(a) Any individual or organization must register as a lobbyist under this Article if, during a year, that individual or organization: (1) communicates with a public employee to influence legislative action by a County agency, and for that purpose either: (A) spends more than $500, or (B) receives compensation, including a pro-rated part of a salary or fee for services, totaling more than $500; or (2) communicates with a public employee to influence executive or administrative action by a County agency, and for that purpose spends a total of more than $500 for: (A) meals and beverages; (B) transportation; (C) lodging; (D) provision of any service; (E) one or more special events; and (F) one or more gifts. (b) In this Article, legislative action does not include any matter covered by subsection 19A- 15(b). (c) This Article does not apply to: (1) drafting bills or advising clients about proposed or pending legislation without any other attempt to influence the legislative process; (2) communicating with a County agency when requested by the agency, without engaging in any other activity to influence legislative, administrative, or executive action on the subject of the communication; (3) communicating with a County agency as an official act of an official or employee of the state, a political subdivision of the state, or the United States, and not on behalf of any other person or business; (4) actions of a publisher or working journalist in the ordinary course of disseminating news or making editorial comment to the general public, without engaging in other lobbying that would directly and specifically benefit the economic interests of a specific person or business; (5) appearing before a County agency at the request of a lobbyist if the witness: (A) takes no other action to influence legislative, administrative, or executive action; and (B) identifies himself or herself as testifying at the request of the lobbyist; (6) communicating on behalf of a religious organization for the sole purpose of protecting the right of its members to practice the doctrine of the organization; (7) communicating as an official duty of an officer, director, member, or employee of an organization engaged exclusively in lobbying for counties or municipalities, and not on behalf of any other person or business; (8) an action of any person representing an organization that is exempt from taxation under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code if: (A) the action promotes the exempt purposes of the organization; and (B) the organization gave gifts totaling less than $500 to public employees in a year; and (C) the representative is paid or spends less than $1,000 in a year to influence executive, administrative, and legislative action. (d) An individual or organization is exempt from the reporting requirements of this Article if the individual or organization: (1) compensates one or more lobbyists; (2) reasonably believes that each lobbyist will timely register and report all expenditures required to be reported; and (3) engages in no other lobbying. If a lobbyist fails to report timely any information required under this Article, the lobbyist's employer is immediately subject to the reporting requirements of this Article.

(a) Certification. Each lobbyist required to register under this Article must certify under oath or affirmation that the lobbyist is authorized to lobby for the individual or organization who hired the lobbyist. (b) Contents of certification. The written certification must include: (1) the full legal name and business address of the individual or organization; (2) for an individual, the full name and contact information for the individual; (3) for an organization, the name, contact information, and official title of the representative of the organization who authorized the hiring of the lobbyist; (4) the full legal name and business address of the regulated lobbyist; (5) the period during which the regulated lobbyist is authorized to act; and (6) the proposal or subject on which the regulated lobbyist represents the individual or organization. Section 19A-22(b) and Chapter 19A are cited in 120 West Fayette Street, LLLP v. Mayor and City Council of Baltimore, 426 Md. 14, 43 A.3d 355 (2012).

(a) Every person required to register with the Commission under Section 19A-21 must disclose the following information on a form provided by the Commission: (1) the lobbyist’s name and permanent address; (2) the name and permanent address of any person who will lobby on behalf of the lobbyist; (3) the name, address, and nature of business of any person who compensates the lobbyist; and (4) the identification, by formal designation if known, of each matter on which the lobbyist expects to lobby or employs someone to lobby. (b) This form must be filed not later than 5 days after an individual or organization first meets the requirements for registration under this Article. (c) A lobbyist must register separately for each employer. (d) Each lobbyist may file a notice of termination within 30 days after: (1) stopping any lobbying activity; and (2) filing the reports required under this Article. (e) The Commission may charge each lobbyist a reasonable annual registration fee in an amount set by an Executive regulation adopted under method (2). The revenue to be raised by the fee must not exceed the cost of administering this Article.

A person must not pay another person compensation that depends on or varies with the success or defeat of any legislative, administrative, or executive action by a County agency.

(a) Each registered lobbyist must file with the Commission, under oath: (1) a report covering the period from January 1 through June 30, filed by July 31; and (2) a report covering the period from July 1 through December 31, filed by January 31. (b) If the lobbyist is not an individual, an authorized officer or agent of the lobbyist must sign the form. Each lobbyist must file a separate report for each individual or organization that compensates the lobbyist. (c) Each report must include: (1) a complete and current statement of the information required under Section 19A- 23; (2) total expenditures on lobbying in each of the following categories: (A) office expenses; (B) professional and technical research and assistance; (C) publications that expressly encourage persons to communicate with public employees; (D) names of witnesses and the fees and expenses paid to each; (E) meals and beverages for public employees or their immediate families; (F) special events, including parties, dinners, athletic events, entertainment, and other functions, to which all members of the Council or the governing body of an agency are invited; (G) expenses for food, lodging, and scheduled entertainment of public employees given in return for participation in a panel or speaking engagement at a meeting; (H) other gifts to or for public employees or their immediate families; and (I) other expenses; (3) total compensation paid to the lobbyist. If lobbying is only part of the person's employment, compensation means a prorated amount based on the time spent on lobbying compared to the time spent on other employment activities. A prorated amount must be labeled as such; and (4) the name of each public employee or relative who receives, directly or indirectly, a gift given by a lobbyist or any person acting on behalf of a lobbyist, if the gifts have a total value of at least $50 during the year. The lobbyist must list each gift by the date given, the beneficiary, the amount or value, and the nature of the gift. (d) Expenses reported in subparagraphs (c)(2)(F) and (G) need not be allocated to individual public employees. However, the lobbyist must specify the date, location, total expenses incurred, and the names of the employees who attended each event. (e) The Commission may require any lobbyist to submit additional reports or information to fulfill the purposes of this Chapter.

(a) The Commission must maintain all required documents under this Article and make them available to the public for inspection and copying. The Commission may establish procedures and charge reasonable fees. (b) By September 30 and March 31 each year, the Commission must compute and make available to the public: (1) a subtotal under each category in paragraph 19A-25(c)(2) for each lobbyist; (2) a subtotal representing the combined total of subparagraphs 19A-25(c)(2)(E), (F), and (G), for each lobbyist; and (3) the total amount reported by each lobbyist for lobbying activities during the year. (c) If any report filed with the Commission contains the name of a public employee or relative as required under paragraph 19A-25(c)(4), the Commission must notify the public employee within 30 days after the report is filed. (d) After being notified that a public employee's or relative's name appears in a report, the public employee may, within 30 days after receiving the Commission's notice, file a written exception to the inclusion of the name. The Commission must include the exception in its files.