|
Advisory Opinions
FINAL ADVISORY OPINION 98-07:
Reporting Entertainment Expenditures When a Lobbyist Registers Both
as a Compensated and an Employer Lobbyist
Indiana Lobby Registration Commission
(Ratification vote taken at public meeting of June 2, 1998)
VOTES ON RATIFICATION:
Chairman Bepko - yes
Vice-Chairman Krahulik - yes
Commissioner Abbs - yes
Commissioner Hicks - yes
Questions and written comments may be directed to:
Sarah L. Nagy, Executive Director & Counsel,
Indiana Lobby Registration Commission,
115 W. Washington, Suite 1375, Indianapolis, IN 46204
(317) 232-9860
Determination:
A lobbyist who registers both as an employer and as a
compensated lobbyist should report entertainment expenditures on the
lobbyist's compensated lobbyist report, to the extent the lobbyist
has been reimbursed by employer clients for the expenditures. The lobbyist
may, if necessary, pro-rate the entertainment expenditures among the clients
on whose behalf the entertainment expenditures were made.
Example:
Lobby firm "A" has 5 clients. A spends $250.00 entertaining
a legislator and lobbying on behalf of those 5 clients. A registers both
as an employer and as a compensated lobbyist. A should report the
entertainment expenditures on A's compensated lobbyist activity report
and A may, if necessary, pro-rate the expenditure among the clients on
whose behalf the entertainment expenditures were made.
Rationale:
Both employer and compensated lobbyists are subject to
the same activity reporting requirements. I.C. 2-7-3-3. Thus, to the
extent an employer lobbyist has reported an expenditure made to a compensated
lobbyist, it would be double reporting to require for another employer
lobbyist to report that same expenditure as an employer lobbyist expenditure.
The compensated lobbyist who also reports as an employer
lobbyist is susceptible to such double reporting problems. Therefore, if a
compensated lobbyist also registers as an employer lobbyist, it is
unnecessary for the compensated lobbyist to report expenditures made on
behalf of its clients on the employer lobbyist activity report of the
compensated lobbyist if the compensated lobbyist's employer lobbyist client has already reported the expenditure.
However, the compensated lobbyist must report the
expenditures on the compensated lobbyist report and may, if necessary,
may pro-rate the expenditure among the clients on whose behalf the lobbying
was performed. The compensated lobbyist activity report contains a back
out line which allows the compensated lobbyist to subtract from the total
lobbying expenses figure any amounts which have been reimbursed by clients.
Double reporting is therefore avoided, while substantial disclosure of
expenditures is accomplished.
The new activity reporting form, effective July 1998, will
clarify this issue further because compensated and employer lobbyists will
be completing the same activity report.
|