More than 3,900 Illinois lobbyists and lobbying groups can once again register and track their lobbying activities online.
The online registration system had been shut down since January, while two lawsuits challenging major hikes for lobbyist registration fees were being heard. Secretary of State Jesse White reopened the registration Monday after a U.S. district court judge ruled the fee increases unconstitutional. A similar case filed in Sangamon County Court is still being considered.
This week's State Capitol Q&A takes a closer look at the fees and what lies ahead for lobbyists and lawmakers.
Q: How much did the registration fees cost?
A: Last year, lawmakers approved raising the fees to $1,000. That's up from the original costs of $150 for nonprofit agencies to $350 for everyone else. Some of the money from the fees was to be used to better track activities and spending by lobbyists and lobbying groups. The General Assembly would receive $200 from each registration. The fee increases were supposed to take effect in January but were halted after they were challenged in court.
Randy Witter, a longtime Statehouse lobbyist who had argued against the higher fees, said that under the old fee system, the secretary of state's office accumulated $300,000 to administer the registration and monitoring. Also under that law, lobbyists are required to file biweekly reports when the legislature is in session and monthly reports when they are not. Witter said the reports are "very labor intensive" and believes the rushed filing period would result in reporting errors.
According to the Secretary of State's Web site, expenditure reports "remain on hold" because of the pending legal dispute in Sangamon County.
Q: Who filed the lawsuits?
A: The American Civil Liberties Union filed suit in U.S. District Court in Chicago late last year. The group pushed for a temporary restraining order against the Secretary of State's office on Dec. 29, which led White to put a hold on the registration. The ACLU argued the $1,000 fee was unconstitutional and provided more money than what the secretary of state's office needed to monitor lobbyists. The court ruled Feb. 12 that the fees were unconstitutional. A similar lawsuit filed by the Illinois Society of Association Executives in Sangamon County is still being considered in court.
ISAE Executive Director Pamela Tolson said the association met two weeks ago with the secretary of state's office and House Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie, D-Chicago. The discussion, Tolson said, brought up several options to resolve some of the disputed issues. They included a possible $300 "flat fee" for all lobbying groups, along with biannual expenditure reports for 2010 only. She said the secretary of state's office would allow organizations to file a brief report if they did not spend any money in between filing periods.
