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.
[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2902 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
117th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2902
To amend the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 to prohibit certain
elected officials of State and local governments from making lobbying
contacts under such Act on behalf of private clients, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 28, 2021
Mr. Taylor (for himself and Mr. Phillips) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 to prohibit certain
elected officials of State and local governments from making lobbying
contacts under such Act on behalf of private clients, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Elected Official Lobbying
Prohibition Act of 2021''.
SEC. 2. PROHIBITING STATE AND LOCAL ELECTED OFFICIALS FROM MAKING
LOBBYING CONTACTS ON BEHALF OF PRIVATE CLIENTS.
(a) Prohibition.--The Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C.
1601 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 5 the following new
section:
``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.''.
(b) Effective Date.--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.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties.
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