City of San Antonio

Ethics Code and Lobbying Regulations

In November 1998, the San Antonio City Council established the city’s Ethics Review Board and adopted the Code of Ethics. The code sets out standards of conduct for present and former city officials and employees, persons doing business with the city and lobbyists.

This handbook focuses on the aspects of the code which may affect lobbyists and those doing business with or seeking action from the city. It is intended to assist individuals representing clients before the city. It is recommended, however, that anyone who is subject to the city’s ethics regulations review the Code of Ethics in its entirety. The code and other resources for ethics information are posted on the city’s website at www.sanantonio.gov/ecfl.

This handbook edition reflects changes made by the City Council on March 2, 2006. Provisions with significant recent changes are marked by this symbol:

II. Who is a Lobbyist and When is a Lobbyist Required to Register?

With some exceptions, the City of San Antonio Ethics Code does not prohibit lobbying. The code, though, requires some lobbyists under certain circumstances to register with the city, to pay a registration fee and to file activity reports. To determine whether a person is engaging in a type of lobbying activity that triggers the requirement to register, that person should review the following questions:

A) Who is a “lobbyist”?

A “lobbyist” is a person who

1) communicates, either verbally or in writing

2) with a city official

3) in an effort to influence or persuade the official

4) regarding a municipal question.

B) Who are “city officials”?

To constitute lobbying, the communication must be with a “city official.” For purposes of lobbying, “city officials” are limited to:

Mayor and Members of the City Council;
Assistants to City Council and Assistants to Mayor, including contract assistants;
Municipal Court Judges and Magistrates;
City Manager, Deputy City Manager, Assistant City Managers,

Assistants to the City Manager, and Secretary to the City Manager;

City Clerk;
All Department Heads and Assistant Department Heads (list is posted on the Ethics Website);
Executive Secretaries;
Members of Bid Committees;
Market Square Superintendent;
Community Action Manager;
Public Utilities Supervisor; and

Members of the following Boards and Commissions:

Board of Adjustment;
Board of Appeals;
City Public Service;
Firefighter’s and Police Officer’s Civil Service Commission;
Electrical Examining and Supervising Board;
Ethics Review Board;
Greater Kelly Development Authority;
Defense Base Development Authorities;
Historic and Design Review Commission;
Housing Authority of San Antonio;
Municipal Civil Service Commission;
Planning Commission;
Plumbing Appeals and Advisory Board;
Public Library Board of Trustees;
San Antonio Water System;
Urban Renewal Agency (SADA);
Zoning Commission;
any other board or commission that is more than advisory in nature.

C) What is a “municipal question”?

If the person is communicating with a “city official,” the next question is whether that person is attempting to persuade or influence the official on a “municipal question.” A “municipal question” is:

a public policy issue of a discretionary nature pending before City Council or any board or commission, including ordinances, resolutions, motions, recommendations, reports, regulations, policies, nominations, appointments, sanctions, bids (adoption of specifications, awards, grants or contracts).

“Municipal question” does not include:

Day-to-day application, administration or execution of existing city programs, policies, ordinances, resolutions, or practices, including matters that may be approved administratively without consideration by a board, a commission or the City Council.

December 18, 2003 Amendment to Ethics Code

Previously, the Ethics Code excluded those who were advocating on issues related to permitting, platting and zoning matters from the lobbyist regulations. On December 18, 2003, the City Council amended the Ethics Code to remove that exclusion.

A permitting, platting or zoning matter may still fall outside the meaning of “municipal question.” This depends on whether the matter is a routine, day-to-day matter that can be approved or handled administratively without consideration by a city official, including department and assistant department directors, members of city boards and commissions, or members of City Council. If the matter is of a discretionary nature pending before City Council or any board and is not a day-to-day application, administration or execution of an existing city program, practice or regulation, the matter may qualify as a “municipal question.”

Questions about the application of this regulation under specific facts or circumstances may be referred to the Ethics Review Board.

D) What is or is not a lobbying “communication”?

