Title: Lobbying Disclosure Reform Act of 2020
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics

Summary:
Lobbying Disclosure Reform Act of 2020
This bill makes a series of changes to requirements relating to registered lobbyists, including by requiring unique identification numbers for lobbyists, clients, and providers of strategic lobbying services, and by requiring additional disclosures and reporting with respect to such individuals and activities.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8022 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 8022

     To amend the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 to assign unique 
 identification numbers to each lobbyist who registers under such Act 
    and to each client of the lobbyist and each person who provides 
strategic lobbying services in support of the lobbyist, to require the 
disclosure of information on any persons who provide strategic lobbying 
services in support of registered lobbyists under such Act, to require 
  the Clerk of the House of Representatives and the Secretary of the 
Senate to assign a unique identification number to each individual who 
    registers as a lobbyist under such Act, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            August 11, 2020

Mr. Phillips (for himself and Mr. Cline) introduced the following bill; 
          which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To amend the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 to assign unique 
 identification numbers to each lobbyist who registers under such Act 
    and to each client of the lobbyist and each person who provides 
strategic lobbying services in support of the lobbyist, to require the 
disclosure of information on any persons who provide strategic lobbying 
services in support of registered lobbyists under such Act, to require 
  the Clerk of the House of Representatives and the Secretary of the 
Senate to assign a unique identification number to each individual who 
    registers as a lobbyist under such Act, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Lobbying Disclosure Reform Act of 
2020''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) the right to petition government for redress of 
        grievances is a fundamental right in our representative 
        democracy, which is often realized through lobbying;
            (2) responsible representative government requires public 
        awareness of the efforts of paid lobbyists to influence the 
        public decision making process in both the legislative and 
        executive branches of the Federal Government;
            (3) existing lobbying disclosure laws have not been as 
        effective as they could be because of unclear statutory 
        language, weak administrative and enforcement provisions, and 
        an absence of clear guidance as to who is required to register 
        and what they are required to disclose;
            (4) the effective public disclosure of the identity and 
        extent of the efforts of paid lobbyists to influence Federal 
        officials in the conduct of government actions will increase 
        public confidence in the integrity of government; and
            (5) experience with lobbying laws and regulations for 
        nearly a half century led to substantial improvements in the 
        law in 1995, and experience with the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 
        1995 over the last decade provides a sound basis for new 
        refinements today.

SEC. 3. ASSIGNMENT OF UNIQUE IDENTIFICATION NUMBERS TO LOBBYISTS, 
              CLIENTS, AND PROVIDERS OF STRATEGIC LOBBYING SERVICES.

    (a) Assignment of Unique Identification Numbers.--Section 6(a)(3) 
of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1605(a)(3)) is 
amended--
            (1) by striking ``and'' at the end of subparagraph (A);
            (2) by adding ``and'' after the semicolon the end of 
        subparagraph (B); and
            (3) by adding after subparagraph (B) the following:
                    ``(C) a system that assigns an identification 
                number for each lobbyist for whom a registration or 
                report is filed under this Act, each client of such a 
                lobbyist, and each provider of strategic lobbying 
                services on behalf of such client;''.
    (b) Inclusion in Registration Statements.--
            (1) Information on registrants.--Section 4(b)(1) of such 
        Act (2 U.S.C. 1603(b)(1)) is amended by striking ``name,'' and 
        inserting ``name, unique identification number (if available at 
        the time of registration),''.
            (2) Information on clients.--Section 4(b)(2) of such Act (2 
        U.S.C. 1603(b)(2)) is amended by striking ``name,'' and 
        inserting ``name, unique identification number (if available at 
        the time of registration),''.
            (3) Information on employees.--Section 4(b)(6) of such Act 
        (2 U.S.C. 1603(b)(6)) is amended by striking ``the name'' and 
        inserting ``the name and unique identification number (if 
        available at the time of registration)''.
    (c) Inclusion in Quarterly Reports.--
            (1) Information on registrants and clients.--Section 
        5(b)(1) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 1604(b)(1)) is amended by 
        striking ``the name of the registrant, the name of the client'' 
        and inserting the following: ``the name and unique 
        identification number of the registrant, the name and unique 
        identification number of the client''.
            (2) Information on employees.--Section 5(b)(2)(C) of such 
        Act (2 U.S.C. 1604(b)(2)(C)) is amended by striking ``a list of 
        the employees'' and inserting ``a list of the names and unique 
        identification numbers of the employees''.
    (d) Effective Date.--The Clerk of the House of Representatives and 
the Secretary of the Senate shall implement the system described in 
subparagraph (C) of section 6(a)(3) of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 
1995, as added by subsection (a), not later than the first day of the 
One Hundred Seventeenth Congress.

