July 21, 2010, Introduced by Reps. Stanley, Durhal, Geiss, Slezak and Kandrevas and referred to the Committee on Regulatory Reform.
A bill to amend 1978 PA 472, entitled
"An act to regulate political activity; to regulate lobbyists,
lobbyist agents, and lobbying activities; to require registration
of lobbyists and lobbyist agents; to require the filing of reports;
to prescribe the powers and duties of the department of state; to
prescribe penalties; and to repeal certain acts and parts of acts,"
by amending section 5 (MCL 4.415), as amended by 1986 PA 83.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 5. (1) "Legislative action" means introduction,
sponsorship, support, opposition, consideration, debate, vote,
passage, defeat, approval, veto, delay, or an official action by an
official in the executive branch or an official in the legislative
branch on a bill, resolution, amendment, nomination, appointment,
report, or any matter pending or proposed in a legislative
committee or either house of the legislature. Legislative action
does not include the representation of a person who has been
subpoenaed to appear before the legislature or an agency of the
legislature.
(2) "Lobbying" means communicating directly with an official
in
the executive branch of state government or an official in the
legislative
branch of state government for the purpose of
influencing legislative or administrative action. Lobbying does not
include
the providing of technical information by a person other
than
a person as defined in subsection (5) unless the person
providing the information is a lobbyist agent or an employee of a
person
as defined in subsection (5) when lobbyist
agent appearing
before an officially convened legislative committee or executive
department hearing panel. As used in this subsection, "technical
information" means empirically verifiable data provided by a person
recognized as an expert in the subject area to which the
information provided is related.
(3) "Influencing" means promoting, supporting, affecting,
modifying, opposing or delaying by any means, including the
providing
of provision or use of information, statistics, studies,
or analysis.
(4) "Lobbyist" means any of the following:
(a)
A Subject to subsection
(12), a person whose expenditures
for lobbying are more than $1,000.00 in value in any 12-month
period.
(b)
A Subject to subsection
(12), a person whose expenditures
for lobbying are more than $250.00 in value in any 12-month period,
if the amount is expended on lobbying a single public official.
(c)
For the purpose of subdivisions (a) and (b), groups of 25
or
more people shall not have their personal expenditures for food,
travel,
and beverage included, providing those expenditures are not
reimbursed
by a lobbyist or lobbyist agent.
(c) (d)
The state or a political
subdivision which that
contracts for a lobbyist agent.
(5) "Lobbyist agent" means a person who receives compensation
or reimbursement of actual expenses, or both, in a combined amount
in
excess of more than $250.00 in any 12-month period for lobbying.
(6) "Representative of the lobbyist" means any of the
following:
(a) An employee of the lobbyist or lobbyist agent.
(b) For purposes of section 8(1)(b)(i) and 9(1)(b), a member
of
the lobbyist or employee of a member of the lobbyist, when if
the
lobbyist is a membership organization or association, and when
if the lobbyist agent or an employee of the lobbyist or lobbyist
agent is present during any part of the period during which the
purchased food or beverage is consumed.
(c) A person who is reimbursed by the lobbyist or lobbyist
agent for an expenditure, other than an expenditure for food or
beverage,
which that was incurred for the purpose of lobbying.
(7) Lobbyist or lobbyist agent does not include:
(a) A publisher, owner, or working member of the press, radio,
or television while disseminating news or editorial comment to the
general public in the ordinary course of business.
(b)
All An elected or appointed public officials official of
state
or local government who are is
acting in the course or scope
of the office for no compensation, other than that provided by law
for the office.
(c)
For the purposes of this act, However,
an elected or
appointed
public official under this subdivision (b)
shall does not
include any of the following:
(i) Employees An employee of a public
or private colleges
college, community colleges college, junior colleges college, or
universities university.
(ii) Employees An employee of townships,
villages, cities,
counties
or school boards a township,
village, city, county, or
school board.
(iii) Employees An employee of a state
executive departments
department.
(iv) Employees An employee of the judicial
branch of
government.
(c) (d)
A member of a lobbyist, if the
lobbyist is a
membership organization or association, and if the member of a
lobbyist does not separately qualify as a lobbyist under subsection
(4).
