Lobbyists and lobbying firms file monthly reports about their activity, also known as the L-2 report. Lobbyists begin filing after they have registered as a lobbyist, or after a lobbyist firm has entered into an employment contract with a client.
To file an L-2 report, first log into the Public Disclosure Commission’s lobbyist filing system. The lobbyist or lobbying firm that you file for should be listed under “Lobbyists I file for.” Select an entry. If the registered lobbying firm isn’t listed there, use the “Link Account to Existing Registration” function to request access to file for that lobbyist or firm. The PDC may need to review and approve this access prior to you being allowed to file reports.
The L-2 reporting window lists the L-2 reports for the months that the firm will lobby for their clients, as indicated in the employment contracts. Reports will have different statuses in this list:
- Reports that haven’t been started yet have a “Start” button next to them – click that to begin filling out your monthly report.
- Forms in the system that are drafts have an “Edit” button, and the “Status” column to the right of the button says “Started.”
- Completed reports have a report ID number and the status column says “Filed.”
If your compensation, personal expenses or sub-lobbyist compensation have not changed from the previous month, you may copy information from a previously filed L-2.Select the previous L-2 report that you wish to copy from, and which category of information you want to bring forward.
If you import information from a previous L-2, inspect that section to make sure that the information is still accurate for the month included in your current report.
Completing the report
The lobbyist report has seven sections. In each section, you’ll need to answer “yes” or “no” questions to use the “Next” button to move on. If you want to jump ahead to a different section before answering the questions on the current screen, use the right-hand menu. The “finish later” function on the bottom right will save a draft of the report.
Here's a quick rundown of what goes where. See Lobbying Activities To Report for more details.
-
Enter all compensation such as salary, wages and retainers earned from each client (employer) for this period.
A lobbyist should report all compensation for lobbying on the monthly L-2 report for the month when the lobbying took place. If a lobbyist is paid for lobbying in March, the compensation should be reported on the March L-2, even if the lobbyist is actually paid months later. Choose the source of funds from the drop-down list—the options will include all of the clients the lobbyist is registered to lobby for that month.
- Filing tip: If the lobbyist has more than one client, use the plus sign to open a window to enter compensation from each.
- Subcontractor payments
-
If a subcontractor of yours is registered to lobby, you will see the option to report payments to them next. Enter payments made by you from a portion of the funds received by the employer.
- Filing tip: If the employer pays other lobbyists directly, do not report the payments on your reports
- Personal expenses
-
Report personal expenses for travel, food and refreshments.
- Filing tip: If the personal expenses were paid by a client rather than you, pick the client from the pop-up list under “source of funds.”
- Entertainment Expenses
-
Report:
- Entertainment expenditures exceeding $100 per occasion (including lobbyist's expense) for meals, beverages, tickets, passes, or for other forms of entertainment.
- Receptions.
- Travel, lodging and subsistence expenses in connection with a speech, presentation, appearance, trade mission, seminar or educational program.
- Enrollment and course fees in connection with a seminar or educational program
- Filing tip: Entertainment expenses of $100 or less may be entered as non-itemized expenditures — add all such expenses for the month together and enter them as a lump sum. If you have an individual entertainment expense of more than $100, click “yes” next to “Do you have any itemized entertainment expenses to report?”
Describe the entertainment expense. If you have a second entertainment expense of more than $100 for that month, click the plus sign to add an itemized entertainment expense.
- Election expenses
-
Report monetary or in-kind contributions made by the lobbyist on their own behalf, or another’s; or independent expenditures made by the lobbyist or lobbyist’s client.
- Filing tip: If the answers to all of the questions are “no,” you may click “none of these apply” at the bottom of the page. For each question that you answer “yes,” the system will prompt you to enter details.
- Filing tip: If the answers to all of the questions are “no,” you may click “none of these apply” at the bottom of the page. For each question that you answer “yes,” the system will prompt you to enter details.
- Direct lobbying
-
Report expenditures for advertising, printing, public relations, polling, or for consultants or expert witnesses.
Other expenses reported here could include any expense that would not have been made but for your attempt to influence the passage or defeat of legislation or the adoption or rejection of any agency rule, rate or standard and that are not reportable elsewhere. Include expenses for meeting rooms, tours, charitable donations made at the official's or employee's request.
- Filing tip: If the answer to all give questions is “no,” you may click the “none of these apply” link below.
- Indirect/Grassroots Lobbying
-
Report all grassroots, or indirect lobbying, contributions and expenditures.
- Filing tip: Did the lobbyist or the lobbyist’s client receive contributions from others specifically to fund grassroots lobbying (advertising to the public about supporting or opposing legislation) or indirect lobbying? If your answer is “yes,” the form will prompt you to file a grassroots lobbying report, or L-6.
A second question asks if you have any grassroots lobbying expenditures solely funded by client (employer) general treasury funds.
- Filing tip: Did the lobbyist or the lobbyist’s client receive contributions from others specifically to fund grassroots lobbying (advertising to the public about supporting or opposing legislation) or indirect lobbying? If your answer is “yes,” the form will prompt you to file a grassroots lobbying report, or L-6.
- Lobbying activity
-
Describe the subject matter, and supply the bill number or issue of the legislation or rules you attempted to influence during the month. Also specify which lawmaker, legislative committee or agency you lobbied and which employer was represented during your lobbying contacts. Be specific as possible, as required by Commission rules. (WAC 390-20-025).
- Filing tip: Use the plus sign to add more lobbying activities, if necessary. You can have multiple entries for a single employer.
- Review
-
At the review stage, the system will check to see if you left a yes or no question blank anywhere on the form, or, whether you omitted any other information. If so, it will prompt you to complete those sections. The “Fix it” buttons will take you directly to those sections.
If you didn’t omit any required information, the system will say “We have found no problems with your report.”
Click the “Preview and Submit button,” to view the entire L-2 report. Inspect it and make sure it is accurate for the month. If it is, click the “Submit” button at the top left.
To certify that the report is accurate and complete, type the words I CERTIFY in upper or lower case where it says “type here.” Click the “submit” button.