SEC. 4. REQUIRING DISCLOSURE OF PERSONS PROVIDING STRATEGIC LOBBYING 
              SERVICES.

    (a) Disclosure in Lobbyist Registration Statements.--Section 
4(b)(6) of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1603(b)(6)) is 
amended--
            (1) by striking ``expects to act as a lobbyist on behalf of 
        the client and'' and inserting the following: ``expects to act 
        as a lobbyist on behalf of the client, or who has been or who 
        the registrant expects to be a provider of strategic lobbying 
        services on behalf of the client, and''; and
            (2) by inserting after ``first acted as a lobbyist'' the 
        following: ``or was first a provider of strategic lobbying 
        services''.
    (b) Disclosure in Quarterly Reports.--Section 5(b)(2) of such Act 
(2 U.S.C. 1604(b)(2)) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``and'' at the end of subparagraph (C);
            (2) by adding ``and'' at the end of subparagraph (D); and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new subparagraphs:
                    ``(E) a list of the names and unique identification 
                numbers of the employees of the registrant who were 
                providers of strategic lobbying services in support of 
                the registrant's lobbying activities on behalf of the 
                client during the quarterly period; and
                    ``(F) a list of the names of all other persons who 
                were retained as providers of strategic lobbying 
                services in support of the registrant's lobbying 
                activities on behalf of the client during the quarterly 
                period, together with--
                            ``(i) the nature of the strategic lobbying 
                        services provided, along with a brief summary 
                        of work performed;
                            ``(ii) the amount paid to each such person 
                        for such services;
                            ``(iii) the name of any individual employed 
                        by such person who supervised the provision of 
                        such services, and, if the individual served as 
                        a covered executive branch official or a 
                        covered legislative branch official in the 
                        previous 20 years, a statement describing the 
                        position in which such individual served; and
                            ``(iv) the name of any individual employed 
                        by such person who provided such services 
                        during the quarterly period, and, if the 
                        individual served as a covered executive branch 
                        official or a covered legislative branch 
                        official in the previous 20 years, a statement 
                        describing the position in which such 
                        individual served.''.
    (c) Inclusion in Filing, Coding, and Cross-Indexing Systems.--
Section 6(a)(3)(A) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 1605(a)(3)(A)) is amended by 
striking ``and their clients'' and inserting ``and their clients and 
providers of strategic lobbying services''.
    (d) Definition.--Section 3 of such Act (2 U.S.C. 1602) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating paragraphs (15) and (16) as paragraphs 
        (16) and (17); and
            (2) by inserting after paragraph (14) the following new 
        paragraph:
            ``(15) Provider of strategic lobbying services.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The term `provider of strategic 
                lobbying services' means any person who, during a 
                quarterly period described in section 5, provided a 
                registrant under section 4 with 12 or more hours of 
                services which are described in subparagraph (C) but 
                which are not otherwise treated as lobbying activities 
                or lobbying contacts.
                    ``(B) Special rule for former officials.--In the 
                case of a person who served as a covered executive 
                branch official or a covered legislative branch 
                official in the previous 20 years and who, during a 
                quarterly period described in section 5, provided a 
                registrant under section 4 with services described in 
                subparagraph (A) and also carried out lobbying 
                activities on behalf of the registrant, such person 
                shall be treated as a provider of strategic lobbying 
                services if the combined time spent in providing 
                services described in subparagraph (A) and lobbying 
                activities on behalf of the registrant during the 
                period was 12 hours or greater.
                    ``(C) Services described.--The services described 
                in this subparagraph are the following:
                            ``(i) Providing strategic planning for 
                        lobbying activities or lobbying campaigns.
                            ``(ii) Providing strategic advice regarding 
                        earned media or press coverage related to 
                        specific issues upon which a lobbyist employed 
                        by the registrant engaged in lobbying 
                        activities.
                            ``(iii) Polling services enlisted by a 
                        registrant related to specific issues upon 
                        which a lobbyist employed by the registrant 
                        engaged in lobbying activities.
                            ``(iv) Providing advice on or producing 
                        public communications related to specific 
                        issues upon which a lobbyist employed by the 
                        registrant engaged in lobbying activities.
                            ``(v) Encouraging persons to support or 
                        oppose legislative or administrative action or 
                        take action with regard to specific issues upon 
                        which a lobbyist employed by the registrant 
                        engaged in lobbying activities, including the 
                        costs of creating formal or informal coalitions 
                        of organizations for such purposes.''.
    (e) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply with respect to statements and reports filed on or after the 
first day of the One Hundred Seventeenth Congress.

