Section 105.473

Title VIII PUBLIC OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES, BONDS AND RECORDS

Chapter 105

Effective - 28 Aug 2010, 3 histories, see footnote   (history) 

  *105.473.  Duties of lobbyist — report required, contents — exception — penalties — supersession of local ordinances or charters. — 1.  Each lobbyist shall, not later than January fifth of each year or five days after beginning any activities as a lobbyist, file standardized registration forms, verified by a written declaration that it is made under the penalties of perjury, along with a filing fee of ten dollars, with the commission.  The forms shall include the lobbyist's name and business address, the name and address of all persons such lobbyist employs for lobbying purposes, the name and address of each lobbyist principal by whom such lobbyist is employed or in whose interest such lobbyist appears or works.  The commission shall maintain files on all lobbyists' filings, which shall be open to the public.  Each lobbyist shall file an updating statement under oath within one week of any addition, deletion, or change in the lobbyist's employment or representation.  The filing fee shall be deposited to the general revenue fund of the state.  The lobbyist principal or a lobbyist employing another person for lobbying purposes may notify the commission that a judicial, executive or legislative lobbyist is no longer authorized to lobby for the principal or the lobbyist and should be removed from the commission's files.

  2.  Each person shall, before giving testimony before any committee of the general assembly, give to the secretary of such committee such person's name 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 as defined in section 105.470 shall not be required to give such person's address if the committee determines that the giving of such address would endanger the person's physical health.

  3.  (1)  During any period of time in which a lobbyist continues to act as an executive lobbyist, judicial lobbyist, legislative lobbyist, or elected local government official lobbyist, the lobbyist shall file with the commission on standardized forms prescribed by the commission monthly reports which shall be due at the close of business on the tenth day of the following month;

  (2)  Each report filed pursuant to this subsection shall include a statement, verified by a written declaration that it is made under the penalties of perjury, setting forth the following:

  (a)  The total of all expenditures by the lobbyist or his or her lobbyist principals made on behalf of all public officials, their staffs and employees, and their spouses and dependent children, which expenditures shall be separated into at least the following categories by the executive branch, judicial branch and legislative branch of government:  printing and publication expenses; media and other advertising expenses; travel; the time, venue, and nature of any entertainment; honoraria; meals, food and beverages; and gifts;

  (b)  The total of all expenditures by the lobbyist or his or her lobbyist principals made on behalf of all elected local government officials, their staffs and employees, and their spouses and children.  Such expenditures shall be separated into at least the following categories:  printing and publication expenses; media and other advertising expenses; 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 nature and amount of each expenditure by the lobbyist or his or her lobbyist principal, including a service or anything of value, for all expenditures made during any reporting period, paid or provided to or for a public official 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 lobbyist principal for occasions and the identity of the group invited, the date, location, and description of the occasion and the amount of the expenditure for each occasion when any of the following are invited in writing:

  a.  All members of the senate, which may or may not include senate staff and employees under the direct supervision of a state senator;

  b.  All members of the house of representatives, which may or may not include house staff and employees under the direct supervision of a state representative;

  c.  All members of a joint committee of the general assembly or a standing committee of either the house of representatives or senate, which may or may not include joint and standing committee staff;

  d.  All members of a caucus of the majority party of the house of representatives, minority party of the house of representatives, majority party of the senate, or minority party of the senate;

  e.  All statewide officials, which may or may not include the staff and employees under the direct supervision of the statewide official;

  (e)  Any expenditure made on behalf of a public official, an elected local government official or such official's staff, employees, spouse or dependent children, if such expenditure is solicited by such official, the official's staff, employees, or spouse or dependent children, from the lobbyist or his or her lobbyist principals and the name of such person or persons, except any expenditures made to any not-for-profit corporation, charitable, fraternal or civic organization or other association formed to provide for good in the order of benevolence and except for any expenditure reported under paragraph (d) of this subdivision;

  (f)  A statement detailing any direct business relationship or association or partnership the lobbyist has with any public official or elected local government official.  The reports required by this subdivision shall cover the time periods since the filing of the last report or since the lobbyist's employment or representation began, whichever is most recent.

  4.  No expenditure reported pursuant to this section shall include any amount expended by a lobbyist or lobbyist principal on himself or herself.  All expenditures disclosed pursuant to this section shall be valued on the report at the actual amount of the payment made, or the charge, expense, cost, or obligation, debt or bill incurred by the lobbyist or the person the lobbyist represents.  Whenever a lobbyist principal employs more than one lobbyist, expenditures of the lobbyist principal shall not be reported by each lobbyist, but shall be reported by one of such lobbyists.  No expenditure shall be made on behalf of a state senator or state representative, or such public official's staff, employees, spouse, or dependent children for travel or lodging outside the state of Missouri unless such travel or lodging was approved prior to the date of the expenditure by the administration and accounts committee of the house or the administration committee of the senate.

  5.  Any lobbyist principal shall provide in a timely fashion whatever information is reasonably requested by the lobbyist principal's lobbyist for use in filing the reports required by this section.

  6.  All information required to be filed pursuant to the provisions of this section with the commission shall be kept available by the executive director of the commission at all times open to the public for inspection and copying for a reasonable fee for a period of five years from the date when such information was filed.

  7.  No person shall knowingly employ any person who is required to register as a registered lobbyist but is not registered pursuant to this section.  Any person who knowingly violates this subsection shall be subject to a civil penalty in an amount of not more than ten thousand dollars for each violation.  Such civil penalties shall be collected by action filed by the commission.

  8.  Any lobbyist found to knowingly omit, conceal, or falsify in any manner information required pursuant to this section shall be guilty of a class A misdemeanor.

  9.  The prosecuting attorney of Cole County shall be reimbursed only out of funds specifically appropriated by the general assembly for investigations and prosecutions for violations of this section.

  10.  Any public official or other person whose name appears in any lobbyist report filed pursuant to this section who contests the accuracy of the portion of the report applicable to such person may petition the commission for an audit of such report and shall state in writing in such petition the specific disagreement with the contents of such report.  The commission shall investigate such allegations in the manner described in section 105.959.  If the commission determines that the contents of such report are incorrect, incomplete or erroneous, it shall enter an order requiring filing of an amended or corrected report.

  11.  The commission shall provide a report listing the total spent by a lobbyist for the month and year to any member or member-elect of the general assembly, judge or judicial officer, or any other person holding an elective office of state government or any elected local government official on or before the twentieth day of each month.  For the purpose of providing accurate information to the public, the commission shall not publish information in either written or electronic form for ten working days after providing the report pursuant to this subsection.  The commission shall not release any portion of the lobbyist report if the accuracy of the report has been questioned pursuant to subsection 10 of this section unless it is conspicuously marked "Under Review".

  12.  Each lobbyist or lobbyist principal by whom the lobbyist was employed, or in whose behalf the lobbyist acted, shall provide a general description of the proposed legislation or action by the executive branch or judicial branch which the lobbyist or lobbyist principal supported or opposed.  This information shall be supplied to the commission on March fifteenth and May thirtieth of each year.

  13.  The provisions of this section shall supersede any contradicting ordinances or charter provisions.

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(L. 1997 S.B. 16, A.L. 1998 H.B. 927, A.L. 1999 S.B. 31 & 285, A.L. 2006 H.B. 1900, A.L. 2010 S.B. 844)

*Revisor's Note: This section was declared unconstitutional in Legends Bank v. State, see annotation below.

(2012)  Senate Bill 844 provision declared unconstitutional as a violation of the original purpose requirement of Art. III, Sec. 21, Constitution of Missouri.  Legends Bank v. State, 361 S.W.3d 383 (Mo. banc).