There Is No Reason to Leave Principals Out of the Lobbying Disclosure Process

Most people believe that lobbyists are guns hired to influence
government officials, and most lobbying laws reflect this by
applying only to those who lobby, not to the clients for whom they
lobby. Unlike most laws, lobbying laws focus on agents rather than
their principals.<br>
<br>
This problem extend beyond these jurisdictions. When business
executives who work in cities and counties that require only agents
to register as lobbyists seek work in jurisdictions that require
principals to register as well, they feel like they've been unfairly
fooled when they are told they've violated the lobbying law.<br>
<br>
According to <a href="http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/08/13/4287848/businessman-settles-ethic…; target="”_blank”">an
article in the Miami <i>Herald</i> this week</a>, this is what
happened when an Atlanta-based developer was fined for not
registering as a lobbyist when he communicated with officials with
respect to a bid on convention center work in Miami-Dade County.<br>
<br>

The article quotes the developer's lawyer as having said, “Having
never previously been requested or instructed to register as a
lobbyist, Mr. Portman assumed that registration was required only of
paid lobbyists." The lawyer also said that the developer had hired
several lobbyists, who had registered properly.<br>
<br>
One of the lobbyists should have told their boss that, if he was
going to lobby himself, he should register, too. But the best thing
is for all jurisdictions to recognize that clients are the ones
doing the lobbying. Whether they do it themselves or through
lobbyists doesn't matter. Either the principal should be responsible
for registering all those who lobby for it and for filing disclosure
forms, or both lobbyists and principals should be required to
register and to make disclosures separately. Leaving principals out
of the process makes no sense.<br>
<br>
Robert Wechsler<br>
Director of Research-Retired, City Ethics<br>
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