Lobbying Registration and Disclosure: The Role of the Clerk of the House and the Secretary of the Senate.

On September 14, 2007, President George W. Bush signed the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007 (P.L. 110-81), into law. The Honest Leadership and Open Government Act (HLOGA) amended the Lobbying Disclosure Act (LDA) of 1995 (P.L. 104-65, as amended) to provide, among other changes to federal law and House and Senate rules, additional and more frequent disclosures of lobbying contacts and activities. This report explains the role of the Clerk of the House of Representatives and the Secretary of the Senate in the implementation and administration of lobbying registration and disclosure requirements and summarizes the guidance documents they have jointly issued. Under the LDA, the Clerk of the House and the Secretary of the Senate manage the registration, filing, and collection of documents submitted by lobbyists and lobbying firms. Prior to the HLOGA, lobbyists were required to file paper documents with both the Clerk and the Secretary. These forms are now filed electronically and jointly with the Clerk and the Secretary. In addition, the Clerk and the Secretary are responsible for making documents publicly available and reporting incorrect or false filings to the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia. Beginning in December 2007, the Clerk of the House and the Secretary of the Senate issued joint guidance documents for HLOGA implementation. The initial guidance document identified eight substantive changes to the 1995 Lobbying Disclosure Act, and discussed how the Clerk and Secretary interpret and implement the HLOGA's provisions. In addition, the guidance document provided direction on successful completion of quarterly registration and disclosure documents, the new semiannual campaign contribution reporting requirement, and interpretation of the Clerk and Secretary's role in referring noncompliance to the U.S. attorney. Since issuing the initial guidance document in 2007, the Clerk of the House and Secretary of the Senate, pursuant to 2 U.S.C. §1605, have conducted periodic reviews of existing guidance and have issued multiple updates. The document was last updated on January 31, 2017. That update reflected adjustments in registration thresholds pursuant to changes in the Consumer Price Index; provided additional clarifications on identifying clients and covered officials; provided additional examples for filing by outside lobbyists; clarified that all income and expenditure reporting should be rounded to the nearest $10,000; clarified that all "sole proprietors" are required to file two LD-203 disclosure forms-one for the registrant [firm] and one for the individual lobbyist; and encouraged filers to use the online public database for compliance purposes. For further analysis on the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act and the Lobbying Disclosure Act, see CRS Report R40245, Lobbying Registration and Disclosure: Bef ore and After the Enactment of the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007, by Jacob R. Straus; and CRS Report R44292, The Lobbying Disclosure Act at 20: Analysis and Issues f or Congress, by Jacob R. Straus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]