(A) Registration of lobbyists.
(1) Lobbyists shall register prior to lobbying, if practicable, otherwise within five business days after first lobbying, by filing a statement disclosing the following:
(a) The name and business address of the lobbyist and any employee of the lobbyist who acts as a lobbyist.
(b) The name and business address of all persons by whom the lobbyist is compensated to lobby.
(2) At the time of registration or any time thereafter a lobbyist may file a statement certifying that the lobbyist intends to make no expenditures reportable under this subchapter. Upon filing this statement the lobbyist shall be exempt from the expenditure reporting requirements of this section, so long as no expenditures are made. If a lobbyist who has signed an exemption statement subsequently makes any reportable expenditure, that lobbyist shall notify the Town Clerk of such expenditure within ten days, and shall thereafter be subject to expenditure reporting requirements.
(B) Reports of lobbyists.
(1) Lobbyists shall report expenditures quarterly. Expenditures over $25 shall be itemized separately, listing the date, amount, and nature of the expenditure, the name of the elected town official receiving or benefitting from the expenditure, and the person on whose behalf the expenditure was made. An aggregate of expenditures of $25 or less for each elected town official shall be reported. Expenditures for the lobbyist's personal sustenance, family gifts, personal hospitality, preparation or distribution of informational materials, campaign contributions, professional or consulting services not made on behalf of another person for compensation, and not rendered primarily for the benefit of an elected town official, office expenses, filing fees, legal fees, employees, compensation, lodging, and travel are not required to be reported.
(2) All expenses for events to which all Members of the Town Council or any committee or subcommittee of the Town Council are invited shall be reported pursuant to (1) above. Such expenses need not be allocated to individual Council Members, but the date, location, total expenses incurred, and a description of each such event shall be reported.
(3) A lobbyist who makes no reportable expenditures during a specified reporting period may, in lieu of the report required by (1) above, file a statement certifying that there were no reportable expenditures during the period.
(4) Registered town lobbyists must re-register annually to continue lobbying.
(C) Gifts to public officials; prohibitions; disclosure.
(1) No person shall make a gift to, or expenditure on behalf of, an elected or appointed town official through another person to conceal the identity of the person making the gift or expenditure.
(2) No person shall give or promise to give within one calendar year a gift or gifts which have an aggregate value of over $100 for an elected or appointed town official.
(3) Every elected or appointed town official shall disclose to the Town Clerk, in writing, each gift made to or on behalf of the elected or appointed town official within 30 days after the gift was made.
(`87 Code, Art. 19-2) (Am. Ord. 96-17, passed 11-4-96; Am. Ord. 96-24, passed 11-18-96) Penalty, see § 10.99