If the person is communicating with a “city official” on a “municipal question,” the next question is whether that communication is part of an effort to “influence” or “persuade.”

A communication is not lobbying, if the person is:

merely requesting information or inquiring about the facts or status of any municipal question, matter, or procedure;

responding in writing to a request for information by a city official;

responding to a public notice soliciting communications from the public and directed to the official designated to receive the communications.

A communication is also not lobbying, if the communication takes place in an open, public forum. Specifically, a communication is not lobbying if:

· the communication is made in a speech, publication or other material that is distributed and made available to the public, or through radio, television, cable television or other mass communication medium;

· the communication takes place at a meeting open to the public under the Open Meetings Act;

· the communication is a written comment filed in the course of a public proceeding.

E) If a person is lobbying, is that person exempt from registration?

If a person determines that he or she is or intends to:

1) communicate, either verbally or in writing

2) with a city official

3) in an effort to influence or persuade the official

4) regarding a municipal question,

the next issue is whether that person must register as a city lobbyist. Certain individuals and groups, although engaged in lobbying activity, are exempt from registration. The following are not required to register:

Individuals who neither receive compensation nor expend money for lobbying on behalf of a client;
Mobilizing Entity Constituents and Not-for-Profit Organizations. A person whose only lobbying activity is to encourage or solicit the members, employees, or owners (including shareholders) of an entity by whom the person is compensated to communicate directly with one or more city officials to influence municipal questions. This exception is intended to apply to neighborhood associations and not-for-profit organizations;

Journalists, unless a position advocated by the media directly affects or seeks to influence a municipal question in which the media organization has a direct or indirect economic interest.

F) If a person is lobbying and is not exempt from registration, are they required to register?

If a person is lobbying and that person is not in a category of individuals or part of a group that is exempt from registration, the Ethics Code requires that person to register as a lobbyist if:

1) the person engages in the lobbying activities with respect to a client for compensation; or

2) the person expends monies for lobbying activities.

G) What does it mean to be “compensated”?

“Compensation” means money or thing of value received or to be received in connection with the lobbying services rendered.

“Compensation” does not include payment made to an individual regularly employed by a person if:

1) the payment ordinarily would be made regardless of whether the individual engaged in lobbying activities; and

2) lobbying activities are not part of the individual’s regular responsibilities to the person making the payment.

If the person’s compensation is made under these circumstances, no registration is required.

The City Council amended this definition to clarify that compensation for professional services that do not primarily require contact or advocacy with public officials does not constitute compensation in connection with lobbying services, if the contact is incidental to the primary purpose of the employment.

Compensation does not include the financial gain that a person may realize as a result of the determination of a municipal question.

An agent or an employee of a lobbying firm is not required to register as an individual if the firm has registered and has included all relevant information known to the agent or employee in its lobbyist activity reports.

CAUTION: If a person engages in both lobbying activities and other activities on behalf of a client, the person may not structure the receipt of compensation in a way that unreasonably minimizes the value of the lobbying activities. Compensation structured in such a way constitutes compensation in connection with lobbying activities.

H) What does it mean to “expend monies”?

“Expenditure” means a payment, loan, or gift of money or anything of value.

“Expenditure” does not include an amount paid to an individual regularly employed by a person if:

1) the payment ordinarily would be made regardless of whether the individual engaged in lobbying activities; and

2) lobbying activities are not part of the individual’s regular responsibilities to the person making the payment.

If expenditures are made under these circumstances, no registration is required.

Also, the Ethics Code specifies that the term “expenditure” for purposes of the registration requirement would not include the cost of photocopying documents or for preparing informational materials incurred by individuals who seek to communicate a personal opinion to a public official on behalf of themselves, their family or members of their household.

A lobbyist’s client who would only be required to register because of compensation paid to the lobbyist is not required to register, provided the lobbyist is registered and includes activity on behalf of the client in its activity report.

