Compliance &Ethics - Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics

Featureby Scott Stetson, Esq.Political activity compliance:A complex but necessary subjectfor compliance professionals»»Corporations have substantial political involvement, which may entangle gift and conflict of interest policies.»»Compliance requirements are continually changing with the passage of new legislation at local, state, and federal levels.»»The Government Affairs department and general counsel cannot do it alone.»»Non-compliance has serious organizational implications.»»Political compliance should be included in an organization’s compliance plan.StetsonWith the U.S. Supreme Court decisionin Citizens United, 1 corporateinvolvement in political issues andcampaigns is at an all-time high. Lobbying,procurement lobbying, campaign finance,political action committees (PACs), public giftlaw—collectively these areas make uppolitical activity compliance, a vitallyimportant area that all compliance professionalsshould be aware of. Politicalactivity compliance is a complex area,because compliance requirements arecontinually changing with the passageof new legislation at local, state, andfederal levels. A large part of politicalactivity compliance is tracking legislationon lobbying, campaign finance, procurement,ethics, and public gift law, so you are aware ofpossible changes in the law or administrativerules governing political activity. This can bedone internally or outsourced to a legislativetracking service. Staying current on proposedrule changes is fundamental to maintainingtotal compliance.In 2012 there were 12,374 registered federallobbyists. When you consider that there arealso registered lobbyists in all 50 states, thetotal number of registered lobbyists exceeds20,000. Total federal lobbying spending for2012 was $3.28 billion. 2 Spending by lobbyistsat the state level is also significant. Forexample, lobbyist spending in Florida for 2012was $123 million. 3 The vast majority of lobbyists,whether in-house or contract, are hired toadvocate the interests of corporations. Everystate, as well as Congress, requires lobbyiststo register and file some form of disclosurereports, but 35 states have no thresholdrequirement for registration. If you are lobbying,you need to be registered. One area ofparticular importance is procurement lobbying.An attempt to influence the award of agovernment contract is considered lobbyingin a number of states, and registration andreporting is required. Lastly, several cities andcounties have enacted some form of lobbyingregistration and reporting requirements.The majority of reporting revolves aroundlobbying expenditures made for the benefit ofpublic officials. Reporting may include itemizationof lobbying expenditures, the name ofthe public official for whom the expenditurewas made, and the subject matter, bill number,or issue lobbied on. A number of states alsoCompliance & Ethics Professional May/June 2013+1 952 933 4977 or 888 277 4977 www.corporatecompliance.org 47