In this article, unless specifically provided otherwise:
(1) CITY OFFICIAL means:
(A) The mayor and city council members.
(B) The city manager, assistant city managers, and chiefs.
(C) The city attorney, first assistant city attorney, and inspector general.
(D) The city secretary and first assistant city secretary.
(E) The city auditor and first assistant city auditor.
(F) Municipal judges.
(G) All department directors.
(H) City of Dallas appointed members to the following boards and commissions:
(i) Board of adjustment and board of adjustment alternate members.
(ii) Building inspection advisory, examining, and appeals board.
(iii) City plan commission.
(iv) Civil service board and civil service board adjunct members.
(v) Community development commission.
(vi) Dallas area rapid transit board.
(vii) Dallas-Fort Worth international airport board.
(viii) Ethics advisory commission.
(ix) Fire code advisory and appeals board.
(x) Housing finance corporation board.
(xi) Landmark commission and landmark commission alternate members.
(xii) All local government corporation boards.
(xiii) All municipal management district boards.
(xiv) Park and recreation board.
(xv) Permit and license appeal board.
(xvi) All reinvestment zone boards.
(2) CLIENT.
(A) "Client" means any person on whose behalf lobbying is conducted. If a person engages in lobbying on that person's own behalf, whether directly or through the acts of others, the person is both a client and a lobbyist.
(B) In the case of a coalition or association that employs or retains other persons to conduct lobbying activities, the client is the coalition or association and not its individual members.
(C) In the case of a limited liability company, limited partnership company, or similar entity, the client includes the managers and general partners, but does not include the non-managing members or limited partners.
(D) In the case of affiliated business entities, the client includes the parent entity and each subsidiary with a direct economic interest in a municipal question and on whose behalf the municipal question is being lobbied but does not include any other subsidiaries or entities whose only involvement in the municipal question or lobbying activities is being under the common control or ownership structure of the parent entity.
(3) COMPENSATION.
(A) "Compensation" means any money, service, facility, or other thing of value that is received, or is to be received, in return for or in connection with lobbying services rendered, or to be rendered, including reimbursement of expenses incurred in lobbying.
(B) "Compensation" does not include:
(i) a payment made to any individual regularly employed by a person if:
(aa) the payment ordinarily would be made regardless of whether the individual engaged in lobbying activities; and
(bb) lobbying activities are not part of the individual's regular responsibilities to the person making the payment; or
(ii) any amounts previously reported under Section 12A-33 of this article.
(C) If a lobbyist engages in both lobbying activities and other activities on behalf of a person, compensation for lobbying includes all amounts received from that person, if, for the purpose of evading the obligations imposed under this article, the lobbyist has structured the receipt of compensation in a way that unreasonably minimizes the value of the lobbying activities.
(D) Compensation that has not yet been received is considered to be received on the date that it is earned, if that date is ascertainable; otherwise, it is received on the date on which the contract or agreement for compensation is made, or on the date lobbying commences, whichever is first.
(4) EXPENDITURE.
(A) "Expenditure" means a payment, distribution, loan, advance, reimbursement, deposit, or gift of money or anything of value, including a contract, promise, or agreement to make an expenditure, regardless of whether such contract, promise, or agreement is legally enforceable.
(B) "Expenditure" does not include:
(i) an amount paid to any individual regularly employed by a person if:
(aa) the amount paid to the individual is ordinarily paid regardless of whether the individual engages in lobbying activities; and
(bb) lobbying activities are not part of the individual's regular responsibilities to the person making the payment; or
(ii) the cost of photocopying city documents, if those costs are the only expenditures made by the person in question on lobbying activities.
(C) The date on which an expenditure is incurred is determined according to generally accepted accounting principles.
(5) GIFT has the same meaning as in Section 12A-2.
(6) IMMEDIATE FAMILY means a spouse, a domestic partner, and dependent children.
(7) LOBBYIST means a person who engages in lobbying, whether directly or indirectly. If an agent or employee engages in lobbying for a principal or employer, both the agent and the principal, or the employee and the employer, are lobbyists.
(8) LOBBY or LOBBYING.
(A) "Lobby or lobbying" means any oral or written communication (including an electronic communication) to a city official, made directly or indirectly by any person in an effort to influence or persuade an official to favor or oppose, recommend or not recommend, vote for or against, or take or refrain from taking action on any municipal question.
