07/14/2008

Advisory Opinion From State Ethics Commission On Reportable Compensation And Reimbursable Expenses

Attached for your information is a copy of an advisory opinion letter by Sue Lundberg with the State Ethics Commission to Susan Valauri.

As President of NCPLA, Susan requested two advisory opinions on behalf of the NCPLA membership.  The request letters were sent at the direction of the Board of Directors.  The Board had received inquiries/complaints from members who believed that one of the regulations adopted by the Secretary of State was in direct conflict with the statute.  The concern was on reportable compensation.

Other NCPLA members expressed confusion on how to report reimbursable expenses by lobbyist principals.  The Board felt that these were issues faced by all members and merited the request for a formal opinion to guide us.

The attached opinion letter from the State Ethics Commission (SEC) addresses both of these issues.

For your ready reference, I am also sending a copy of the Principal Report Form now posted on the Secretary of State's website.  Please note the advisory language under the section on reportable compensation.

We hope this information is helpful to you as you prepare to file 1st quarter lobbyist and principal reports at the end of the month.

Please feel free to share this information with any lobbyist who is not a member of the NCPLA.  It is the intent of the SEC to post a redacted version of this advisory on their website but it may not appear in time to help all lobbyists.

NCPLA plans to post this information to its website as well.  Please bear with us as we undergo a website transformation in the months ahead.

Reporting Compensation and Reimbursement

Principal Expense Report 2008


North Carolina Professional Lobbyists Association
P.O. Box 905
Raleigh, NC 27602
info@ncpla.org