials
and legislative employees: Report transportation, lodging, meals,
etc., for all governmental purpose trips. Otherwise, report as a gift
Employers Schedule B:
Report
Telemarketing Letter-writing campaign Media advertising (TV, print, radio) Providing transportation to members of the public Conducting a push poll
Employers: Remember to
IF there are no expenses during a report period in support of lobbying, check ZERO REPORT box for Schedule B on page 1 of employer report
Beware of those bearing
gifts00/font>
Lobbyists may not:
00ffer, solicit, initiate, facilitate, or provide to or on behalf of a person covered by AS 24.60 a gift, other than 000
AS 24.45.121(a)
Gifts: Guidelines &
Restrictions
The only gifts lobbyists may present to
legislators or legislative employees
are:
(at a restaurant or the lobbyist00
home are allowable)
Compassionate gift
What is a 00ompassionate
gift?00/font>
000 a solicited or unsolicited gift
intended to aid or comfort a recipient or a member of the recipient00
immediate family in contending with a catastrophe, a tragedy, or a health-related
emergency.00/font>
AS 24.60.075
Can a lobbyist give a
gift to a family member who is a legislator or legislative employee?
No, other than food or beverage for immediate
consumption, tickets for a charity event, or
compassionate gifts, legislators and legislative
employees are prohibited from accepting:
00 gift with any monetary value from a
lobbyist, an immediate family member of a
lobbyist, or a person acting on behalf of a
lobbyist000 AS 24.60.080
(a)(2)
See presumed to be intended
to influence the performance of official duties, actions, or
judgment00nbsp;
unless:
00mmediate family member00/b> is defined broadly to include
Spouse/domestic partner, child, parent, sibling, grandparent,
aunt/uncle, parent or sibling of person00
spouse
Gifts to public officers and their immediate family members should
be cleared with the designated executive
branch ethics supervisor
A lobbyist may NOT:
See: AS 24.45.121
Also prohibited:
Acceptance of a payment contingent on specific outcome of administrative or legislative action
Serving on a state board or commission if an employer stands to gain from decisions of that board or commission
Prohibitions on political
activities regarding legislative, Governor or Lt Governor campaigns
Lobbyists cannot:
Serve as campaign manager or director Serve as treasurer or deputy treasurer on a fund-raising committee Host a fund-raising event Collect or deliver contributions Engage in any fund-raising activitiesAS 24.45.121(a)(8)-N/A for representational lobbyists
Are lobbyists allowed
to make political contributions?
Lobbyists may contribute to:
voting district (report to APOC on Form 15-5A)
Candidates for Governor or Lt Governor Any candidate for federal or local office Political parties Political Action Committees (State & Federal)Recap: Highlights of
important changes
HB 109 made to Alaska00 ethics laws
Lobbying Law Changes:
Requires ethics and compliance training for lobbyists and employers Restricts lobbyist gift-giving and makes restrictions applicable all year, not just during legislative session Prohibits spouses and domestic partners of legislators from lobbying for pay Imposes one year lobbying restriction on certain high level executive branch employees Bars persons with certain felony convictions from lobbyingHB 109: Other Changes
Disclosure laws now require:
Electronic filing of campaign and financial disclosuresLegislators and legislative employees must disclose boards on which they serve
Submittal of final financial disclosures within 90 days of leaving office for legislators, public officials, boards and commission members
More detail on financial disclosure statements
Legislative Ethics: HB
109 changes
Increases restrictions on gifts that legislators and staff may accept
Prohibits legislators from receiving outside compensation for legislative, administrative or political work
Executive Branch ethics
changes
Other HB 109 changes
Prohibits agreements to exchange contributions to elected officials or candidates for changing their votes
Provides for forfeiture of certain pension contributions when an official is convicted of a felony such as bribery in connection with official duties
Ethics and Lobbying:
00here00 a fundamental ethical issue that
maybe we all turn a blind eye to because
we couldn00 survive if we didn00. Most
people want to play within the rules, but
they are not sure the game itself is
fair.00/font>
Observation from a federal lobbyist
00And a view from history
00 long habit of not thinking a thing wrong
gives it a superficial appearance of being
right.00
Thomas Paine
What are some of the
guidelines that promote an ethical system of lobbying?
Transparency: Disclosure of detailed information regarding how lobbyists influence legislative and administrative action
Common good: Lawmakers and public officials should work hard to hear both sides of any issue
Lobbyist Code of Ethics
Excerpted from:
The American League of Lobbyists
honesty and integrity.
regulations and rules applicable to the
lobbyist.
and professional manner.
