Federal Lobbying Disclosure Act (LDA) Compliance
The Lobbying Disclosure Act (LDA) of 1995 (as amended in 2007) requires certain organizations to register as lobbying entities with the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate and report quarterly on all lobbying activities and expenses. Based on the requirements outlined in the law, the University of Alaska (UA) system must comply with the registration and reporting obligations in the LDA.
The Office of Government Relations, Federal Relations team in the UA System Office is tasked with compliance with the LDA. Any LDA-related questions should be directed to John Latini (jalatini@alaska.edu), Executive Director of Federal Relations for the UA system.
Faculty & Staff LDA Reporting Obligations
ALL UA faculty and staff that engage in lobbying in their official capacity as UA system employees should report lobbying activities and expenses. Faculty and staff that contact, urge, or lobby federal officials in their personal or professional capacity do not have to report these activities.
UA faculty and staff that engage in lobbying on behalf of any entity in the UA system should report their lobbying activities via email to John Latini (jalatini@alaska.edu), Executive Director of Federal Relations for the UA system. Reports should include the:
- date(s) of lobbying;
- length of meeting(s);
- federal officials contacted including names and official titles;
- subject matter(s) discussed;
- any costs, including travel and UA employees’ hourly salary rate, associated with lobbying effort; and
- the other UA personnel in attendance.
UA system employees are strongly encouraged to contact the Office of Government Relations, Federal Relations team before engaging in any lobbying activities.
Lobbying Activities & Other Definitions
Lobbying activities (including Lobbying Contacts) are defined as any oral, written, or electronic communication to a covered official regarding any aspect of federal legislation (including funding), rules, regulations, Executive Order, program, policy, confirmation, or position of the United States Government. This includes any preparation or planning activities, research, and other background work intended to support lobbying.
Covered officials are defined in two categories.
- Covered Legislative Branch Officials include all of the following:
- Members of Congress (House and Senate);
- Congressional staff;
- Congressional Committee staff;
- Joint Congressional Committee staff;
- Congressional working groups or Caucuses; and
- Officers in the House and Senate (e.g. Clerk).
- Covered Executive Branch Officials include any of the following:
- President of the United States;
- Vice President;
- Employees of the Executive Office of the President;
- Employees serving in a position in level I, II, III, IV, or V of the Executive Schedule;
- Members of the uniformed services whose pay grade is at or above O-7; and
- Employees serving in a position of a confidential, policy-determining, policy-making, or policy-advocating character.
The Executive Office of the President includes the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), Climate Policy Office, Office of Management and Budget, Office of National Drug Control Policy, and National Space Council among others.
As a general rule, any federal official subject to Senate confirmation will be a covered executive branch official. Any questions on the classification of federal officials should be directed to John Latini (jalatini@alaska.edu), Executive Director of Federal Relations for the UA system.
Lobbying expenses include travel costs, employee salaries, office overhead, and payments to vendors (including professional societies and organizations if university funds are used to pay for membership).
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Yes, essentially all activities that request a Member of Congress or Congressional staff to take any action are considered lobbying activities and should be reported to John Latini (jalatini@alaska.edu), Executive Director of Federal Relations for the UA system.
Additionally, faculty and staff are strongly encouraged to contact the Office of Government Relations, Federal Relations team to seek a Congressional letter of support for proposals submitted to federal agencies.
Generally speaking, no. Federal program managers are typically not considered covered officials.
Yes, all aspects of this request need to be reported.
Yes, all aspects of this engagement need to be reported.
No, since you are not acting on behalf of the UA system, you do not need to report these engagements.
Most likely yes. You may not need to report the travel expenses related to attending the conference but you will need to report the topics discussed, provide your hourly rate, how long the engagement lasted, who you lobbied, and if other UA personnel participated.
No, in general LDA obligations do not apply to students.
John Latini (jalatini@alaska.edu), Executive Director of Federal Relations for the UA system.