Below is a brief review of our annual Holiday Season compliance series and a few other tips. Let us know if you have any specific questions. 

1. As noted in our Day 12 tip, the moratorium on giving political contributions to legislators, certain statewide officers, and certain political committees began Sunday, December 15th, and runs through June 22, 2025. 
2. As noted in our Day 11 tip, lobby registrations are effective for a calendar year so all 2024 registrations expire December 31, 2024. Lobby registration for 2025 launched on December 1 and the conservative advice is to register anyone who will be communicating with legislators or staff during the legislative session.
3. As noted in our Day 10 tip, the thresholds for triggering registration (and a variety of other reportable activities) will be reindexing again on January 1, 2025, so make sure you are aware of the registration threshold changes and register within five days of triggering the need to register. If you have already registered, then there are no further thresholds to meet and you must add new clients or new subject matters within five days of communicating during the legislative session and by the next reporting deadline when not in session. 
4. As discussed in our Day 9 tip, recordkeeping is essential. And, if you need any more incentive, the Ethics Commission is currently conducting random audits. You won't know if you have been audited unless there is a potential error, so having your house in order will help if there is an audit issue. 
5. As noted in our Day 8 tip, the Texas Ethics Commission is currently under Sunset Review. Sunset staff encourages participation during the 89th Legislative Session, and PAAT will continue to engage throughout the review process.
6. As noted in our Day 7 tip, expenditures that exceed the thresholds for detailed reporting — currently $132.60 per day for food & beverages or entertainment and for gifts with a value of more than $110 — mean the name of the recipient must be reported, as well as the details of the event or gift.
7. Speaking of expenditures, keep up with miscellaneous expenditure amounts that add to the annual ceiling cap. The fact that an expenditure was for a gift that cost less than $110, or an entertainment event that costs less than the detail reporting threshold, doesn’t mean that the expenditure doesn’t count toward the annual limit of $500 for either of those categories.
8. As noted in our Day 6 tip, conflicts of interest must be noticed to the client and filed with the Commission and, in some instances, must be approved by the client before you can continue the representation of either client. If you are an attorney licensed in Texas you must also comply with the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct.
9. As noted in our Day 5 tip, you cannot provide transportation or lodging. OK, there are a couple of exceptions for official fact-finding trips and conferences and incidental trips, but these are tricky and limited. Best advice: avoid all transportation and lodging. Period.
10. As noted in our Day 4 tip, it is permissible for lobby expenditures to be split, as long as the registrants making the expenditure report their portions, and as long as any portion of the split expenditure made by a non-registrant gets reported. But note that our advice is not to split with a non-registrant.
11. As noted in our Day 3 tip, if you invite all members of the legislature to your event you don't have to do any breakouts or do any counts (other than attributing the per person entertainment costs and gifts costs to your annual totals). Just remember you have to track any entertainment or gifts associated with the event against each reportable person’s $500 annual limit.
12. As discussed in our Day 2 tip, any materials you distribute that relate to possible legislative matters are supposed to have a disclaimer that shows who contracted for the item to be reproduced and on whose behalf it was done.

And remember:

• Don’t forget that annual limits apply to spouses, dependent children and guests of the public official as well ($500 for entertainment and gifts).
• You must be present if you provide food or beverages to an office or a committee meeting. You must be present for any entertainment events for which you pay. And that presence has to be more than a smile and a wave. AND Zooms do not meet the presence requirement.
• Don't lobby on a contingency fee basis at the legislature or an administrative agency. The law says it is a felony to be paid on a contingent basis to influence legislation or the outcome of any administrative matter. There are separate rules regarding agency procurement and very limited exceptions apply.
• It is against the law to knowingly lie to a legislator or provide false written information. So, if you know what you said was wrong, fix it!
• It is against the law for a public official to ask you to do or provide something that you are prohibited from doing — like not be present at an event where you pay for food and beverage or entertainment, or make a loan, or provide lodging, or exceed the annual limit for entertainment. Just say no.