With various levels of changing regulations relating to lobbying, it is easy to get confused and make unintentional compliance mistakes. This article provides an overview of recent changes to the lobbying regulations in the Miami-Dade Ethics Code (the code), and an introduction to House Bill 7001 (the bill) which took effect Dec., 31, 2022. Finally, it highlights some common, yet easily avoidable compliance mistakes.

Miami-Dade County Ethics Code

Miami-Dade County (the county) residents voted to establish an independent Commission on Ethics and Public Trust (ethics commission) in 1996 in order to train on, opine about, and enforce the ethics code. In 2021, the Ethics Commission conducted a comprehensive review of the lobbying section of the ethics code, and proposed a series of changes. In accordance with the most recent ordinance, lobbyists in the county are now charged with reporting expenditure forms even when there are no reportable expenditures, amending registration forms to be filed as circumstance change, and requiring the specific issue (as opposed to just the agenda item or procurement number) be disclosed. The county has also heightened disclosure requirements for principals, including defining a "principal" as anyone directly/indirectly benefiting from the lobbying activity, even if the lobbyist was not formally retained by that principal. Finally, the amendment places a larger responsibility on local government employees, appointed and elected officials, to police compliance with registration rules.