Lobbying Do s and Don ts. l Federal Lobbying Regulations

Transcription

1 1 Lobbying Do s and Don ts Federa Lobbying Reguations Lobbying Do s and Don ts

2 what is obbying? federa obbying reguations Lobbying occurs when... (an entity) urges a egisative officia to take a position or action on specific egisation or reguation, and when the...(entity) has expended funds for that purpose. (Excerpted from Lobbying, Advocacy, and Nonprofit Boards. 1997) 1 Direct obbying occurs when you ask a member of a egisature to take a position or action on a specific piece of egisation (e.g., increase funding for a program under an appropriations bi or oppose a particuar amendment to an authorizing bi) and when the organization or agency has expended funds for that purpose. Direct obbying aso occurs when a membership organization (with a dues structure) encourages its members to contact and infuence egisators on specific egisation. Grassroots obbying occurs when an organization or agency communicates with non-members (e.g. the genera pubic, third parties) in an effort to infuence egisators on a specific piece of egisation or egisative issue and expends funds for that purpose. Educating members on egisative issues is not considered obbying. what are the rues and reguations about obbying? For vounteers: There are no restrictions as ong as you do not expend organizationa or grant funds as part of the effort. Lobbying can be done by uncompensated board members without imit and is not reportabe. For 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations: Under the Interna Revenue Code, you can obby as ong as no substantia part of your organization s activities consist of attempts to infuence egisation. Athough there is no precise definition of no substantia part it is generay defined it to mean no more than 5% of an organization s tota activities. If you ve made the specia eection under 1990 IRS obbying rues, you can spend even more of your organization s resources for advocacy purposes. The rues aow a 501(c)(3) organization to spend up to $500,000 or 20% of exempt purpose expenditures for direct obbying and up to 25% of tota obbying expenditures for grassroots obbying. (The imits are higher for organization s with higher annua expenses.) Your time invoved in researching materias, preparing materias and meeting with egisators or their staffs, postage, printing, taxi trips to Capito Hi, phone charges to members of Congress, and so on must be incuded in the above cacuations and are reportabe to the IRS. Section 1 obbying do s and don ts GHSA egisative advocacy handbook

3 what are the rues and reguations about obbying? federa obbying reguations 1 Under the Lobbying Reform Act of 1995, you must register as a obbyist if you made two obbying contacts and spent 20% or more of your time on obbying and your organization has spent $20,000 or more on obbying in a six-month period. For recipients of federa funds: You are prohibited from using federa funds for any persona service, advertisement, etter, teephone, printed or written materia, teegram or other device for the purpose of infuencing Congress on any egisation. The Department of Justice and the Genera Accounting Office have interpreted that prohibition to be against doing any grassroots obbying that encourages third parties, specia interest group or the genera pubic to urge Congress to support or oppose a egisative or appropriations matter. Language in the Transportation Equity Act of the 21st Century (TEA-21) added a restriction on state officias. That anguage prohibited federa grantees and subgrantees from 1) urging Congress to oppose or support a pending egisative or appropriations matter or 2) urging state or oca egisators to support or oppose a pending egisative or appropriations matter. In other words, you can do direct obbying but ony before egisation is introduced. This prohibition appies to a DOT funds, incuding NHTSA funds to states and their subgrantees. It aso appies to state officias whose saaries are supported, in whoe or in part with DOT/NHTSA funds. Further, federa funds cannot be used to try to earmark a federa appropriations or authorizing bi for a specific project. Federa funds cannot be used to obtain, on a non-competitive basis, a foow-on grant. In other words, you can t use your federa grant to infuence federa egisation which woud aow you to get more funds under that grant program. State and oca persons who are recipients of federa grants of at east $100,000 must sign a discosure form and certify that they wi not use the federa funds to infuence the award of a federa grant, contract or other agreement. You are not prohibited from: using grant funds to contact members of Congress directy prior to the introduction of egisation providing most technica or professiona services conducting workshops on highway safety topics (incuding teaching advocacy skis) provided that the workshops do not focus on pending federa or state egisation participating in a highway safety coaition except if that coaition invoves obbying for specific pending egisation, or providing information to a federa officia responding to statutory or reguatory activities and requirements Section 1 obbying do s and don ts GHSA egisative advocacy handbook

4 what are the rues and reguations about obbying? federa obbying reguations 1 interacting with most agency egisative iaisons responding to inquiries from Congress, state egisatures or other officias presenting testimony requested by a congressiona committee or state egisature inquiring about a grant deveoping highway safety materias and generay distributing them as ong as they do not encourage others to infuence Congress or state egisatures on specific egisation. In summary, you are aowed to contact Congress or a state egisator directy about broad socia, economic or simiar issues (such as highway safety, reauthorization of safety programs, funding of federa grant programs, etc.) as ong as you do not urge action by Congress or the state egisator on a specific bi. Section 1 obbying do s and don ts GHSA egisative advocacy handbook

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