(a) No person shall purposely employ any lobbyist who is required to register as a registered lobbyist but is not registered pursuant to this chapter.
(b) No person engaging in lobbying shall:
(1) Influence or attempt to influence, by coercion, bribery, or threat of economic sanction, any public servant in the discharge of the duties of his or her office;
(2) Purposely provide false information to any public servant as to any material fact pertaining to any legislative or administrative action;
(3) Purposely omit, conceal, or falsify in any manner information required by the registration and lobbyist activity reports;
(4) Contract to receive or accept compensation that is dependent in any manner upon:
(A) The success or failure of a legislative or administrative action; or
(B) The outcome of any executive, legislative, or administrative action relating to the solicitation or securing of a procurement contract; or
(5) (A) Provide payment for food or beverages at any location or event at which the lobbyist is not present physically.
(B) Subdivision (b)(5)(A) of this section shall not apply to a special event under § 21-8-402(20).
(c) (1) A person convicted of violating subsection (a) or subsection (b) of this section is:
(A) Prohibited from acting as a registered lobbyist for a period of three (3) years from the date of the conviction; and
(B) Subject to a fine of not less than one hundred dollars ($100) and not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000).
(2) Any person violating the three-year ban shall be deemed guilty of an additional violation of this subchapter.
(d) Any person who acts as a lobbyist as defined by § 21-8-402(11) but purposely fails to register within five (5) days of beginning lobbying activities as required by § 21-8-601 is subject to a fine of not less than five hundred dollars ($500) and not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000).
(e) (1) On a lobbyist registration form, a person acting as a lobbyist shall not:
(A) Purposely provide false information; or
(B) Purposely omit information.
(2) A person who violates subdivision (e)(1) of this section shall:
(A) Not be considered a registered lobbyist; and
(B) Be subject to a fine of not less than five hundred dollars ($500) and not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000).
(f) A person convicted of three (3) or more violations of a provision of this subchapter shall be permanently prohibited from acting as a registered lobbyist in this state.
(g) An expunged record shall not serve as the basis for disqualification under this section.
Section: Previous 21-8-602 21-8-603 21-8-604 21-8-605 21-8-606 21-8-607Last modified: November 15, 2016