Regulation of Lobby Act of 1979
Latest action. Referred to House Committee on the Judiciary.
Regulation of Lobby-Act of 1979 - Requires organizations which expend more than $5,000 per quarter year for lobbying purposes to register with the Comptroller General and to update annually such registration. Requires the identification of any such person retained for such lobbying purposes. Requires such organization to file quarterly reports concerning such lobbying activities including: (1) a listing of total lobbying expenditures including each expenditure over $35 made to or for the benefit of any Federal officer, congressional employee, or Member of Congress; (2) a listing of the issues for which such an organization has lobbied; and (3) known business contracts with the person whom such organization is attempting to influence. Requires the Comptroller General to make copies of each registration and report required by this Act available for public inspection and copying. Directs the Comptroller General, upon petition of any individual or organization, to withhold from publication information which may reasonably be expected to lead to the harassment of any individual or organization or lead to threats or reprisals against any individual or organization. Makes it the duty of the Attorney General to: (1) investigate alleged violations of any provision of this Act; and (2) attempt to correct any violation by informal methods of conference or conciliation. Authorizes the Attorney General to institute civil actions in appropriate circumstances. Grants to the United States district courts jurisdiction for actions brought under this Act. Directs the Comptroller General to transmit reports to the President and each House of the Congress no later than March 31 of each year concerning activities under this Act. Provides a Congressional veto of rules and regulations promulgated by the Comptroller General pursuant to this Act. Makes any person or organization who knowingly fails to comply with the registration, reporting, and recordkeeping requirements of this Act, subject to a civil penalty of not more than $5,000 for each such violation. Provides a civil penalty of not more than $100,000 for anyone who sells or uses a required report or registration in violation of this Act. Repeals the Federal Regulation of Lobbying Act and specified provisions of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946. Authorizes to be appropriated $1,600,000 for each of the fiscal years 1981 through 1983.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on February 21, 1979. 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 February 21, 1979: Referred to House Committee on the Judiciary.
- 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 96th Congress (1979-80), 613 of the 12,581 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 4.9 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?
THOMAS KINDNESS (R-OH) introduced it on February 21, 1979. No cosponsors are recorded.
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 February 21, 1979, 17368 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 17368 days ago, on February 21, 1979.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 96th Congress has not finished by January 3, 1981 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