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 Broward County
 Code of Ordinances
 Chapter 1. ADMINISTRATION
 Article XIII. LOBBYING ACTIVITIES

  § 1-261. Definitions.  

Latest version.

  • As used in this article, unless the context otherwise indicates:

    (a)

    Board means the Board of County Commissioners of Broward County, Florida.

    (b)

    Lobby, Lobbying, or Lobbying Activities means a communication, by any means, from a lobbyist to a covered individual regarding any item that will foreseeably be decided by a final decision-making authority, which communication seeks to influence, convince, or persuade the covered individual to support or oppose the item. Lobbying does not include communications:

    (1)

    Made on the record at a duly-noticed public meeting or hearing; or

    (2)

    From an attorney to an attorney representing Broward County regarding a pending or imminent judicial or adversarial administrative proceeding against Broward County.

    (c)

    Person means any individual, business, corporation, association, firm, partnership, organization, group, or other entity, whether operated for profit or not for profit.

    (d)

    Lobbyist means a person who is retained, with or without compensation, for the purpose of lobbying; or a person who is employed by another person or entity, on a full-time or part-time basis, principally to lobby on behalf of that other person or entity. "Lobbyist" does not include a person who is:

    (1)

    An Elected Official, employee, or appointee of Broward County or of any municipality within Broward County communicating in his or her official capacity;

    (2)

    An individual who communicates on his or her own behalf, or on behalf of a person or entity employing the individual on a full-time or part-time basis, unless the individual is principally employed by that person or entity to lobby;

    (3)

    An employee, officer, or board member of a homeowners' association, condominium association, or neighborhood association when addressing, in his or her capacity as an employee, officer, or board member of such association, an issue impacting the association or its members; or

    (4)

    An employee, officer, or board member of a nonprofit public interest entity (e.g., Sierra Club, NAACP, ACLU) when addressing an issue impacting a constituent of that entity.

    (e)

    Employer means the business entity, if any, employing the lobbyist on a full-time or part-time basis.

    (f)

    Compensation means paying or agreeing to pay or give, directly or indirectly, any money, anything of value, or reimbursement of expenses (in whole or in part), in consideration for the performance of lobbying activities.

    (g)

    Covered Individual means (i) any member of the Board of County Commissioners; (ii) any member of a final decision-making body under the jurisdiction of the Board of County Commissioners; (iii) any County employee who is a member of a selection, evaluation, or procurement committee that ranks or makes recommendations to any final decision-making authority regarding a County procurement, when the communication involves any such procurement; (iv) any County employee who has authority to make a final decision regarding a public procurement, when the communication involves any such procurement; (v) the head of any department, division, or office of Broward County who makes final recommendations to a final decision-making authority regarding items that will be decided by the final decision-making authority; and (vi) any County employee reporting directly to and working in the official governmental office of a County Commissioner.

    (h)

    Final Decision-Making Authority means (i) the Board of County Commissioners; (ii) final decision-making bodies under the jurisdiction of the Board of County Commissioners; and (iii) any employee of Broward County that has authority to make a final decision to select a vendor or provider in connection with a public procurement.

    (i)

    Principal means the person or entity, as applicable, on whose behalf the lobbyist engages in the lobbying activity. This person or entity is sometimes referred to as the lobbyist's "client."

(Ord. No. 2001-15, § 2, 5-8-01; Ord. No. 2009-34, § 1, 6-23-09; Ord. No. 2009-67, § 1, 10-13-09; Ord. No. 2011-19, § 4, 10-11-11; Ord. No. 2017-18 , § 3, 5-23-17)

Editor's note

Section 7 of Ord. No. 2011-19, enacted Oct. 11, 2011, which partially amended § 1-261, provided that no provision of said ordinance shall be applicable to Municipal Officials until January 2, 2012.