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An Act To Provide Information to the Public Regarding Lobbying and Lobbyists
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 3 MRSA §315, first ¶,  as repealed and replaced by PL 1993, c. 691, §14, is amended to read:
The commission shall prepare and maintain a docket for the registration of lobbyists and employers of lobbyists required to register pursuant to this chapter. The registration docket and all supplementary files of information and materials filed pursuant to this chapter must be open to public inspection during the office hours of the commission. The docket must contain the name of the lobbyist and the person employing the lobbyist; the business address of each; the nature of the business of the person employing the lobbyist; a photograph of the lobbyist; a professional biography of the lobbyist containing contact information, relevant past professional work, specific issues or specialty and a list of companies the lobbyist represents; and a statement as to the compensation that the lobbyist will receive for lobbying services or, if an exact amount is unascertainable, the basis upon which the lobbyist will charge for services. This docket must be updated on a weekly basis and arranged and indexed as follows:
Sec. 2. 3 MRSA §315, sub-§2,  as amended by PL 1993, c. 446, Pt. A, §12 and affected by §20, is further amended to read:
 
2. Lobbyists.   An alphabetical listing of those persons employed as lobbyists, which listing must indicate the names of all persons by whom each lobbyist is employed, and include a photograph of the lobbyist and a professional biography of the lobbyist containing contact information, relevant past professional work, specific issues or specialty and a list of companies the lobbyist represents.
Sec. 3. 3 MRSA §315-A, sub-§1,  as enacted by PL 2005, c. 613, §1, is amended to read:
 
1. Registration.   The commission shall prepare and maintain a docket for the registration of lobbyists and employers of lobbyists required to register pursuant to this chapter. The registration docket and all supplementary files of information and materials filed pursuant to this chapter must be open to public inspection during the office hours of the commission. The docket must contain the name of the lobbyist and the person employing the lobbyist, the business address of each, the nature of the business of the person employing the lobbyist, a photograph of the lobbyist, a professional biography of the lobbyist containing contact information, relevant past professional work, specific issues or specialty and a list of companies the lobbyist represents and a statement as to the compensation that the lobbyist will receive for lobbying services or, if an exact amount is not ascertainable, the basis upon which the lobbyist will charge for services. This docket must be updated on a monthly basis and arranged and indexed as follows:
 
A.  An alphabetical listing of those persons who have employed a lobbyist, which listing must indicate the names of all lobbyists employed by the employer; and
 
B.  An alphabetical listing of those persons employed as lobbyists, which listing must indicate the names of all persons by whom each lobbyist is employed, a photograph of the lobbyist and a professional biography of the lobbyist containing contact information, relevant past professional work, specific issues or specialty and a list of companies the lobbyist represents.
 
The docket must be reestablished annually by the commission and the docket for any year must be maintained and be available for public inspection in the office of the commission for 4 years from the expiration of the docket.
Sec. 4. 3 MRSA §315-A, sub-§2, ¶C,  as enacted by PL 2005, c. 613, §1, is amended to read:
 
C.  A profile of each registered lobbyist and lobbyist associate, including contact information, the name of the lobbyist's employer or employers, relevant past professional work, specific issues or specialty, a list of companies the lobbyist represents  and, if provided by the lobbyist or lobbyist associate, a photograph of the lobbyist or lobbyist associate;
Sec. 5. 3 MRSA §327  is enacted to read:
§ 327.  Identification
A lobbyist shall wear a name tag designed by the commission whenever the lobbyist is lobbying. A lobbyist shall state the lobbyist’s name, the company the lobbyist works for and the client the lobbyist represents whenever the lobbyist approaches a Legislator.
Sec. 6. Name tag. The Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices shall design a name tag with a distinctive background color and typeface that will immediately identify a lobbyist as a lobbyist that is to be used by a lobbyist pursuant to the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 3, section 327.
 
SUMMARY
This bill requires lobbyists to wear name tags of a distinctive color and typeface that will immediately identify the lobbyists as lobbyists and to give their names, the companies they work for and the clients they represent whenever they approach Legislators. This bill also requires the Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices to collect from lobbyists for the lobbyist registry docket and from lobbyists and lobbyist associates for the commission website contact information, a photograph and a professional biography containing past professional work, specific issues or specialty and a list of represented companies.