Idaho § 74-708 - DUTIES OF LOBBYISTS

§ 74-708. DUTIES OF LOBBYISTS

A person required to register as a lobbyist under this chapter shall also have the following obligations, the violation of which shall constitute cause for revocation of his registration and may subject such person and such person’s employer or client, if such employer or client aids, abets, ratifies, or confirms any such violation, to other civil liabilities as provided by this chapter:

(1) Such persons shall obtain and preserve all accounts, bills, receipts, books, papers, and documents necessary to substantiate the financial reports required to be made under this chapter for a period of at least three (3) years from the date of the filing of the statement containing such items, which accounts, bills, receipts, books, papers, and documents shall be made available for inspection by the secretary of state at any reasonable time during such three (3) year period; provided, however, that if a lobbyist is required under the terms of his employment contract to turn any records over to his employer or client, responsibility for the preservation of such records under this subsection shall rest with such employer or client.

(2) A person required to register as a lobbyist shall not:

(a) Engage in any activity as a lobbyist before registering as such;

(b) Knowingly deceive or attempt to deceive any legislator to any fact pertaining to any pending or proposed legislation;

(c) Cause or influence the introduction of any bill or amendment thereto for the purpose of thereafter being employed to secure its defeat;

(d) Knowingly represent an interest adverse to any of his employers or clients without first obtaining such employers’ or clients’ consent thereto after full disclosure to such employers or clients of such adverse interest;

(e) Exercise any economic reprisal, extortion, or unlawful retaliation on any legislator by reason of such legislator’s position with respect to, or his vote on, any pending or proposed legislation;

(f) Accept any employment as a lobbyist for compensation dependent in any manner upon the passage or defeat of any proposed or pending legislation or upon any other contingency connected with the action of the legislature or of either house thereof or of any committee thereof. This contingent fee prohibition shall also apply to lobbying activities that pertain to communications with executive officials as defined in section 74-702 (4), Idaho Code; or

(g) Lobby any member of the legislature or any executive official who is the spouse, child, child-in-law, parent, parent-in-law, sibling, or sibling-in-law of such person.

(3) To ensure proper reporting and identification of the source of expenditures, any public communication made that is reportable as a lobbying expense under this chapter shall clearly state "Paid for by [the name of the filing entity, lobbyist’s client, or lobbyist’s employer]." If the communication is made for the purpose of soliciting funds, the disclosure shall also clearly state "This is an attempt to solicit funds."

[74-708, added 2025, ch. 280, sec. 10, p. 1194.]