Honest Leadership and Open Government Act (HLOGA)

The Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007 (Public Law 110-81) was enacted in response to lobbying scandals, most notably the Jack Abramoff affair, and represented the most significant reform of lobbying regulation since the original LDA in 1995. HLOGA amended the LDA in several important ways. It increased the frequency of lobbying disclosure reports from semi-annual to quarterly, providing more timely transparency. It required lobbyists to file semi-annual reports (LD-203) disclosing campaign contributions and payments to presidential libraries, inaugural committees, and entities controlled by covered officials.

It tightened gift and travel restrictions, largely banning gifts from lobbyists to members of Congress and staff. It extended the cooling-off period for former senators from one year to two years. It required disclosure of bundling activities by lobbyists who aggregate more than a threshold amount in contributions. And it substantially increased civil penalties for LDA violations (up to $200,000 per violation) and created criminal penalties of up to five years in prison for knowing and corrupt failures to comply.

HLOGA also required the Government Accountability Office to conduct annual audits of LDA compliance. These audits have consistently found significant rates of noncompliance, particularly in the reporting of specific issue areas and government entities contacted. Despite its limitations, HLOGA significantly improved the transparency of federal lobbying activity and forms the basis of the current disclosure regime.