Lobbyist Code of Ethics
Excerpted from:
The American League of Lobbyists
representations that may create conflicts of interest
without the informed consent of the client or potential
client involved.
and advocate the client's or employer's interests.
Lobbyist Code of Ethics
Excerpted from:
The American League of Lobbyists
should have a written agreement with the client regarding
the terms and conditions for the lobbyist's services,
including the amount of and basis for
compensation.
of client or employer information.
Lobbyist Code of Ethics
Excerpted from:
The American League of Lobbyists
understanding and appreciation of the nature, legitimacy
and necessity of lobbying in our democratic
governmental process. This includes the First
Amendment right to "petition the government for redress
of grievances.00/font>
client or employer, a lobbyist should exhibit proper
respect for the governmental institutions before which the
lobbyist represents and advocates clients'
interests.
Questions ? Comments ?
You will also receive information for further review on your own, including links to helpful web sites and suggestions for further reading.
I encourage you at this point in the on-line training to click on the link to HB 109 to get a full sense of the scope of the changes to the ethics laws affecting lobbyists/employers (AS 24.45), public officials (AS 39.50) and legislators (AS 24.60). HB 109 also made changes to criminal statutes by adding the crime of failure to report bribery or receiving a bribe as a class A misdemeanor. Additionally, changes were made to AS 14.25 and AS 37.10 regarding forfeiture of state pensions for public officers and legislators who commit certain crimes.
The Public Offices Commission works closely with both the executive branch (Dept Law) and with the select committee on legislative ethics00APOC00 piece relates to the disclosure requirements, which is part of the 00thics law00in that APOC verifies that those responsible for reporting are providing information required by statute. However, ethics violations, for example, related to legislators are adjudicated by the Leg Ethics Committee and public official ethics violations are addressed by Dept of Law.
APOC is housed within the Department of Administration for administrative purposes. However, the people of Alaska are APOC00 true 00oss00as all political power is inherent in the people (Article I, Section 2 of the State Constitution) . Most staff decisions are subject to the commission's review, and all APOC decisions may be appealed to Superior Court.
The APOC is a quasi-judicial regulatory agency which administers four laws upholding the public's right to know the financial affairs of lobbyists and their employers, public officials and candidates for state and local offices.
Four of the five APOC Commissioners are appointed by the Governor (the two political parties garnering the most votes in the previous general election each submit 4 names to the governor and the governor chooses two to represent each party). The fifth member is nominated by the other commissioners, with final approval of the Governor.
Commissioners serve staggered terms of five years.
Executive Director is Brooke Miles, Deputy
Director is Chris Ellingson and both are in the Anchorage office.
This is article 1 of the lobbying law, or the legislative purpose statement. The next portion of article 1 in Alaska00 lobbying law summarizes APOC00 role00
This is APOC00 role with respect to the lobbying law- to serve as the disclosure entity where members of the public may access information related to the law administered by APOC.
Refer to Definitions handout: Then
GO TO NEXT SLIDE (Lobbyist), then DISCUSS: Communicate directly
and the often asked question of 00hat counts?00Distinguish b/w what
counts toward the 10 hour threshold versus what needs to be reported
once one is already registered
Mention the last bullet in relation to the term 00rofessional lobbyists.00
EXEMPTIONS: (24.45.161) 1) This doesn00 apply to: volunteer lobbyists (NO PAY or compensation) AND N/A for those who limit lobbying activities to public appearances before Legislature, committee hearings or other public proceedings of state agencies etc. 2) N/A for state or municipal public officer or employee of state/local govt acting in official capacity;
3) someone who appears before the Legislature in response to an invitation (by concurrent resolution)
A VOLUNTEER lobbyist is one who receives
NO $$ or reimbursement at all and makes no expenditures on behalf of
any public official. These persons are not required to register but
if they do register, they are not bound by prohibitions or reporting
requirements.
Be sure to complete your forms fully.
In particular,
On the first page of your registration, fill in the name of your spouse or domestic partner if he/she is a legislator, legislative employee or public official. This is important due to new rules regarding disclosure both for lobbyists and those covered by the legislative ethics act due to the passage of HB 109.
These prohibitions were all added with the passage of HB 109 this past session. NOTE that the prohibition relates to registering as a lobbyist. If a person isn00 required to register then he/she can be a representational or volunteer lobbyist even if one of the above is true.
For employers, must complete ethics and compliance training prior to filing the first quarterly report for 2008.
If you file by fax, there is no need to mail the original, but it is your responsibility to ensure the report was successfully transmitted. You are encouraged to either save the fax print-out report or call the office to verify receipt. APOC will also provide you with a date-stamped copy of your report if requested.