I) Registration Summary

A “lobbyist” is a person who

1) communicates, either verbally or in writing

2) with a city official

3) in an effort to influence or persuade the official

4) regarding a municipal question.

A person engaged in “lobbying” activities must register as a lobbyist if:

1) that person is not in the category of individuals or organizations exempt from the registration requirement; and

2) that person is compensated in connection with the lobbying activity; or

3) that person expends monies for the lobbying activities.

For further information, please consult the City of San Antonio Ethics Code. Individuals may also seek a formal advisory opinion on the application of the Ethics Code from the Ethics Review Board.

III. Registration

A. Registration – Initial and Annual

A person or organization that registers is referred to as a “registrant.” Registration can be done either individually or by an organization. Agents or employees of an organization that registers are not required to separately register so long as the organization lists these individuals as its agents.

The registrant must file a separate registration for each client and each registration must be signed under oath. Forms are posted on the city’s ethics website at www.sanantonio.gov./ecfl. Follow the links to the “Forms” page.

An initial registration for a new client must be filed:

within 90 days after the first lobbying communication; or
before official city action relating to the subject matter of the lobbying contact, if that occurs sooner than the 90-day time period.

The annual registration for all of the registrant’s current clients must be filed by January 31^st. If January 31^st falls on a weekend or city holiday, that deadline is extended to the first business day after that date.

B. Registration Fees

The registrant must pay a fee of $300 for the registrant, and an additional fee of $300 for each agent or employee who engages in lobbying activity on behalf of the registrant’s clients, up to a maximum fee of $1200 per registrant.

Example: ABC Firm has two agents and four clients. ABC will register as the registrant and file four separate registrations for its clients. Within each registration, it will list the agents and employees who will lobby on behalf of that client. ABC will pay $300 to become a registrant and will pay an additional $600 for its two agents ($300 x 2 agents) for a total fee of $900.

Example: XYZ Law Firm has four agents and nine clients. XYZ will register as the registrant and file nine separate registrations for its clients. Within each registration, it will list the agents or employees who will lobby on behalf of that client. XYZ will pay $300 to become a registrant and will pay an additional $900 for its four agents for the maximum total fee of $1200.

C. Registration Disclosures

Each registration requires the following information:

1) the full name, telephone number, address and nature of the business of

a) the registrant;

b) the client;

c) any person, other than the client, that has engaged the registrant to lobby for that client;

d) any person, other than the client, who is known to the registrant to contribute financially to the compensation of the registrant; or who supervises or controls the registrant’s lobbying activities for that client;

e) any lobbying firm for which the registrant is an agent or employee with respect to the client;

f) each employee or agent of the registrant who has acted or whom the registrant expects to act as a lobbyist on behalf of the client;

2) a statement of all municipal questions on which the registrant has lobbied during the preceding year or anticipates lobbying in the year of registration;

3) a list of any positions held by the registrant as an official or employee of the City of San Antonio during the preceding two (2) years;

4) if the registrant is a former city official or employee, a statement that the lobbying activities have not violated and will not foreseeably violate the ethics code provisions governing former city officials and employees.

Ethics Code provisions applying to former city officials and employees will be discussed later in this handbook beginning on page 19.

D. Timeliness of Filing Registrations and Reports

A registration or quarterly report filed by first-class mail or by common carrier is timely if it is properly addressed with sufficient postage and it bears a post office cancellation mark or other receipt mark indicating a time within the applicable filing period.

E. Termination of Registration

A registrant must file a notice of termination of registration with the City Clerk if the registrant is no longer engaged in activities that require registration and reporting. The registrant must still comply with any reporting requirements for activity taking place before termination.

IV. Quarterly Activity Reports

A. Deadlines

Each registrant must file a quarterly report concerning the registrant’s lobbying activities for each client from whom, or with respect to whom, the registrant received compensation from, or expended monies for lobbying during the prior calendar quarter. The report shall be filed between the 1^st and 15^th day of April, July, October and January, and is filed under oath.

