527 Reform Act of 2006
Latest action. Laid on the table. See S. 2349 for further action.
Lobbying Transparency and Accountability Act of 2006 - 527 Reform Act of 2006 - Title I: Enhancing Lobbying Disclosure - (Sec. 101) Amends the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (LDA) to require: (1) quarterly instead of semiannual filing of lobbying disclosures reports; (2) electronic filing; and (3) maintenance of certain lobbying disclosure information in an electronic data base, available to the public free of charge over the Internet.
(Sec. 104) Extends from two years to seven years before the first date of acting as a lobbyist the look-back period for mandatory registration disclosure by a registered lobbyist of service by any of its employees as a covered executive or legislative branch official.
(Sec. 105) Requires registered lobbyists to include in their mandatory semiannual reports specified information about any contributions to federal candidates or related committees, gifts to covered legislative branch officials, and funds contributed to an entity named for, established, financed, maintained, or controlled by a covered legislative branch official. Exempts from this reporting requirement any payments or reimbursements made from funds already required to be reported under the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971(FECA).
(Sec. 106) Increases from $50,000 to $100,000 the civil penalty for knowing failure to remedy a defective lobbyist filing or comply with any LDA requirement.
Amends the federal criminal code to establish criminal penalties of fines or imprisonment for up to: (1) three years for knowing and willful failure to comply with LDA requirements; or (2) five years for knowing, willful, and corrupt failure to do so.
(Sec. 107) Subjects registered lobbyists, employees, and clients to civil penalties of up to $50,000 for offering gifts to a covered legislative branch official of the House in knowing violation of House rules.
Title II: Slowing the Revolving Door - (Sec. 201) Amends the federal criminal code to require former Members of the House, officers, or employees to be notified of certain post-employment restrictions.
(Sec. 202) Amends the Code of Official Conduct to require public disclosure by Members of the House of employment negotiations. Urges them to refrain from voting on any pending legislative measure if such negotiation creates a conflict of interest.
The summary continues for 24 more paragraphs. Read it in full on Congress.gov
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Passed House amended" stage on May 3, 2006. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Laid on the table. See S. 2349 for further action.
Civibrief does not map this action to a stage in the process. See the official record.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
The latest action on file does not map to a stage Civibrief recognizes, so the page will not name one. The record's own words are the reliable fact here.
The record's latest action, on May 23, 2006: Laid on the table. See S. 2349 for further action.
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 109th Congress (2005-06), 482 of the 10,701 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 4.5 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one has no outstanding steps 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?
DAVID DREIER (R-CA) introduced it on March 16, 2006, and 15 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 15 Republicans.
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 March 16, 2006, 7483 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 7415 days ago, on May 23, 2006.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 109th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2007 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
- HouseLaid on the table. See S. 2349 for further action.
- SenateNot stated in the latest action
- PresidentNot stated in the latest action