Dr. Schuster Memo

Please direct your attention to the following information regarding changes to federal lobbying reporting requirements. I am asking that all Deans and Unit Directors to inform the employees in your unit of these changes and report any lobbying activities by the Institute’s April 14 internal deadline. Please note that rules have changed and that it is possible that you or someone in your unit has engaged in a lobbying activity as defined by the new regulations.

The Honest Leadership and Open Government Act (HLOGA) of 2007 (Public Law 110-81), amends the Lobbying Disclosure Act (LDA) of 1995 and now requires quarterly reporting as well as additional reporting on the cost of lobbying activities. Organizations, including universities, are not themselves “lobbyists” but must register under the LDA, list any employees who meet the definition of a “lobbyist,” and make a “good faith effort” to capture lobbying activity costs within the nearest $10,000. Note that lobbying activities may be attributed to employees of the Institute that do not primarily work in federal relations (ie. those that meet the requirements of a lobbyist).

Additional definitions of a reportable lobbying activity can be found here. The Institute must make a good faith effort to collect this information and provide quarterly reports. Ignoring clear violations of the reporting requirements may result in legal penalties for the parties violating these new reporting requirements. Please distribute this information to your units and faculty that may have engaged in lobbying activities as soon as possible.

Note that additional information about the new rules and a simple internal reporting form is available on this site. These forms will be used to prepare the Institute’s official report on lobbying activities.

The first quarterly report is due to Congress April 20 and internal reporting forms must be completed by no later than April 14. This will allow the Office of Federal Relations, in concert with the Office of Research Compliance, to follow up with individuals reporting activity to assess whether a given activity meets the criteria required by the new law.

The next three internal reporting deadlines for the calendar year will be:

July 6, 2008
October 10, 2008
January 5, 2009

Thank you for your cooperation on this important matter. If you have specific questions about this process, please do not hesitate to contact Patty Bartlett, Director, Office of Federal Relations at 202-756-3671 or Robert Knotts, Senior Federal Relations Associate at 202-756-3670.

Gary B. Schuster
Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs
Georgia Institute of Technology