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An Act To Exempt Volunteer Lobbyists from State Disclosure Requirements
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 3 MRSA §312-A, sub-§10,  as repealed and replaced by PL 1993, c. 691, §5, is amended to read:
 
10. Lobbyist.   "Lobbyist" means any person who is specifically employed by another person for the purpose of and who engages in lobbying in excess of 8 hours in any calendar month, or any individual who, as a regular employee of another person, expends an amount of time in excess of 8 hours in any calendar month in lobbying. "Lobbyist" does not include a lobbyist associate. "Lobbyist" does not include an individual who receives no compensation for lobbying other than reimbursement for lobbying-related travel within the State.
Sec. 2. 3 MRSA §317, sub-§2,  as amended by PL 2007, c. 630, §15, is further amended to read:
 
2. Annual report.   Thirty days following the end of the year in which any person lobbied pursuant to section 313, the lobbyist and the lobbyist's employer shall file with the commission a joint report that must contain the information required in subsection 1 for all lobbying activities for the year.
 
The information in the reports required by subsection 1 must be signedapproved by the lobbyist or by a person designated by the lobbyist in section 316, subsection 1. The information in the reports required by this subsection must be signedapproved by both the lobbyist or the designated person and the employer.
 
If the date any report required by this section is due falls on a day other than a regular business day, the report is due on the first regular business day next following the due date.
 
In addition to the amounts identified in subsection 1 as compensation received or expenditure made for the primary purpose of lobbying, this annual report must include the total amount of compensation received by the lobbyist or the lobbying firm, or expended by the employer, except compensation received or expended for purposes not related to lobbying.
 
SUMMARY
The bill exempts from the definition of "lobbyist" individuals who received no compensation for lobbying other than reimbursement for travel within this State. Organizations providing such reimbursement would not need to register these individuals as lobbyists with the Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices. The bill also eliminates the requirement that annual reports filed by lobbyists be signed by their clients, since those reports are primarily filed electronically on the commission's publicly accessible website.