Florida Administrative Code › 34 - COMMISSION ON ETHICS › 34 - Departmental › Chapter 34-12 - EXECUTIVE BRANCH LOBBYIST REGISTRATION › Section 34-12.020 - Definitions

Current through Reg. 50, No. 138; July 16, 2024
As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise
				  requires:
(1) "Agency" means the
				Governor, Governor and Cabinet, or any department, division, bureau, board,
				commission, or authority of the Executive Branch, or the Constitution Revision
				Commission.
(2) "Agency official or
				employee" means an officer, employee, or other individual of the Executive
				Branch or the Constitution Revision Commission who is required by law to file
				full (CE Form 6) or limited (CE Form 1) public disclosure of his or her
				financial interests, but does not mean officers or employees of political
				subdivisions of the State.
(3)
				"Compensation" means a payment, distribution, loan, advance, reimbursement,
				deposit, salary, fee, retainer, or anything of value provided or owed to a
				lobbying firm, directly or indirectly, by a principal for any Executive Branch
				lobbying activity.
(4)
				"Expenditure" means a payment, distribution, loan, advance, reimbursement,
				deposit, or anything of value made by a lobbyist or principal, directly or
				indirectly, for the purpose of lobbying. A contribution to a political party
				regulated under Chapter 103, F.S., or a contribution or an expenditure reported
				pursuant to Chapter 106, F.S., or its federal law counterpart, is not an
				expenditure for purposes of Section
				 112.3215, F.S., and this rule
				chapter.
(5) "Governmental entity"
				includes water management districts, regional planning councils, community
				college districts, counties, municipalities, special districts, and other
				political subdivisions of the State.
(6) "Lobbies" or "lobbying" means seeking, on
				behalf of another person, to influence an agency with respect to a decision of
				the agency in the area of policy or procurement or an attempt to obtain the
				goodwill of an agency official or employee.
(7) "Lobbying firm" means a business entity,
				including an individual contract lobbyist, that receives or becomes entitled to
				receive any compensation for the purpose of lobbying, where any partner, owner,
				officer, or employee of the business is a lobbyist. An association, a
				governmental entity, a corporation, or other business entity that does not
				derive compensation from principals for lobbying is not a "lobbying firm, " and
				neither are its employee-lobbyists considered to be a "lobbying
				firm."
(8) "Person" means
				individuals, children, firms, associations, joint ventures, partnerships,
				estates, trusts, business trusts, syndicates, fiduciaries, corporations, and
				all other groups or combinations.
(9) "Policy" means a plan or course of action
				which is applicable to a class of persons, proceedings, or other matters, and
				which is designed to influence or determine the subsequent decisions and
				actions of an agency, such as any plan or course of action which would
				constitute a "rule" as defined in Section
				 120.52, F.S. The term does not
				include the adjudication or determination of any rights, duties, or obligations
				of a person made on a case-by-case basis, such as would be involved in the
				issuance or denial of a license, permit, or certification or in a disciplinary
				action or investigation involving a person.
(10) "Principal" means the person, firm,
				corporation, governmental entity, or other entity which has employed or
				retained a lobbyist. When an association has employed or retained a lobbyist,
				the association is the principal. The members of the association are not
				principals of the lobbyist merely because of their membership in the
				association.
(11) "Procurement"
				means the purchase or acquisition of any property, interest in property, or
				services by an agency.
Rulemaking Authority
					 112.3215,
					 112.322(9) FS.
					 Law Implemented 112.3215
					 FS.
New 10-12-89, Amended 1-4-94, 7-2-00,
					 6-15-06.