Texas lobbying guidelines

Lobbyist registration guidelines
Related pages
Lobbying
Taxpayer-funded lobbying
Guidelines by state
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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 Texas Ethics Commission maintained the state's lobbying records.

Who must register?

According to Section 305.003(a)(1-2) of Texas state law, individuals who meet the following criteria must register as a lobbyist:

“

A person must register with the commission under this chapter if the person: makes a total expenditure of an amount determined by commission rule but not less than $200 in a calendar quarter, not including the person’s own travel, food, or lodging expenses or the person’s own membership dues, on activities described in Section 305.006 (Activities Report)(b) to communicate directly with one or more members of the legislative or executive branch to influence legislation or administrative action; or receives, or is entitled to receive under an agreement under which the person is retained or employed, compensation or reimbursement, not including reimbursement for the person’s own travel, food, or lodging expenses or the person’s own membership dues, of more than an amount determined by commission rule but not less than $200 in a calendar quarter from another person to communicate directly with a member of the legislative or executive branch to influence legislation or administrative action.

”

Click here to visit the state's searchable database of registrations and filings.

State definition of lobbying

Section 305.002(2) of Texas state law defines lobbying as:

“

'Communicates directly with' or any variation of the phrase means contact in person or by telephone, telegraph, letter, facsimile, electronic mail, or other electronic means of communication. 'Communicates directly with a member of the legislative or executive branch to influence legislation or administrative action' or any variation of the phrase includes establishing goodwill with the member for the purpose of later communicating with the member to influence legislation or administrative action.

”

See also

• Lobbyist registration guidelines
• Lobbying

External links

• Texas Ethics Commission