SEC. 5. PROMOTING ENFORCEMENT BY ATTORNEY GENERAL.

    (a) Reference of Noncompliance to Attorney General.--Section 6(a) 
of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1605(a)) is amended by 
striking ``the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia'' 
each place it appears in paragraph (8) and paragraph (11) and inserting 
``the Attorney General''.
    (b) Inclusion in Enforcement Reports of Identification of 
Individuals Subject to Imposition of Sentence.--Section 6(b)(1) of such 
Act (2 U.S.C. 1605(b)(1)) is amended by striking ``by case, any 
sentences imposed, except that such report shall not include the names 
of individuals, or personally identifiable information, that is not 
already a matter of public record'' and inserting ``by case and by the 
name of the individual and (if applicable) the lobbying firm involved, 
any sentences imposed''.
    (c) Recommendations To Promote Enforcement and Compliance.--Section 
6 of such Act (2 U.S.C. 1605) is amended by adding at the end the 
following new subsection:
    ``(c) Recommendations To Promote Enforcement and Compliance.--The 
Attorney General, at any time, may make recommendations to Congress on 
steps to promote the enforcement of and compliance with this Act, 
including recommendations regarding the Attorney General's need for 
resources to carry out the enforcement of this Act.''.

SEC. 6. INCREASING TRANSPARENCY OF SYSTEM FOR FILING, CODING, AND 
              CROSS-INDEXING OF REPORTED INFORMATION.

    (a) Clarifying Requirement To Implement System.--Section 6(a)(3) of 
the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1605(a)(3)) is amended in 
the matter preceding subparagraph (A) by striking ``develop'' and 
inserting ``develop and implement''.
    (b) Availability of Information Through Software Applications.--
Section 6(a)(3)(B) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 1605(a)(3)(B)) is amended by 
striking ``computerized systems'' and inserting ``computerized systems, 
including a system through which individuals may use software or web-
based applications to obtain access to a searchable, sortable, and 
downloadable database of information,''

SEC. 7. OTHER REFORMS IN REGULATION OF LOBBYISTS AND LOBBYING ACTIVITY.

