Bill Text: NC H617 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Amended

North Carolina House Bill 617 (Prior Session Legislation)

Bill Title: Lobbyist Expenditure Rpts - Transparency

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 10-2)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2015-04-13 - Ref To Com On Elections [H617 Detail]

Download: North_Carolina-2015-H617-Amended.html

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 2015

H 1

HOUSE BILL 617

Short Title: Lobbyist Expenditure Rpts ‑ Transparency.		(Public)
Sponsors:	Representatives Cotham and Lewis (Primary Sponsors). For a complete list of Sponsors, refer to the North Carolina General Assembly Web Site.
Referred to:	Elections.

April 13, 2015

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT to make Lobbyist Expenditure reports available and searchable online and to require lobbyists and lobbyist principals TO provide invoices upon request.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1. G.S. 120C‑405(b) reads as rewritten:

"(b) ~~The~~ No later than July 1, 2016, the Secretary of State shall ~~coordinate with the State Board of Elections to create~~ implement a searchable Web‑based database of reports completed and filed under this Chapter and reports completed and filed under Subchapter VIII of Chapter 163 of the General Statutes. The database shall be searchable by the covered person's name as well as the filing entity."

SECTION 2. G.S. 120C‑401(i) reads as rewritten:

"(i) Any reportable expenditure promptly paid for at fair market value or promptly returned to a lobbyist or lobbyist principal by a designated individual or a member of the designated individual's immediate family within the reporting period shall not be reported under G.S. 120C‑402 or G.S. 120C‑403, and if reported, the repayment or return of the expenditure at any time shall be reported by the lobbyist and lobbyist principal on the next report due under this Article. Upon the request of a legislator, a lobbyist or lobbyist principal must provide an invoice or other document indicating the fair market value of the reportable expenditure. The invoice or other document must be provided within 15 days of the legislator making the request."

SECTION 3. This act becomes effective October 1, 2015. The Department of the Secretary of State, Division of Lobbying Compliance shall provide a preliminary report to the Joint Commission on Governmental Operations on the implementation of Section 1 of this act by January 1, 2016, and a final report on May 1, 2016.