A Bill for an Act
Page 1, Line 101Concerning lobbying on behalf of a charitable tax-exempt
Page 1, Line 102nonprofit entity.
Bill Summary
(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced and does not reflect any amendments that may be subsequently adopted. If this bill passes third reading in the house of introduction, a bill summary that applies to the reengrossed version of this bill will be available at http://leg.colorado.gov.)
Currently, a lobbyist may be either a professional lobbyist or a volunteer lobbyist. A professional lobbyist must register with the secretary of state before conducting lobbying activities with one or more covered officials. For each month in which a professional lobbyist lobbies one or more covered officials, a professional lobbyist must complete and submit a disclosure statement to the secretary of state.
The bill creates a new category of lobbyist for nonprofit lobbyists and exempts nonprofit lobbyists from the registration and disclosure statement requirements for professional lobbyists. A nonprofit lobbyist is a lobbyist who is exclusively employed by a single nonprofit entity and who lobbies as an incidental part of the lobbyist's duties with the nonprofit entity. A nonprofit entity may use a nonprofit lobbyist to lobby a maximum of 30 days during a state fiscal year, with a maximum of 20 of those days occurring when the general assembly is in session. A nonprofit entity that employs a nonprofit lobbyist must report to the secretary of state the following information within 72 hours of engaging in lobbying of one or more covered officials:
- The name of the nonprofit lobbyist;
- The full legal name of the nonprofit entity on whose behalf the nonprofit lobbyist lobbied;
- The date on which the nonprofit lobbyist engaged in lobbying;
- Any matter about which the nonprofit lobbyist lobbied for the reported day; and
- The bill number of the legislation about which each nonprofit lobbyist lobbied for the reported day and whether the nonprofit entity is supporting, opposing, requesting amendments, or monitoring the legislation.
A nonprofit entity may submit a single form for more than one nonprofit lobbyist if more than one nonprofit lobbyist lobbied for the nonprofit entity on the same day.
A lobbyist who was a nonprofit lobbyist but no longer qualifies as a nonprofit lobbyist or who is employed by a nonprofit entity that does not comply with the timing limitations, and who meets the requirements of a professional lobbyist, must register and file disclosure statements with the secretary of state beginning in the month in which the lobbyist first lobbied as a professional lobbyist and must comply with the regulations imposed on a professional lobbyist.
This Unofficial Version Includes Committee
Amendments Not Yet Adopted on Second Reading
Page 2, Line 1Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Colorado:
Page 2, Line 2SECTION 1. Legislative declaration. (1) The general assembly finds and declares that:
Page 2, Line 3(a) Current law regarding lobbyist registration requires an
Page 2, Line 4individual who engages with covered officials and receives compensation
Page 2, Line 5from the organization for which they are speaking to register as a
Page 2, Line 6professional lobbyist and report to the secretary of state's office;
Page 3, Line 1(b) This includes timely reporting of each interaction, payment of
Page 3, Line 2a registration fee, monthly disclosure reports on a year-round basis, and
Page 3, Line 3the acknowledgment of engaging in lobbying activity, and these
Page 3, Line 4requirements apply to employees of nonprofit charitable organizations classified under 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code;
Page 3, Line 5(c) Current law has had a massive chilling effect on the
Page 3, Line 6engagement by nonprofit charitable organizations with the general
Page 3, Line 7assembly because nonprofit charitable organizations are uncomfortable
Page 3, Line 8with the professional lobbyist title and the need to provide disclosures for a single or handful of interactions with elected officials;
Page 3, Line 9(d) Nonprofit advocates are not lobbyists by trade but are required to engage on legislation affecting their employer;
Page 3, Line 10(e) Nonprofit charitable organizations value transparency and the
Page 3, Line 11desire to share what they are working on, whom they have spoken to, and
Page 3, Line 12what their position on a matter is, but feel the current requirements are burdensome; and
Page 3, Line 13(f) Nonprofit charitable organizations provide a valuable and
Page 3, Line 14unique lens when evaluating legislation because they comprise a large
Page 3, Line 15part of the state and provide an important perspective for the general assembly.