NOTE: Talk about CPA process; 1st notice (affadavit); 2nd/final notice; all heard by commission (no more staff mitigation)
Once you are registered, you must disclose compensation and expenses that are 00irectly or indirectly in support of or in connection with influencing legislative or administrative action.00 (AS 24.45.041)
CHANGES to rpt: Address etc, but also terminations (date is impt)
NOTE: the limit of $100 has historically been interpreted by APOC as $100 per rpt period. The only one that is explicit in statute is exchanges of goods, services, anything of value > 100 with a business entity (Last bullet)- that is per year, not report period.
Other (Expenses): Examples are office supplies; office space; airport/parking fees; dry cleaning
Other (Fees): Stock options, annuities, use of a company car etc.
ACCRUAL Basis: (2AAC 50.530) Rpt all costs incurred and income earned during period, whether or not actually received payment yet. In other words, if you get paid in a lump sum, you should still be reporting any/all expenses incurred during the particular period. For the compensation column, you can either divide by 12 months or list it in a lump sum in a single report.
CHECK THE ZERO RPT Box for applicable clients AND for the schedule A-1
SCENARIOS: 1. Can a
lobbyist use an employer/company credit card to pay for meals and drinks
for several legislators? YES. What are the reporting requirements?
Even though it is being paid for by the employer, this is the same as
having a reimbursable expense and the law is if you 00rovided00or
00aid for00 In this instance, although the employer actually paid
for the meals (via the lobbyist00 use of the company credit card),
this equates to 00roviding,00thus the lobbyist must detail out the
expenditures per legislator or leg staffer, spouse/domestic partner
of either
Ask for feedback on the form, process, questions ... ?
We00l talk in detail about schedule B expenses, or those that are not paid directly to a company00 registered lobbyist, but must be reported as part of the employer report
GIFTS to public officials: APOC interprets this as $100 limit per reporting period (not in statute)
Accrual method: Again, as stated earlier, if the lobbyist earned a particular amount this period (whether or not you have cut the check), this should be reported under fee/salary category. Same thing for the expenditure section.
BUT- An employer MUST include on the schedule A for each lobbyist any other type of compensation/benefit in lieu of salary/compensation such as stock options, annuities etc.
Examples: Staff time to accompany legislators or other public officials on trips, tours etc.; Cost or renting a hotel room or suite for session; meals for staff coming to Jnu to testify and meet with public officials;
Virtually any/all meals, receptions, breakfasts etc. are reportable as a schedule B expense. The exception that would bump it over to the 00ift00category is if you didn00 discuss any thing at all related to administrative or legislative issues. The weather, your children/grandchildren, etc. might then qualify as a non-lobbying expense, but that basically doesn00 happen.
Advertising counts: Large ads in the state newspapers urging the public to contact their legislator and vote a certain way must be included on an employer00 schedule B report. The cost of sending fliers and mailers, sending mass distribution emails etc. 00these are all reportable schedule B expenses. Both the actual mailing, paper, etc. as well as staff time to perform the activities or time and expense of hiring a contractor or polling firm
SCENARIO: Can a lobbyist contact a legislator to determine whether the legislator is available to go on a trip being paid for by one of the lobbyist00 clients if the trip is for a legislative purpose? NO- Why? Is a legislative trip disallowed for a company to pay for? No, it00 allowable for an employer to pay for such a trip. The problem is with the use of a lobbyist to, in this scenario, 00nitiate00 or 00acilitate00the trip. CHALLENGES: Discuss- 00ight as well ban lobbyists, since that00 our job.00 Even if the lobbyist is only seeing about scheduling and the company does all the actual airline and other travel details, still a violation of the statute.
Note that in AS 39.52.130(a) there
is a presumption that a gift from a registered lobbyist to either a
public official or his/her family member is intended to 00nfluence
the performance of official duties, actions, or judgment00/font>
Legislators have specific reporting requirements
related to acceptance of compassionate gifts, including a limit of no
more than $250 per calendar year from the same person and the need for
pre-approval from the Legislative council;
00mmediate family member00is defined in AS 24.60.990 as spouse or domestic partner; parent, child or sibling if financially dependent or shares a substantial financial interest
Public Officer DEFINED:
Public employee ( not just appointed employees); member of a board or
commission; state officer designated by the Governor to act as a trustee
(AK Children00 Trust, MH Trust Authority, 00)
There is NOT an outright ban on gifts to public officials, HOWEVER, the cautious/100% safe approach is to not to do it. MUST get a review of your question by the relevant ethics supervisor FIRST
Scenario: ASK for examples- Monday night football, to include drinks and snacks at a friend in the executive branch who you00e known for 20 years and have always done this activity. VERY DIFFERENT than inviting a public officer to your home who you00 never met prior to his being the decision maker on a large project that one of your employers is interested in.
