Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Lobbyist, Not a Lobbyist

Mike Lee claims that going up to Capitol Hill to advise the legislators that a bill is constitutional does not mean he needed to be registered as a lobbyist, even though his client was directly involved with the bill.

His source in the Lt Governor's office needs to check out the Lt Governor's Web Site:

Utah Election Law places regulations on lobbyist activities. A lobbyist, under these regulations, is an individual who receives some kind of payment to lobby a public official other than reimbursement for reasonable travel expenses. Lobbying a public official is defined in Utah Code 36-11-102 as "communicating with a public official for the purpose of influencing the passage, defeat, amendment, or postponement of legislative or executive action."

Public Official:

A public official for lobbying purposes is any of the following:

· a member of the Legislature

· an individual elected to a position in the executive branch, or

· an individual appointed to or employed within the legislative or executive branch if the individual makes policy, purchasing, or contracting decisions; drafts legislation or make rules; determines rates or fees; or makes adjudicative decisions.

1 comment:

arc said...

I remember last year someone going after a party candidate because they had registered as a lobbyist. They were a company attorney, going up to the hill to speak, not the company's lobbyist, and had registered "just in case".

Lee should have registered, "just in case" or not gone after Bridgewater for registering as a lobbyist.

I will give Lee the benefit of not thinking he would be asked to lobby, just going to the hearing, but, according to more than one person, he was asked to lobby.

Lee's intent may have been OK, until going after Bridgewater. It is the hypocrisy where Lee needs to learn to avoid.