Legal Definitions Regarding Lobbying
(Title 3 M.R.S.A. Section 312-A)
"Employer" means a person who agrees to reimburse for expenditures
or to compensate a person who in return agrees to provide services.
Employer includes any political action committee as defined in this
section which communicates through or uses the services of a lobbyist
to make campaign contributions or to influence in any way the political
process.
"Legislative action" means the drafting, introduction, consideration,
modification, enactment or defeat of any bill, resolution, amendment,
report, nomination or other matter by the Legislature, by either the
House of Representatives or the Senate, any committee or an official
in the Legislative Branch acting in his official capacity, or action
of the Governor in approving or vetoing any legislative document presented
to the Governor for his approval.
"Lobbying" means to communicate directly with any official
in the legislative branch or any official in the executive branch or
with a constitutional officer for the purpose of influencing any legislative action or with the Governor
or the Governor's cabinet and staff for the purpose of influencing the
approval or veto of a legislative action when reimbursement for expenditures
or compensation is made for those activities. "Lobbying" includes
the time spent to prepare and submit to the Governor, an official in
the legislative branch, an official in the executive branch, a constitutional
officer, or a legislative committee oral and written proposals for,
or testimony or analyses concerning, a legislative action. "Lobbying"
does not include time spent by any person providing information to or
participating in a subcommittee, stakeholder group, task force or other
work group regarding a legislative action by the appointment or at the
request of the Governor, a Legislator or legislative committee, a constitutional
officer, a state agency commissioner or the chair of a state board or
commission as long as the person's regular employment does not
otherwise include lobbying.
"Lobbyist" means any person who is specifically employed
by another person for the purpose of and who engages in lobbying in
excess of 8 hours in any calendar month, or any individual who, as a
regular employee of another person, expends an amount of time in excess
of 8 hours in any calendar month in lobbying. "Lobbyist" does
not include a lobbyist associate.
"Lobbyist associate" means an individual who:
A. Is a partner, associate or employee of a lobbyist or is a coemployee
of a regular employee of another person if that regular employee is
registered as a lobbyist;
B. Lobbies on behalf of the employer named on the lobbyist registration;
and
C. Expends more than 8 hours in any calendar month lobbying on behalf
of an employer of the lobbyist.
"Official in the Legislative Branch" means a member, member-elect,
candidate for or officer of the Legislature or an employee of the Legislature.
"Official in the executive branch" means an individual in
a major policy-influencing position listed in Title 5, chapter 71, the
Governor's cabinet and staff and any individual in a major policy-influencing
position in any other agency or independent agency, as defined in section
953, who is not specifically named in Title 5, chapter 71.
"Person" means an individual, corporation, proprietorship,
joint stock company, business trust, syndicate, association, professional
association, labor union, firm, partnership, club or other organization,
whether profit or non-profit, or any municipality or quasi-municipality
or group of persons acting in concert, but does not include this State
or any agency of this State.