Page 3, Line 16(2) Therefore, the general assembly further finds and declares that
Page 3, Line 17there is a need to provide for a new type of lobbyist registration that
Page 3, Line 18encourages engagement and participation by nonprofit charitable
Page 3, Line 19organizations and provides for transparency that is critical to the legislative process.
Page 3, Line 20SECTION 2. In Colorado Revised Statutes, 24-6-301, amend
Page 3, Line 21(3.7) and (6); and add (3.8) and (3.9) as follows:
Page 4, Line 124-6-301. Definitions - legislative declaration. As used in this part 3, unless the context otherwise requires:
Page 4, Line 2(3.7) "Lobbyist" means
eitherPage 4, Line 3(3.8) "Nonprofit advocate" means an individual
Page 4, Line 4exclusively employed by a single nonprofit entity who engages
Page 4, Line 5in lobbying of one or more covered officials on behalf of the
Page 4, Line 6nonprofit entity as an incidental duty of the individual's role. A nonprofit advocate is not a professional lobbyist.
Page 4, Line 7(3.9) "Nonprofit entity" means a person that is registered
Page 4, Line 8as an exempt charitable organization pursuant to 26 U.S.C. sec.
Page 4, Line 9501 (c)(3) and that is exempt from taxation pursuant to 26 U.S.C.
Page 4, Line 10sec. 501 (a) of the federal "Internal Revenue Code of 1986", and
Page 4, Line 11that has ten million dollars or less in gross revenues per tax year.
Page 4, Line 13(6) "Professional lobbyist" means a person, business entity,
Page 4, Line 14including a sole proprietorship, or an employee of a client, who is
Page 4, Line 15compensated by a client or another professional lobbyist for lobbying.
Page 4, Line 16"Professional lobbyist" does not include any volunteer lobbyist,
Page 4, Line 17nonprofit advocate, any state official or employee acting in
hisPage 4, Line 18state official or employee's official capacity, except as provided in
Page 4, Line 19section 24-6-303.5, any elected public official acting in
hisPage 4, Line 20public official's official capacity, or any individual who appears as counsel or advisor in an adjudicatory proceeding.
Page 4, Line 21SECTION 3. In Colorado Revised Statutes, 24-6-303, amend (6)
Page 4, Line 22as follows:
Page 5, Line 124-6-303. Registration as professional lobbyist - filing of
Page 5, Line 2disclosure statements - certificate of registration - legislative
Page 5, Line 3declaration. (6) This section
shallPage 5, Line 4committee, volunteer lobbyist, citizen who lobbies on
his or herPage 5, Line 5citizen's own behalf, nonprofit advocate, state official or employee
Page 5, Line 6acting in
his or herPage 5, Line 7except as provided in section 24-6-303.5, or elected public official acting in
his or herPage 5, Line 8SECTION 4. In Colorado Revised Statutes, amend 24-6-307 as follows:
Page 5, Line 924-6-307. Employment of unregistered persons. It is unlawful
Page 5, Line 10for any person to employ for pay or any consideration, or pay or agree to
Page 5, Line 11pay any consideration to, an individual who is not a nonprofit
Page 5, Line 12advocate, as defined in section 24-6-301 (3.8), to engage in lobbying
Page 5, Line 13who is not registered except upon condition that such individual register forthwith.
Page 5, Line 14SECTION 5. In Colorado Revised Statutes, add 24-6-310 as follows:
Page 5, Line 1524-6-310. Nonprofit lobbyist - reporting - definition. (1) A
Page 5, Line 16nonprofit advocate is not required to register with the
Page 5, Line 17secretary of state as required for professional lobbyists by section 24-6-303.
Page 5, Line 18(2) A nonprofit advocate is not required to provide a
Page 5, Line 19disclosure statement as required for professional lobbyists by section 24-6-302.