(B) "Lobby or lobbying" does not include a communication:
(i) merely requesting information or inquiring about the facts or status of any municipal question, matter, or procedure that does not attempt to influence a city official;
(ii) made by a public official or employee (including, but not limited to, an official or employee of the city of Dallas) acting in his or her official capacity;
(iii) made by a representative of a media organization if the purpose of the communication is gathering and disseminating news and information to the public;
(iv) made in a speech, article, publication, or other material that is distributed and made available to the public, or through radio, television, cable television, or any other medium of mass communication;
(v) made at a meeting open to the public under the Texas Open Meetings Act;
(vi) made in the form of a written comment filed in the course of a public proceeding or any other communication that is made on the record in a public proceeding;
(vii) made in writing as a petition for official action and required to be a public record pursuant to established city procedures;
(viii) made in an oral or written response narrowly tailored to address an oral or written request by a city official for specific information;
(ix) the content of which is compelled by law;
(x) made in response to a public notice soliciting communications from the public and directed to the official specifically designated in the notice to receive such communications;
(xi) made on behalf of an individual with regard to that individual's employment or benefits;
(xii) made by a fact witness or expert witness at an official proceeding; or
(xiii) made by a person solely on behalf of that individual, his or her spouse or domestic partner, or his or her minor children.
(9) LOBBYING FIRM means:
(A) a self-employed lobbyist;
(B) a person who has one or more employees that are lobbyists on behalf of a client or clients other than that person; or
(C) a person who has one or more employees that are lobbyists on the person's behalf and the person is the client.
(10) MUNICIPAL QUESTION means a public policy issue of a discretionary nature that is pending before, or that may be the subject of action by, the city council or any city board or commission. The term includes, but is not limited to, proposed actions or proposals for action in the form of ordinances, resolutions, motions, recommendations, reports, regulations, policies, nominations, appointments, sanctions, and bids, including the adoption of specifications, awards, grants, or contracts. The term does not include the day-to-day application, administration, and execution of city programs and policies such as permitting, platting, and design approval matters related to or in connection with a specific project or development.
(11) PERSON means an individual, corporation, association, firm, partnership, committee, club, organization, or a group of persons voluntarily acting in concert.
(12) PUBLIC SUBSIDY MATTER means any of the following:
(A) A tax abatement.
(B) A housing tax credit.
(C) An historic development tax abatement.
(D) Federal grant money administered by the city.
(E) Tax increment financing.
(F) An economic development grant or loan.
(G) The direct sale or lease of city-owned or city-controlled real property excepted from complying with the notice and bidding requirements of Texas Local Government Code Section 272.001(a) or other law.
(a) Except as provided by Section 12A-31, a person must register with the city secretary if the person:
(1) receives compensation of $200 or more in a calendar quarter for lobbying;
(2) receives reimbursement of $200 or more in a calendar quarter for lobbying; or
(3) lobbies as the agent or employee of a person who:
(A) receives compensation of $200 or more in a calendar quarter for lobbying; or
(B) receives reimbursement of $200 or more in a calendar quarter for lobbying.
(b) A lobbying firm that is not required to register under Subsection (a) of this section may register as a lobbyist with the city secretary if the lobbying firm has two or more employees who are required to register under Subsection (a). A lobbying firm that chooses to register all of its employees as lobbyists under this subsection, instead of having them register individually, will be deemed a "registrant" and "a person required to register" for all purposes of this article and will be subject to all requirements, procedures, and penalties applicable to a "registrant" and "person required to register," as those terms are used in this article.
(c) An attorney who is representing a client must register as a lobbyist if the attorney meets the compensation or reimbursement standards of Subsection (a). A law firm employing two or more attorneys required to register as lobbyists under this section may register as a lobbying firm instead of registering the individual attorneys.
(d) A person who is representing an association of city employees or an association of former city employees must register as a lobbyist if the person meets the compensation or reimbursement standards of Subsection (a) or if the person is representing the association on a pro bono basis. (Ord. Nos. 27748; 27834; 30391; 32072; 32472)
(a) The following persons are not required to register or file an activity report under this article:
(1) A person who owns, publishes, or is employed by a newspaper, any other regularly published periodical, a radio station, a television station, a wire service, or any other bona fide news medium that in the ordinary course of business disseminates news, opinions, or paid advertisements that directly or indirectly oppose or promote municipal questions or seek to influence official action relating to municipal questions, provided that the person does not engage in other activities that require registration under this article. This exception does not apply if a person's relation to the news media is only incidental to a lobbying effort or if a position taken or advocated by a media outlet directly impacts, affects, or seeks to influence a municipal question in which the media outlet has a direct or indirect economic interest.
(2) A person whose only lobbying activity is to encourage or solicit the members, employees, or owners (including shareholders) of an entity by whom the person is compensated to communicate directly with one or more city officials to influence municipal questions.