Personal obligation: Owe some type of favor (APOC would need to have a complaint/evidence)- ASK FOR EXAMPLE ?
Misrepresentation: Key word is intentional (lying)- again, we00 need a whistleblower/ complaint report
Legislation in order to be hired: Different from the regular lobbying cycle (where this is basically what happens all the time)- this is for personal gain (this is what the prohibition on executive branch employees is trying to safeguard against)
Bonuses: These should be tied to time, complexity of an issue (i.e. more legislation than anticipated resulting in more time spent and not related to a specific outcome (whether it is passage or defeat of a bill or administrative decision outcome).
Boards: Can00 serve on the state fisheries board IF you are representing/lobbying for a client on fisheries interests (conflict of interest)
This doesn00 apply to representational lobbyists- and doesn00 prohibit a registered lobbyist from 00ersonally advocating on behalf of a candidate00(AS 24.45.121) and doesn00 apply to either municipal or federal campaigns
There is currently no restriction on the spouse or domestic partner of a lobbyist making a campaign contribution to a candidate, including someone outside of their voting district.
One Yr Restriction from lobbying FOR: Gov, Lt Gov,Comm/Dep Comm; Div Director or Dept Leg Liaison; Certain Public policy making positions within Gov office; Member of state board or commission with authority to adopt regulations; Member of governing board and executive officer of a state public corporation (i.e. AK Permanent Fund; AK Railroad)
Certain Felony Convictions: Details
are in AS 15.60.010 (Murder, manslaughter, assault, sex assault, theft,
forgery, bribery, perjury,00
HB 109 to get a full sense of the scope
of the changes to the ethics laws affecting lobbyists/employers (AS
24.45), public officials (AS 39.50) and legislators (AS 24.60). HB 109
also made changes to criminal statutes by adding the crime of failure
to report bribery or receiving a bribe as a class A misdemeanor. Additionally,
changes were made to AS 14.25 and AS 37.10 regarding forfeiture of state
pensions for public officers and legislators who commit certain crimes.
Electronic Filing Dates: POFD: Electronic filing NOW but not ready; LFD: January 1, 2009; Lobbying electronic filing 00likely not until 2009 for lobbyists, may be sooner for employers (working on this now). Will also have ability to register on line and accept credit cards.
More Detail: LFD, POFD: Must include deferred income not yet received and income from limited liability companies;for all income, disclose source, method of earning (by the hour, commission, job, or other; date/Approx. hrs worked and 00 description sufficient to make it clear to a person of ordinary understanding that nature or each service to be performed00[AS 24.60.200, AS 39.50.0303(b)]; Must report all income over $1,000 (used to be $5,000) and public officials and candidates must disclose gifts from a single source that > $250 in a calendar year
*Leg Ethics Training: Statute requires two course, one that is a 00efresher00for returning leg and staff and one for new leg and staff. Must be done within 10 days of start of session but when employment begins after session starts, has ability to provide training later.
Blind Trusts: Certain conditions must be met in order for a public official to be able to transfer assets into a blind trust
*Defines business interest as insignificant if less than $1,000 (Reduced from $5,000)
Pension Forfeiture: N/A to pension benefits and employee contributions accrued prior to the illegal act; doesn00 apply to employee contributions; pension benefits may be awarded to spouse or dependent under certain circumstances;
This is a quote from a 2002 study done
on the ethics of lobbying at the federal level. One of the things that
stood out from looking at a variety of the lobbyists00observations
is the wide range of 00rey area00described, all of which posed potential
pitfalls for the lobbyist.
In Alaska as in other states, one of
the ways that has been used to clear up any remaining grey area is tightening
the rules and prohibitions governing lobbying, particularly related
to gift giving and other forms of influence.
Discuss context of doing things 00s
we have always done them00and how this was the backdrop of the significant
changes to ethics laws in 2007 from HB 109 and also part of what is
happening with the 00hake up00of Alaska politics from the various
trials and corruption charges/scandal.
AK doesn00 have a state lobbyist code
of ethics (some states have adopted their own code);
Good guideline is (clich茅): If you are
questioning whether the behavior is ethical or if it feels questionable
to you, there is likely an ethical issues (Different from
getting guidance on how to report something)/ ASK FOR INPUT/FEEDBACK
IF
the action in question is aimed at trying to get around a rule or statute,
then there is likely a problem (Example of multiple lobbyists taking
legislator/legislators out to dinner to avoid having to report the $15
meal and beverage)
ASK FOR OTHER EXAMPLES/INPUT?
download Ethics and Compliance Training for Lobbyists and Employers
