Lobbyists

Dec 30 2011 8:59 AM

Welcome to the lobbyists page. Please select from the categories in the navigation to the right.

Utah Election Law places regulations on lobbyist activities. A lobbyist, under these regulations, is an individual who receives some kind of payment to lobby a public official other than reimbursement for reasonable travel expenses. Lobbying a public official is defined in Utah Code 36-11-102 as "communicating with a public official for the purpose of influencing the passage, defeat, amendment, or postponement of legislative or executive action."

 

Training
 
All lobbyists are required to complete key training exercises annually in order to maintain their license.
Lobbyists may verify their training completion by clicking here (updated daily).

 

Lobbyist Management: Register & Access Financial Data

Click here to access and file financial disclosures for lobbyists

Definition of a Public Official

A public official for lobbying purposes is any of the following:

  • a member of the Legislature
  • an individual elected to a position in the executive branch, or
  • an individual appointed to or employed within the legislative or executive branch if the individual makes policy, purchasing, or contracting decisions; drafts legislation or make rules; determines rates or fees; or makes adjudicative decisions.

Lobbyist Registration

Before a lobbyist may lobby a public official, he or she must register with the Lt. Governor's Office.

For more information about registering as a lobbyist or filing financial disclosure reports, consult the links on this page or contact the Lt. Governor's Office.

Registration

Before a person can lobby in Utah, he or she must register with the Lt. Governor's Office, and pay a $100 registration fee.

Registration is available online. When registering electronically, your registration fee may be paid by credit card (Visa or Mastercard).

Registration may also be done via paper form. Completed forms may be mailed or hand-delivered to the Lt. Governor's Office (see address below). When submitting a registration form, your $100 fee may be paid by credit card (Mastercard or Visa) or by check, payable to: State of Utah.

Lieutenant Governor's Office
Utah State Capitol
Suite 220
Salt Lake City, UT 84114-2325
Phone: (801) 538-1041 or 1(800) 995-VOTE
Fax: (801) 538-1133

Within 30 days of its receipt, the Lt. Governor's Office will approve or disapprove the application and will notify the lobbyist in writing. A registered lobbyist will receive a license in the mail naming their clients and authorizing them to begin lobbying activities. Lobbyist licenses expire on December 31 of even-numbered years regardless of when the license was issued.

Registration Amendments/Addition or Deletion of Clients

When registering, lobbyists must disclose every client (principal) for whom they lobby. This includes all clients of the firm(s) for which an individual lobbies. If a lobbyist accepts employment to lobby for a new client or has any changes to profile contact information, he or she must update their registration information with the Lt. Governor's Office by filing a registration amendment form.

Principals

Lobbyists' clients are known as principals. Principals are not required to register with the state; however, principals are required to disclose expenditures made to benefit public officials if the expenditures are not reported by a lobbyist.

Government Officers

Government officers are not required to file a registration form before lobbying, but are required to disclose expenditures made to benefit public officials. For lobbying purposes, 'government officer' does not mean a member of the legislative branch of state government, but does include the following:

  • An individual elected to a position in state or local government, when acting within his official capacity, or
  • An individual appointed to or employed in a full-time position by state or local government, when acting within the scope of his employment.