    (a) Revision of Threshold for Exemption From Treatment as 
Lobbyist.--
            (1) Revision.--Section 3(10) of the Lobbying Disclosure Act 
        of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1602(10)) is amended--
                    (A) by striking ``by a client'' and inserting ``by 
                a client or by a registrant''; and
                    (B) by striking ``other than an individual'' and 
                all that follows and inserting the following: ``other 
                than an individual who, over a 3-month period, spends 
                fewer than 12 hours engaged in lobbying activities for 
                such client or such registrant.''.
            (2) Effective date.--The amendments made by paragraph (1) 
        shall apply with respect to lobbying activities occurring on or 
        after the first day of the One Hundred Seventeenth Congress.
    (b) Deadline for Registration.--
            (1) Revision of deadline.--Section 4(a) of such Act (2 
        U.S.C. 1603(a)) is amended--
                    (A) by striking ``45 days'' and inserting ``30 
                days''; and
                    (B) by striking ``45th day'' each place it appears 
                and inserting ``30th day''.
            (2) Effective date.--The amendments made by paragraph (1) 
        shall apply with respect to lobbying contacts occurring on or 
        after the first day of the One Hundred Seventeenth Congress.
    (c) Inclusion of Specific Information in Registration Statements on 
Issued Addressed in Lobbying Activities.--
            (1) In general.--Section 4(b)(5)(B) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 
        1603(b)(5)(B)) is amended by striking the semicolon at the end 
        and inserting the following: ``, including any Federal rule, 
        regulation, Executive Order, or any other program, policy, 
        policy, or position of the United States Government, as well as 
        any proposed Federal legislation or a description thereof;''.
            (2) Effective date.--The amendment made by paragraph (1) 
        shall apply with respect to statements filed on or after the 
        first day of the One Hundred Seventeenth Congress.
    (d) Clarification of Timing of Termination of Registration.--
Section 4(d) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 1603(d)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ``by a client'' and 
        inserting ``by a client or by a registrant''; and
            (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ``for such client'' and 
        inserting ``for such client or lobbying firm''.

SEC. 8. QUADRENNIAL REPORTS ON EFFECTIVENESS OF COLLECTION, STORING, 
              AND RELEASE OF INFORMATION.

    (a) Inclusion in Annual Audits by Comptroller General.--
            (1) In general.--Section 26 of the Lobbying Disclosure Act 
        of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1614) is amended--
                    (A) by redesignating subsection (b) as subsection 
                (c); and
                    (B) by inserting after subsection (a) the following 
                new subsection:
    ``(b) Quadrennial Reports on Modernization of Reporting and 
Disclosures.--Beginning in 2020 and every 4 years thereafter, the 
Comptroller General shall include with the audit conducted under 
subsection (a) an evaluation of the technology and methods employed by 
the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House to collect, 
store, review, and electronically publish the information filed with 
the Secretary and Clerk under this Act, and shall include in such 
evaluation an analysis of--
            ``(1) whether additional technological means could be 
        employed to reduce the burden on filers and increase the 
        accuracy of filings;
            ``(2) whether automated means are being maximally employed 
        to allow the Secretary and the Clerk to automatically process, 
        normalize, and verify the data they have received; and
            ``(3) whether the Secretary and the Clerk could undertake 
        other measures to improve how such is collected, reviewed, and 
        reported to the public.''.
            (2) Conforming amendment relating to submission of report 
        to congress.--Section 26(c)(1) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 
        1614(c)(1)), as redesignated by paragraph (1), is amended by in 
        the matter preceding subparagraph (A) by striking the period at 
        the end of the first sentence and inserting the following: ``, 
        and, if applicable, the quadrennial evaluation conducted under 
        subsection (b).''.
    (b) Joint Review by Secretary of Senate and Clerk of House of 
Representatives.--The Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1601 et 
seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new section:

``SEC. 27. QUADRENNIAL REVIEW OF INFORMATION COLLECTION AND 
              DISSEMINATION BY SECRETARY OF SENATE AND CLERK OF HOUSE 
              OF REPRESENTATIVES.

    ``(a) Review.--Not later than April 1, 2021, and every 4 years 
thereafter, the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House of 
Representatives shall jointly conduct and submit to Congress a review 
of how the Secretary and Clerk collect, store, review, and disseminate 
information filed with the Secretary and the Clerk under this Act.
    ``(b) Factors.--In conducting the review under subsection (a), the 
Secretary and the Clerk--
            ``(1) shall include an analysis of how the filing and 
        public disclosure of the information filed under this Act can 
        be improved, including a detailed plan with deadlines for 
        improving filing and disclosure mechanisms; and
            ``(2) shall consult with members of the public, with an 
        emphasis on those members of the public who regularly seek 
        access to such information.
    ``(c) Additional or Separate Views Permitted.--The Secretary and 
the Clerk may each include additional or separate views in the review 
submitted to Congress under subsection (a).''.
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