A registrant may file a consolidated quarterly activity report reflecting the activity of all its agents and employees who engaged in lobbying activity during the prior calendar quarter. It is not necessary for quarterly reports to be filed by agents, so long as their activity is reflected in the registrant’s reports.

B. Quarterly Activity Report Disclosures

Each quarterly activity report requires the following information:

1) the name of the registrant, the name of the client, and any changes or updates in the information provided in the most recent registration (initial or annual) statement;

2) a list of the specific issues upon which the registrant engaged in lobbying activities, including, to the maximum extent practicable, a list of specific legislative proposals and other proposed, pending, or completed official actions;

3) a list of the city officials contacted by the registrant on behalf of the client with regard to a municipal question;

4) a list of the employees or agents of the registrant who acted as lobbyists on behalf of the client;

5) for registrants engaged in lobbying activities on its own behalf, a good faith estimate of the total expenditures[1] that the registrant and its agents or employees incurred in connection with lobbying activities;

6) each gift, benefit, or expenditure greater than $50 made to, conferred upon, or incurred on behalf of a city official or his or her immediate family by the registrant or its agents or employees itemized by:

§ date;

§ city official;

§ actual cost;

§ circumstances of the transaction;

7) each exchange of money, goods, services or anything of value by the registrant or its agents or employees, with any business entity

§ that the registrant knows or should know that a city official has an economic interest or for which an official serves as a director, officer, or in another policy-making position; and

§ the total of such exchanges is $1000 or more in a calendar quarter; and

§ the city official has been

o lobbied by the registrant or its agents, or

o the official serves on a board or other city body that has appellate jurisdiction over the subject matter of the lobbying contacts;

8) the name and position of each city official or member of a city official’s immediate family who is employed by the registrant.

Where estimates of expenditures are required, the registrant may round to the nearest $100 for amounts less than $5000, and may round to the nearest $1000 for amounts exceeding $5000. Employment or agreement to lobby on a contingent fee basis must also be disclosed.

[1] Expenditure means a payment, distribution, loan, advance, reimbursement, deposit, gift or money or anything of value. Expenditure, though, does not include an amount paid to any individual regularly employed by a person if

1) the amounts paid to the individual are ordinarily paid regardless of whether the person engages in lobbying activities; and

2) the lobbying activities are not part of the individual’s regular responsibilities to the person making the payment.

The date on which an expenditure is incurred is determined according to generally accepted accounting principals.

C. Report Not Required If No New Activity

No quarterly report is required if there is no reportable activity during the preceding calendar quarter and there are no other changes to items required to be reported.

D. Preservation of Records

The registrant must preserve all accounts, bills, receipts, books, papers and documents necessary to substantiate the information disclosed in the activity reports for five (5) years from the date of the report containing the information.

V. Identification of Clients During Contacts with Officials

A lobbyist must identify himself or herself and the clients he or she represents when contacting an official or when appearing before the City Council or one of the city’s boards and commissions.

VI. Restrictions on Lobbying Activity

A. Prohibited Contacts During Contract Evaluation

A lobbyist or a lobbyist’s agent is prohibited from lobbying activities with city officials, including elected officials, and employees regarding a proposed contract from the time a Request for Proposal (RFP), a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) or other solicitation has been released until the contract is posted as a City Council agenda item. If contact is required, such contact will be done in accordance with procedures incorporated into the solicitation document. Violation of this provision by respondents or their agents, including lobbyists, may lead to disqualification of the respondent’s offer. There is a parallel no-contact provision for contractors and their agents.

B. Lobbyists May Not Place City Official Under Personal Obligation

A lobbyist or the client or any of their agents may not do any act or refrain from any act for the express purpose and intent of placing any city official under personal obligation to the lobbyist.

C. False Statements

A lobbyist or the client or any of their agents cannot intentionally or knowingly make any false or misleading statement of fact to any city official, or cause a copy of a document with false information to be received by an official without notifying the official in writing of the truth. Likewise, a registrant who learns that a statement in a registration form or activity report during the pre