Lobbying
Lobbying happens when you try to influence government action. For example, if you call your legislators to ask them to change a law, that’s lobbying. It’s also lobbying when you call high level people in the executive branch to try and get them to take an action.
Both the U.S. Constitution and the North Carolina Constitution include provisions that make lobbying okay. For example, the NC Constitution says that citizens have a right to:
- Contact their representatives and
- To apply to the General Assembly for redress of grievances.
The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution has provisions about:
- Freedom of speech
- Petitioning the government for redress of grievances.
No. We only regulate a portion of lobbying. We regulate paid lobbyists who lobby “designated individuals” in State government. Generally, designated individuals are:
- Legislators and legislative employees
- Policy making employees in the executive branch
The Ethics Commission keeps a list of designated individuals.
A lobbyist principal is the one who pays the lobbyist to lobby. A lobbyist principal can be an individual or a group or a company.
No. You only have to register if:
- You are paid to lobby and
- You lobby certain people called “designated individuals”. See Chapter 138A.
We have all the registration information about people who are registered to lobby on the website.
Yes. When a lobbyist registers there’s a place on the form to check which subjects he or she will be lobbying on. To find that out, you need to find the lobbyist’s registration form on our website. Look on the 2nd page of the form for “General Subjects on Which the Lobbyist Intends to Lobby”.
Lobbyists are not required to file a document saying who they are lobbying. If you look at the lobbyists’ reports, you may find names of individuals or groups that the lobbyist has spent money on. That is a clue to whom the lobbyist is lobbying.
State agencies cannot pay outside lobbyists. They can make lobbying part of their employees’ duties. Those employees have to register as liaisons.
You can always talk to your legislator. The main official source of information is the General Assembly’s website. It has lots of information such as the text of bills.
General Assembly’s website. If you don’t know who represents you, click on “Who represents me? If you already know who represents you, click on “View member info” and select the name of your legislator.
You can look them up in our Directory of State and Local Government Officials:
You can download our complaint form.
Yes, you can file an anonymous complaint. However, if you file an anonymous complaint, we may not open an investigation because we can’t contact you to get information we need.
Yes. Chapter 120C requires that a complaint is kept confidential unless a court orders disclosure.
Your registration is only good for the calendar year in which you register.
Yes, you can register even if you are not required to. But, if you do register, you will have to comply with all the laws and rules that apply to other lobbyists.
We do not keep those records. You can search for federal government lobbyists on the Federal Lobbying Disclosure website.
You do not have to register with us. You may have to register with the federal government.
No. You must file and pay the fee electronically. The recently approved 'An Act to Make Base Budget Appropriations for Current Operations of State Departments, Institutions, and Agencies and For Other Purposes' mandated an increase in the lobbyist registration fee, as well as an increase in the lobbyist principal registration fee. See Session Law 2013-360. The link to electronic filing of registrations and instructions is: /divisions/lobbying
It costs $500.00 registration fee. There is a non-refundable $3.00 electronic filing fee for credit cards. The non-refundable electronic fee for ACH transactions is $2.00.
It depends. The new expense reports process offers two options. Option 1 allows you to retain the original expense report in your own records. Option 2 allows you to send the original expense report to the Lobbying Compliance Division. The electronic filing procedure does not permit you to submit the expense report without notifying the Division of which method you select to maintain your record. See 18 NCAC 12.1301(PDF).
You have to register within one business day of direct lobbying or goodwill lobbying.
Your registration expires on December 31st each year. It does not make a difference when you registered during the year. Registration fees are not prorated.
Yes, you have to file a resignation form with us or your lobbyist principal also has to file a termination with us.
No.
Goodwill lobbying is when the lobbyist promotes a good relationship with the person or the person's immediate family with the intent to influence current or future executive or legislative action or both.
Lobbyists and Principals are required to file quarterly mandatory reports.
Each quarter for the rest of the calendar year, you will have to file expense reports. If you don’t file the reports, you can be fined.
All quarterly reports are due the 15th day after the end of each quarter. Monthly and quarterly due dates.
All monthly reports are due by the 10th business day after the end of the month.
Only if you spent money on, or something of value on a legislator, legislator’s immediate family member or a legislative staff member during the time the General Assembly is in session. Keep in mind that quarterly reports are mandatory every quarter, but monthly expense reports are only required if expenditures were made on one of the above mentioned designated individuals.
No. PACS register and file with the State Board of Elections. The number for the State Board of Elections is 919-814-0700. You do not have to register with us. You do have to register with the State Board of Elections. You can call them at 919-814-0700 or https://www.ncsbe.gov/. You may also have to register with the federal government's Federal Election Commission.
We will contact them. They will have to file an affidavit under oath with us. The affidavit has to explain why they filed a report under oath saying they had lobbied when they were not registered.
Yes. There are 2 kinds of reports.
You have to file a quarterly report with us if you are registered in that quarter.
You may have to file a monthly report.
You have to file a monthly report when:
- The General Assembly is in session during the month and
- You spent money on or something of value on:
- A legislator
- The legislator’s immediate family member or
- A legislative staff member.
No. If you are a paid employee and only a small part of your job involves lobbying, then you may not have to register. Contact the State Ethics Commission.
Yes. There are exemptions in two places in the law. State employees who lobby for their agencies do not have to register as a lobbyist because they register as 'liaisons'. There are nine more specific exemptions from registration. For example, you do not have to register if you are just expressing your personal opinion to a legislator. Contact the State Ethics Commission to determine if you are exempt from registration.
Yes, there are 2 more kinds of registrations:
State employees who lobby for their agencies have to register as 'liaisons'.
There are 2 kinds of reports.
You have to file a quarterly report with us for every quarter or portion of a quarter that you are registered.
You have to file a monthly report with us if you are registered in that month and you give a gift or something of value to a legislator,
immediate family member of a legislator, or a member of legislative staff when the General Assembly is in session.
On October 3, 2023 the fee was increased to $500.00. Because all lobbyists and principal registrations must be filed electronically, There is an additional non-refundable $3.00 electronic filing fee for credit cards. The non-refundable electronic fee for ACH transactions is $2.00
On October 1, 2013, mandatory electronic filing began. In order to register electronically, you must have an account with the Secretary of State. If you
already have an account with the Secretary of State, you do not have to create an additional separate account to register as a lobbyist. The link to
create an account is:
The linked to register is:
You have to file a monthly report when:
- The General Assembly is in session during the month, and
- You spent money on or something of value on
- A legislator
- The legislator's immediate family member, or
- A legislative staff member.
You have to register within 20 business days after your lobbyist registers.
On October 3, 2023 the fee was increased to $500.00. Because all principals and lobbyists registrations must be filed electronically, There is an additional non-refundable $3.00 electronic filing fee for credit cards. The non-refundable electronic fee for ACH transactions is $2.00.
There are two kinds of reports.
The principal will have to file a quarterly report based upon the date when the lobbyist registers. For example, if the lobbyist registers in the first quarter and the principal registers in the second quarter, the principal must file a first and second quarter report.
- You have to file a quarterly report with us for every quarter or portion of a quarter that you are registered.
- You may have to file a monthly report.
You have to file a monthly report when:
- The General Assembly is in session during the month and
- You spent money on or something of value on:
- A legislator
- The legislator’s immediate family member or
- A legislative staff member.
You have to report how much you paid your lobbyists when:
- You file your 4th quarter report, or
- You terminate your relationship with the lobbyist, or
- The lobbyist resigns.