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Massachusetts lobbying guidelines
| Lobbyist registration guidelines |
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| Related pages |
| Lobbying |
| Taxpayer-funded lobbying |
| Guidelines by state |
Lobbying is broadly defined as the attempt to persuade another person to accept one's position. This includes efforts to influence lawmakers by other legislators, constituents, or organized groups. Each state has different requirements for lobbyist registration. The person doing the lobbying is typically referred to as the lobbyist and the person or entity providing compensation the principal. Each state has a different entity responsible for maintaining its lobbying records, such as registrations and expenditures.
As of April 2021, the Secretary of the Commonwealth maintained the state's lobbying records.
Who must register?
Chapter 3, Section 41 of the Massachusetts General Laws requires lobbyists to register with the state:[1]
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Each legislative agent, executive agent and lobbyist entity shall file an annual registration statement with the state secretary on forms prescribed and provided by the state secretary. The annual registration shall be completed not later than December 15 of this year preceding the registration year.[2] |
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Click here to visit the state's searchable database of registrations and quarterly filings.
State definition of lobbying
Chapter 3, Section 39 of the Massachusetts General Laws defines lobbying as:[3]
| “ | Legislative agent, a person who for compensation or reward engages in legislative lobbying, which includes at least1 lobbying communication with a government employee made by said person. The term legislative agent shall include a person who, as part of his regular and usual business or professional activities and not simply incidental thereto, engages in legislative lobbying, whether or not any compensation in addition to the salary for such activities is received for such services. For purposes of this definition a person shall be presumed to be engaged legislative lobbying that is simply incidental to his regular and usual business or professional activities if he: (i) engages in legislative lobbying for not more than 25 hours during any reporting period; and (ii) receives less than $2,500 during any reporting period for legislative lobbying.[2] | ” |
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ The 192nd General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, "Section 41," accessed April 12, 2021
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ The 192nd General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, "Section 39," accessed April 12, 2021
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