Page 5, Line 20(3) A nonprofit entity may use a nonprofit advocate to
Page 5, Line 21lobby one or more covered officials no more than twelve hours
Page 6, Line 1per state fiscal year. For purposes of this subsection (3), if
Page 6, Line 2multiple nonprofit advocates lobby for the same nonprofit
Page 6, Line 3entity during the same same thirty-minute increment, the
Page 6, Line 4lobbying occurs during a single thirty-minute increment. For
Page 6, Line 5purposes of this subsection (3), lobbying of a covered official by
Page 6, Line 6a nonprofit advocate is measured in increments of thirty
Page 6, Line 7minutes. Thirty minutes or less of lobbying of a covered official
Page 6, Line 8by a nonprofit advocate is considered to be thirty minutes of
Page 6, Line 9lobbying. A nonprofit entity may use multiple nonprofit
Page 6, Line 10advocates during a state fiscal year, but the sum of their total
Page 6, Line 11lobbying hours must not exceed twelve hours per state fiscal year.
Page 6, Line 12(4) Within seventy-two hours of one or more nonprofit
Page 6, Line 13advocates lobbying one or more covered officials, the nonprofit
Page 6, Line 14entity employing the nonprofit advocate or nonprofit
Page 6, Line 15advocates shall report the information specified in this
Page 6, Line 16subsection (4) to the secretary of state regarding each
Page 6, Line 17nonprofit advocate who lobbied on behalf of the nonprofit
Page 6, Line 18entity. A single report may contain the activities of multiple
Page 6, Line 19nonprofit advocates if more than one nonprofit advocate
Page 6, Line 20lobbied for the same nonprofit entity during the same day. The
Page 6, Line 21nonprofit entity shall submit the report to the secretary of
Page 6, Line 22state on a form prescribed by the secretary of state, which form must not require any information other than the following:
Page 6, Line 23(a) The name of each nonprofit advocate;
Page 6, Line 24(b) The full legal name of the nonprofit entity on whose
Page 6, Line 25behalf each nonprofit advocate lobbied;
Page 7, Line 1(c) The date on which each nonprofit advocate engaged in lobbying;
Page 7, Line 2(d) Any matter about which each nonprofit advocate lobbied for on the reported day; and
Page 7, Line 3(e) The bill number of the legislation about which each
Page 7, Line 4nonprofit advocate lobbied for on the reported day and
Page 7, Line 5whether the nonprofit entity is supporting, opposing, requesting
Page 7, Line 6amendments, or monitoring the legislation. As used in this
Page 7, Line 7subsection (4)(e), "legislation" means the process of making or
Page 7, Line 8enacting law in written form in the form of codes, statutes, or rules.
Page 7, Line 9(5) (a) A lobbyist who does not meet the definition of
Page 7, Line 10"nonprofit advocate" or a lobbyist employed by a nonprofit
Page 7, Line 11entity that exceeds the timing limitations in subsection (3) of
Page 7, Line 12this section is not a "nonprofit advocate" and is either a "professional lobbyist" or a "volunteer lobbyist", as applicable.
Page 7, Line 13(b) If a lobbyist who was previously a nonprofit advocate
Page 7, Line 14no longer satisfies the requirements to be a nonprofit advocate,
Page 7, Line 15or is employed by a nonprofit entity that exceeds the timing
Page 7, Line 16limitations in subsection (3) of this section and the lobbyist
Page 7, Line 17instead satisfies the requirements to be a professional lobbyist,
Page 7, Line 18the registration required of a professional lobbyist by section
Page 7, Line 1924-6-303, the disclosure statement required of a professional
Page 7, Line 20lobbyist by section 24-6-302, and any other requirements of this
Page 7, Line 21part 3 that apply to a professional lobbyist apply to the
Page 7, Line 22lobbyist beginning in the first month in which the lobbyist does
Page 7, Line 23not qualify as a nonprofit lobbyist and instead qualifies as a professional lobbyist.
Page 8, Line 1SECTION 6. Effective date. This act takes effect January 1, 2026.
Page 8, Line 2SECTION 7. Safety clause. The general assembly finds,
Page 8, Line 3determines, and declares that this act is necessary for the immediate
Page 8, Line 4preservation of the public peace, health, or safety or for appropriations for
Page 8, Line 5the support and maintenance of the departments of the state and state institutions.