ADVISORY OPINION 1987-1
FACTS
A firm has salaried employees whose duties include lobbying and therefore must
register as lobbyists with the City Clerk. In completing Part 3 of the Lobbyist
Statement of Registration, the firm has difficulty in stating with reasonable
certainty the amount or rate of compensation to be paid to salaried employees
for lobbying activities, since the salaried employees who are expected to be engaged
in lobbying for the coming year are not specifically compensated for such work
and cannot determine at the time of filing, the amount of time these salaried
employees will be devoting to lobbying during the coming year.
OPINION
New York City Administrative Code, subchapter 2 of Chapter 2 of title 3-211
states:
(A) (1) Every Lobbyist shall annually file with the City Clerk, on forms prescribed
by the City Clerk, a Statement of Registration for each calendar year...
(A) (2) Such filing shall be completed on or before January first by those
persons who have been retained, employed, or designated as Lobbyists on or before
December fifteenth of the previous calendar year who reasonably anticipate
combined reportable compensation and expenses in an amount in excess of two
thousand dollars...
Furthermore, Section 3-213 (A) (3) provides that:
"If such Lobbyist is retained or employed pursuant to a written agreement of
retainer or employment, a copy of such shall also be attached and if such retainer
or employment is oral, a statement of the substance thereof;"
Therefore, on the facts stated, the client's salaried employees who are subject
to registration should file a Statement of Registration even though there may
be no separate agreement with their employer (the client) regarding the employee's
lobbying activities and even though the amount or rate of compensation for lobbying
activities cannot be ascertained at the time of filing.
In this instance, rather than a copy of a retainer agreement or employment agreement
as required by Part III of the registration form, pursuant to Section 3-231(c),
which does not contemplate lobbying by a salaried employee, a statement by such
salaried employee/lobbyist should be attached to the form and should indicate
as follows:
| Salary Attributable to Lobbying |
= |
Hours Attributable to Lobbying for the Quarter |
X |
Salary for the Quarter |
| Total Hours Works |
PART III - LOBBYIST/CLIENT RELATIONSHIP
"I am a salaried employee of (name of the employer) and am not specifically
compensated for such lobbying activity. At this time my proportionate share
of salary attributable to lobbying is unknown. I will calculate such proportionate
share of salary attributable to lobbying at the end of each quarter of my activities
and shall state it on my quarterly and annual reports."
The formula to be used in ascertaining a salaried employee proportionate share
of salary attributable to lobbying is as follows:
| Hours Attributable to Lobbying
Salary for Salary Attributable |
= |
Hours Attributable to Lobbying for the Quarter |
X |
Salary for the Quarter |
| Total Hours Works |
Additionally, pursuant to section 3-213 (f), an organization, (as defined
in Section 3-211 (d) ), having more than one employee lobbying on its behalf
may name one employee as its principal designated Lobbyist and such employee
shall report in the Statement of Registration the names of each employee who
will be engaged in lobbying.
CARLOS CUEVAS City Clerk of the City of New York
KATHERINE E. TIMON Counsel
TIMOTHY MCFARLAND Assistant Counsel
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