(8)
"Mass mailing" means not less than 1,000 pieces or more of
substantially similar material mailed within a 7-day period.
(9) "Official in the executive branch" means the governor,
lieutenant
governor, secretary of state, or attorney general; or an
individual who is in the executive branch of state government and
not under civil service; or a classified director, chief deputy
director,
or deputy director of a state department. This Official
in the executive branch includes an individual who is elected or
appointed and has not yet taken, or an individual who is nominated
for appointment to, any of the offices or agencies enumerated in
this
subsection. An official Official
in the executive branch does
not include a person serving in a clerical, nonpolicy-making, or
nonadministrative
capacity. In addition to all of the foregoing, an
official
Official in the executive branch also includes
all of the
following:
(a) In the executive office of the governor, the chief and
deputy chief of staff, press secretary, director of job training,
and director of personnel.
(b)
In the department of agriculture, the racing commissioner
and
a member of the agriculture commission of agriculture.
(c) In the department of civil rights, a member of the civil
rights commission.
(d)
In the department of civil service, a member of the civil
service
commission.
(e)
In the department of commerce, the commissioner of
financial
institutions, the executive director of the housing
development
authority, and a member of the liquor control
commission,
strategic fund board, state housing development
authority,
travel commission, or public service commission.
(d) In the department of community health, the director of the
office of services to the aging or the chairperson of the crime
victims services commission.
(e) (f)
In the department of education, a
member of the state
board
of education , higher education facilities commission, higher
education
facilities authority, higher education assistance
authority,
higher education student loan authority, or state tenure
commission.
(f) (g)
In the department of energy, labor,
and economic
growth,
the director of the bureau of workers'
disability
compensation,
the director of the employment security commission
unemployment insurance, the commissioner of financial and insurance
regulation, and a member of the construction code commission,
employment relations commission, employment security board of
review,
employment security commission, or wage deviation board
liquor control commission, travel commission, public service
commission, Michigan council for arts and cultural affairs, utility
consumer participation board, or occupational health standards
commission.
(h)
In the department of licensing and regulation, the state
insurance
commissioner.
(i)
In the department of management and budget, the lottery
commissioner,
the director of the office of services to the aging,
the
director of the office of state employer, the chairperson of
the
crime victims compensation board, and a member of the council
for
the arts, state administrative board, state building authority,
toxic
substance control commission, or utility consumer
participation
board.
(g) (j)
In the department of natural
resources and
environment, the supervisor of wells and a member of the
air
pollution
control commission, natural
resources commission. , or
water
resources commission.
(k)
In the department of public health, a member of the
occupational
health standards commission.
(h) (l) In the
state transportation department,
of
transportation,
a member of the aeronautics
commission and a state
transportation commissioner.
(i) In the department of technology, management, and budget,
the director of the office of state employer and a member of the
state administrative board, state building authority, or civil
service commission.
(j) (m)
In the department of treasury, the chief executive
officer of the Michigan educational lottery corporation, the
executive director of the Michigan state housing development
authority,
and a member of the hospital finance
authority,
investment advisory committee, Michigan strategic fund, or state
tax commission.
(10) "Official in the legislative branch" means a member of
the legislature, the auditor general, the deputy auditor general,
an
employee of the consumer's council, the
director of the
legislative retirement system, or any other employee of the
legislature
other than an individual employed by the this state in
a clerical or nonpolicy-making capacity.
(11) "Governmental body" means any state legislative or
governing body, including a board, commission, committee,
subcommittee,
authority, or council, which that
is empowered by
state constitution, statute, or rule to exercise governmental or
proprietary authority or perform a governmental or proprietary
function,
or a lessee thereof of an
entity described in this
subsection performing an essential public purpose and function
under the lease agreement.
(12) Expenditures for lobbying under subsection (4)(a) and (b)
do not include personal expenditures for food, travel, and beverage
for a group of 25 or more people if the expenditures are not
reimbursed by a lobbyist or lobbyist agent.
Enacting section 1. This amendatory act takes effect October
1, 2010.
Enacting section 2. This amendatory act does not take effect
unless Senate Bill No. ____ or House Bill No. 6341(request no.
07160'10) of the 95th Legislature is enacted into law.