ASSEMBLY, No. 292
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 1996 SESSION
By Assemblyman ROONEY
An Act concerning lobbyists and legislative agents and amending P.L.1971, c.183.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Section 3 of P.L.1971, c.183 (C.52:13C-20) is amended to read as follows:
3. For the purposes of this act, as amended and supplemented, unless the context clearly requires a different meaning:
a. The term "person" includes an individual, partnership, committee, association, corporation, and any other organization or group of persons.
b. The term "legislation" includes all bills, resolutions, amendments, nominations and appointments pending or proposed in either House of the Legislature, and all bills and resolutions which, having passed both Houses, are pending approval by the Governor.
c. The term "Legislature" includes the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey and all committees and commissions established by the Legislature or by either House thereof.
d. The term "lobbyist" means any person, partnership, committee, association, corporation, labor union or any other organization that employs, engages or otherwise uses the services of any legislative agent to influence legislation or regulation.
e. The term "Governor" includes the Governor or the Acting Governor.
f. The term "communication with a member of the Legislature, "with legislative staff," "with the Governor," "with the Governor's staff," or "with an officer or staff member of the Executive Branch" means any communication, oral or in writing or any other medium, addressed, delivered, distributed or disseminated, respectively, to a member of the Legislature, to legislative staff, to the Governor, to the Governor's staff, or to an officer or staff member of the Executive Branch, as distinguished from communication to the general public including but not limited to a member of the Legislature, legislative staff, the Governor, the Governor's staff, or an officer or staff member of the Executive Branch. If any person shall obtain, reproduce or excerpt any communication or part thereof which in its original form was not a communication under this subsection and shall cause such excerpt or reproduction to be addressed, delivered, distributed or disseminated to a member of the Legislature, to legislative staff, to the Governor, to the Governor's staff, or to an officer or staff member of the Executive Branch, such communication, reproduction or excerpt shall be deemed a communication with the member of the Legislature, with legislative staff, with the Governor, with the Governor's staff, or with an officer or staff member of the Executive Branch by such person.
g. The term "legislative agent" means any person who receives or agrees to receive, directly or indirectly, compensation, in money or anything of value including reimbursement of his expenses where such reimbursement exceeds $100.00 in any three-month period, to influence legislation or to influence regulation, or both, by direct or indirect communication, or by making or authorizing, or causing to be made or authorized, any expenditures providing a benefit, to a member of the Legislature, legislative staff, the Governor, the Governor's staff, or any officer or staff member of the Executive Branch, or who holds himself out as engaging in the business of influencing legislation or regulation by such means, or who incident to his regular employment engages in influencing legislation or regulation by such means; provided, however, that a person shall not be deemed a legislative agent who, in relation to the duties or interests of his employment or at the request or suggestion of his employer, communicates with a member of the Legislature, with legislative staff, with the Governor, with the Governor's staff, or with an officer or staff member of the Executive Branch concerning any legislation or regulation, if such communication is an isolated, exceptional or infrequent activity in relation to the usual duties of his employment.
h. The term "influence legislation" means to make any attempt, whether successful or not, to secure or prevent the initiation of any legislation, or to secure or prevent the passage, defeat, amendment or modification thereof by the Legislature, or the approval, amendment or disapproval thereof by the Governor in accordance with his constitutional authority.
i. The term "statement" includes a notice of representation or a report required by this act, as amended and supplemented.
j. (Deleted by amendment, P.L.1991, c.243).
k. The term "member of the Legislature" includes any member or member-elect of, or any person who shall have been selected to fill a vacancy in, the Senate or General Assembly, and any other person who is a member or member-designate of any committee or commission established by the Legislature or by either House thereof.
l. The term "legislative staff" includes all staff, assistants and employees of the Legislature or any of its members in the member's official capacity, whether or not they receive compensation from the State of New Jersey.
m. The term "Governor's staff" includes the members of the Governor's Cabinet, the Secretary to the Governor, the Counsel to the Governor and all professional employees in the office of the Counsel to the Governor, and all other employees of the Office of the Governor.
n. The term "officer or staff member of the Executive Branch" means any assistant or deputy head of a principal department in the Executive Branch of State Government, including all assistant and deputy commissioners; the members and chief executive officer of any authority, board, commission or other agency or instrumentality in or of such a principal department; and any officer of the Executive Branch of State Government other than the Governor who is not included among the foregoing or among the Governor's staff, but who is empowered by law to issue, promulgate or adopt administrative rules and regulations, and any person employed in the office of such an officer who is involved with the development, issuance, promulgation or adoption of such rules and regulations in the regular course of employment.
