HR 2902 — Elected Official Lobbying Prohibition Act of 2021

Summary

Elected Official Lobbying Prohibition Act of 2021 This bill prohibits state and local elected officials from lobbying the federal government on behalf of private (i.e., nongovernmental) clients. The bill's restrictions apply to officials who serve in a statewide elected office, a state legislature, an elected office of a local government that meets specified population standards, or as the chair of a political party of a state, including officials of U.S. territories and the District of Columbia. The bill does not apply to officials acting on behalf of their constituents or who are otherwise acting in an official capacity.

Bill Text

• Introduced Introduced in House Current html April 28, 2021

Compared against current U.S. Code AI-generated reading aid — verify against the official bill.

The bill adds a prohibition against certain state and local elected officials making lobbying contacts on behalf of private clients under the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995.

• 2 U.S.C. 1601

  SEC. 5A. PROHIBITION AGAINST MAKING OF LOBBYING CONTACTS ON BEHALF OF PRIVATE CLIENTS BY ELECTED OFFICIALS OF STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS. (a) Prohibition.--A covered elected official described in subsection (b) may not make any lobbying contact under this Act on behalf of a client who is not an entity of a State or unit of local government. (b) Covered Elected Official Described.--In this subsection, a `covered elected official' is any of the following: (1) An individual holding a Statewide elected office in any State. (2) An individual serving in the legislature of a State (or, in the case of the District of Columbia, an individual serving on the Council of the District of Columbia). (3) An individual holding any elected office of a unit of local government with a population greater than 30 percent (or, in the case of an individual holding the elected office of the chief executive of a unit of local government, greater than 15 percent) of the average population of a congressional district (as determined on the basis of the most recent decennial census). (4) The chair of a political party of a State. (c) State Defined.--In this section, the term `State' means each of the several States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the United States Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. (d) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section may be construed to prohibit a covered elected official from petitioning the Federal government on behalf of the collective interests of the people the official represents or from otherwise acting in an official capacity as a covered elected official.

  This change establishes a new section that explicitly prohibits certain elected state and local officials from lobbying on behalf of private clients.

• The amendments made by this section shall apply with respect to lobbying contacts under the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 which are made after the expiration of the 60-day period which begins on the date of the enactment of this Act.

  This provision sets an effective date for the new prohibition, allowing a 60-day period before it goes into effect.

Action History

1. April 28, 2021

   Introduced in House

2. April 28, 2021

   Introduced in House

3. April 28, 2021

   Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

4. October 19, 2021

   Referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties.

Sponsors

• Van Taylor · Primary

Subjects