Lobbying Disclosure Act (LDA)

The Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1601-1614) is the primary federal statute governing the registration and disclosure of lobbying activities. It replaced the Federal Regulation of Lobbying Act of 1946, which was widely considered ineffective. The LDA requires any individual lobbyist or organization employing lobbyists to register with the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House of Representatives within 45 days of a lobbying contact.

Registrants must file quarterly reports (LD-2 forms) detailing the issues lobbied on, income received from lobbying clients, expenses incurred, the specific bills or executive actions targeted, and the government entities contacted. The Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007 (HLOGA) strengthened the LDA by requiring semi-annual reports of campaign contributions and other payments (LD-203 forms), increasing civil and criminal penalties for noncompliance, and adding electronic filing requirements. Violations can result in civil penalties up to $200,000 per violation and criminal penalties of up to five years in prison for corrupt failures to comply. The Senate Office of Public Records and the House Legislative Resource Center maintain the public database of all filings.