o. The term "regulation" includes any administrative rule or regulation affecting the rights, privileges, benefits, duties, obligations, or liabilities of any one or more persons subject by law to regulation as a class, but does not include an administrative action (1) to issue, renew or deny, or, in an adjudicative action, to suspend or revoke, a license, order, permit or waiver under any law or administrative rule or regulation, (2) to impose a penalty, or (3) to effectuate an administrative reorganization within a single principal department of the Executive Branch of State Government.
p. The term "influence regulation" means to make any attempt, whether successful or not, to secure or prevent the proposal of any regulation or to secure or prevent the consideration, amendment, issuance, promulgation, adoption or rejection thereof by an officer or any authority, board, commission or other agency or instrumentality in or of a principal department of the Executive Branch of State Government empowered by law to issue, promulgate or adopt administrative rules and regulations.
q. The term "expenditures providing a benefit" or "expenditures providing benefits" means any expenditures for entertainment, food and beverage, travel and lodging, honoraria, loans, gifts or any other thing of value, except for (1) any money or thing of value paid for past, present, or future services in regular employment, whether in the form of a fee, expense, allowance, forbearance, forgiveness, interest, dividend, royalty, rent, capital gain, or any other form of recompense, or any combination thereof, [or] (2) any dividends or other income paid on investments, trusts, and estates or (3) the contribution or provision of anything of value to an organization which is exempt from taxation pursuant to 26 U.S.C. §501(c)(3) in response to a solicitation on behalf of such organization by a member of the Legislature, legislative staff, the Governor, the Governor's staff or an officer or staff member of the Executive Branch.
r. The term "commission" means the Election Law Enforcement Commission established pursuant to section 5 of P.L.1973, c.83 (C.19:44A-5).
(cf: P.L.1991, c.244, s.1)
2. Section 10 of P.L.1971, c.183 (C.52:13C-27) is amended to read as follows:
10. This act shall not apply to the following activities:
a. The publication or dissemination, in the ordinary course of business, of news items, advertising, editorials or other comments by a newspaper, book publisher, regularly published periodical, or radio or television station, including an owner, editor or employee thereof;
b. acts of an officer or employee of the Government of this State or any of its political subdivisions, or of the Government of the United States or of any State or territory thereof or any of their political subdivisions, in carrying out the duties of their public office or employment;
c. acts of bona fide religious groups acting solely for the purpose of protecting the public right to practice the doctrines of such religious groups;
d. acts of a duly organized national, State or local committee of a political party;
e. acts of a person in testifying before a legislative committee or commission, at a public hearing duly called by the Governor on legislative proposals or on legislation passed and pending his approval, or before any officer or body empowered by law to issue, promulgate or adopt administrative rules and regulations in behalf of a nonprofit organization incorporated as such in this State who receives no compensation therefor beyond the reimbursement of necessary and actual expenses, and who makes no other communication with a member of the Legislature, legislative staff, the Governor, the Governor's staff, or an officer or staff member of the Executive Branch in connection with the subject of his testimony; [and]
f. acts of a person in communicating with or providing benefits to a member of the Legislature, legislative staff, the Governor, the Governor's staff, or an officer or staff member of the Executive Branch if such communication or provision of benefits is undertaken by him as a personal expression and not incident to his employment, even if it is upon a matter relevant to the interests of a person by whom or which he is employed, and if he receives no additional compensation or reward, in money or otherwise, for or as a result of such communication or provision of benefits; and
g. acts of a person in communicating with the Legislature, legislative staff, the Governor, the Governor's staff or an officer or staff member of the Executive Branch on behalf of any organization which, pursuant to subsection b. of section 9 of P.L.1966, c.30 (C.54:32B-9), is not subject to the sales and use tax, if the person receives no compensation therefor other than reimbursement for necessary and actual travel expenses.
(cf: P.L.1991, c.243, s.6)
3. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill amends the "Legislative Activities Disclosure Act of 1971," P.L.1971, c.183 (C.52:13C-18 et seq.), to provide that contributions by lobbyists and legislative agents to certain tax-exempt, non-profit organizations made at the request of a member of the Legislature, legislative staff, the Governor, the Governor's staff or an officer or member of the Executive Branch would not be a reportable expenditure under the act. It also provides that the act would not apply to acts of a person in communicating with these State officials on behalf of certain charitable organizations, if the individual receives no compensation for the communication other than reimbursement for travel expenses.
Excludes certain charitable contributions and certain communications on behalf of charitable organizations from requirements of Legislative Activities Disclosure Act.