Public Disclosure of Lobbying Act
Latest action. Referred to Senate Committee on Government Operations.
(Measure passed House, amended, roll call #838 (307-34)) Public Disclosure of Lobbying Act - Makes provisions of this Act applicable to any organization which: (1) expends in excess of $1,250 in any quarterly filing period to retain a person to make or draft oral or written communications directed to a Federal officer or employee to influence specified official actions of such individual; or (2) employs at least one individual who spends 20 percent or more of his time in any quarterly filing period engaged in attempts to influence official action on behalf of the organization. Enumerates communications exempt from the provisions of this Act. Excludes from the definition of a "lobby organization" any Federal, State, or local unit of government. Requires each organization engaging in activities covered by this Act to register with the Comptroller General within 15 days of engaging in such activities. Sets forth minimum data to be contained in such registration. Requires that organizations specified by this Act maintain necessary records for each quarterly filing period in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Comptroller General. Requires such organizations, within 30 days of the last day of each quarterly filing period, to file a report with the Comptroller General detailing specialized aspects of its lobbying activities, including expenditures, identification of lobbyists, and enumeration of issues generating lobbying efforts. Exempts from reporting requirements the making of loans to Federal officers and employees at terms no more favorable than those available to the general public. Requires that all contributions to registered lobbying organizations in excess of $2,500 be reported. Directs the Comptroller General to make information compiled and summarized under this Act available to the public within 60 days after the close of each quarterly filing period. Establishes procedures through which concerned organizations may obtain advisory opinions from the Comptroller General regarding the application of the provisions of this Act. Directs the Comptroller General to investigate and correct violations of this Act through informal action or by referral of the violation to the Attorney General for prosecution. Directs the Comptroller General to refer to the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct incidents of giving gifts exceeding $100 in value to determine if acceptance of such gifts violates the Rules of the House. Classifies specified records maintained by the Comptroller General under this Act as within the scope of public information laws. Directs the Comptroller General to transmit annual reports of activities under this Act to the President and to each House of Congress. Allows either House of Congress to disapprove regulations proposed by the Comptroller General. Subjects knowing violators of this Act to a civil penalty of $5,000 for each violation. Imposes upon knowing and willful violators of this Act a fine of not more than $10,000, imprisonment for not more than two years, or both. Repeals the Federal Regulation of Lobbying Act. Authorizes the appropriation of such sums as may be necessary to carry out this Act.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Passed House amended" stage on September 28, 1976. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on September 29, 1976: Referred to Senate Committee on Government Operations.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 94th Congress (1975-76), 588 of the 21,097 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 2.8 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
TOM RAILSBACK (R-IL) introduced it on January 14, 1975, and 1 member has since signed on as a cosponsor.
They are 1 Democrat.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on January 14, 1975, 18915 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 18291 days ago, on September 29, 1976.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 94th Congress has not finished by January 3, 1977 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers