Lobbyists: How to report remote entertaining

Updated Jan. 14, 2021

Dealing with COVID-19 these past few years means that we did a lot of things differently, including lobbying. You still might not invite the whole Legislature to a reception for a while. But what if you send the drinks and snacks to them? Or schedule a Zoom happy hour?

• Treat expenditures for drinks, snacks or other gifts to legislators individually, rather than as a group if the activity does not involve a virtual meeting. If the per-lawmaker cost exceeds $50, then you should report it as if you had sent them a fruit basket or candy in more normal times. You will do this in the lobbyist application by going to the Entertainment tab and entering the total as a non-itemized expense.
• If you host a virtual gathering for members of a group or association and lawmakers, and the cost of the "event" exceeds $50, the costs are reported in the lobbyist application on the Entertainment tab under itemized expenses. Provide a detailed list of officials who attended the virtual gathering and parenthetically list each official's portion of food and beverages. Information about how to report in detail is displayed when you answer Yes to the itemized Entertainment question.

For more information see the L-2 reporting guide, which explains the rules for itemizing expenses and reporting the expenses to elected officials for entertainment, receptions and other types of expenditures.