(3) A governmental entity and its officials and employees, provided the communications relate solely to subjects of governmental interest concerning the governmental entity and the city.
(4) A person who neither knows nor has reason to know that a municipal question is pending at the time of contact with a city official. This exception does not apply if the existence of a municipal question is discovered during on-going contacts with a city official and the person then engages in additional lobbying of the same official or other city officials with respect to that municipal question.
(5) A person whose contact with a city official is made solely as part of resolving a dispute with the city, provided that the contact is solely with city officials who do not vote on or have final authority over any municipal question involved.
(6) An agent or employee of a lobbying firm or other registrant, provided that the lobbying firm or other registrant files a registration statement or activity report for the period in question fully disclosing all relevant information known to the agent or employee.
(7) An individual who engages in lobbying, but who does not receive compensation or reimbursement for lobbying with respect to any client.
(8) A neighborhood association, crime watch group, or homeowners association or its members when lobbying on a municipal question that affects the group or association as a whole.
(b) If, after notification by the city secretary that registration is required, a person shall, within 14 days of the date of notification:
(1) file an affidavit with the city secretary stating the basis for an exception under this section; or
(a) Initial registration. A person required to register as a lobbyist under this article shall file a separate registration for each client. A registrant who makes more than one lobbying contact for the same client shall file a single registration form covering all lobbying contacts for that client. If the registrant is not an individual, an authorized officer or agent of the registrant must file the form. An initial registration form relating to a client must be filed by a person required to register under this article within five days after the start of lobbying activity for that client, except that initial registration of a client in a zoning case must be filed within five days after the zoning application is filed with the city. In no event shall a registrant knowingly fail to register, or knowingly fail to disclose such registration to relevant city officials, prior to official city action relating to the subject matter of the lobbying activity.
(b) Subsequent annual registration. Subsequent registration forms must be filed annually by January 15 for each client for whom a registrant previously filed or was required to file an initial registration form in the prior registration year if lobbying activities are still being conducted or will foreseeably be conducted for the client during the new registration year.
(c) Required disclosures. An initial or subsequent registration must be filed on the form and in the manner prescribed by the city secretary and must include, to the extent applicable, the following information:
(1) The full name, telephone number, permanent address, and nature of the business of:
(A) the registrant;
(B) the client;
(C) any person, other than the client, on whose behalf the registrant has been engaged by the client to lobby;
(D) any person, other than the client, who is known by the registrant to contribute financially to the compensation of the registrant, or who, in whole or in major part, plans, supervises, or controls the registrant's lobbying activities on behalf of the client;
(E) any lobbying firm for which the registrant is an agent or employee with respect to the client; and
(F) each employee or agent of the registrant who has acted or whom the registrant expects to act as a lobbyist on behalf of the client.
(2) A statement of all municipal questions on which the registrant:
(A) has lobbied for the client in the calendar quarter in which the registration is filed and in the three months preceding the filing of the registration, including the name of each city official contacted by the registrant on behalf of the client with regard to each municipal question and the type of contact made with the city official (in person, telephone call, letter, electronic mail, etc.); or
(B) will foreseeably lobby for the client in the calendar quarter in which the registration is filed and in the three months following the filing of the registration.
(3) If the municipal question relates to a zoning case, the name of each city official contacted and the type of contact made (in person, telephone call, letter, electronic mail, etc.) by the registrant on behalf of the client from the time the registrant began lobbying activities relating to the zoning case until the time the registrant filed a registration for the client in compliance with this section.
(4) Disclosure of any employment or arrangement to lobby for the client on a contingent fee basis.
(5) A list of any positions held by the registrant as a city official or city employee, as those terms are defined in Section 12A-2, during the 24 months preceding the filing of the registration.
(6) A statement that, by filing the registration, the registrant swears or affirms under penalty of perjury that, to the best of the registrant's knowledge, all information contained in the registration is true and correct and that the registration is complete and includes all information required to be disclosed under this article.
(7) If the registrant is a former city official or employee, a statement that, by filing the registration, the registrant swears or affirms that, to the best of the registrant's knowledge, the registrant's lobbying activities have not violated and will not foreseeably violate Article III of this chapter, which governs former city officials and employees.
(d) Fee. At the time of filing an initial or subsequent annual registration, a registrant shall pay to the city an annual registration fee of $300. A separate registration fee is not required for each additional client registered during a registration year. All lobbyist registration fees must be deposited into a separate account within the general fund, which account must be used to offset the costs of administering the city's lobbyist registration program and the costs of handling disclosure filings. (Ord. Nos. 27748; 32072
; 32472
)
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