34-12.020. Definitions

As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires:

(1) “Agency” means the Governor, Governor and Cabinet, or any department, division, bureau, board, commission, or authority of the Executive Branch, or the Constitution Revision Commission.

(2) “Agency official or employee” means an officer, employee, or other individual of the Executive Branch or the Constitution Revision Commission who is required by law to file full (CE Form 6) or limited (CE Form 1) public disclosure of his or her financial interests, but does not mean officers or employees of political subdivisions of the State. 

(3) “Compensation” means a payment, distribution, loan, advance, reimbursement, deposit, salary, fee, retainer, or anything of value provided or owed to a lobbying firm, directly or indirectly, by a principal for any Executive Branch lobbying activity.

(4) “Expenditure” means a payment, distribution, loan, advance, reimbursement, deposit, or anything of value made by a lobbyist or principal, directly or indirectly, for the purpose of lobbying. A contribution to a political party regulated under Chapter 103, F.S., or a contribution or an expenditure reported pursuant to Chapter 106, F.S., or its federal law counterpart, is not an expenditure for purposes of Section 112.3215, F.S., and this rule chapter.

(5) “Governmental entity” includes water management districts, regional planning councils, community college districts, counties, municipalities, special districts, and other political subdivisions of the State.

(6) “Lobbies” or “lobbying” means seeking, on behalf of another person, to influence an agency with respect to a decision of the agency in the area of policy or procurement or an attempt to obtain the goodwill of an agency official or employee.

(7) “Lobbying firm” means a business entity, including an individual contract lobbyist, that receives or becomes entitled to receive any compensation for the purpose of lobbying, where any partner, owner, officer, or employee of the business is a lobbyist. An association, a governmental entity, a corporation, or other business entity that does not derive compensation from principals for lobbying is not a “lobbying firm,” and neither are its employee-lobbyists considered to be a “lobbying firm.”

(8) “Person” means individuals, children, firms, associations, joint ventures, partnerships, estates, trusts, business trusts, syndicates, fiduciaries, corporations, and all other groups or combinations.

(9) “Policy” means a plan or course of action which is applicable to a class of persons, proceedings, or other matters, and which is designed to influence or determine the subsequent decisions and actions of an agency, such as any plan or course of action which would constitute a “rule” as defined in Section 120.52, F.S. The term does not include the adjudication or determination of any rights, duties, or obligations of a person made on a case-by-case basis, such as would be involved in the issuance or denial of a license, permit, or certification or in a disciplinary action or investigation involving a person.

(10) “Principal” means the person, firm, corporation, governmental entity, or other entity which has employed or retained a lobbyist. When an association has employed or retained a lobbyist, the association is the principal. The members of the association are not principals of the lobbyist merely because of their membership in the association.

(11) “Procurement” means the purchase or acquisition of any property, interest in property, or services by an agency.

Rulemaking Authority 112.3215, 112.322(9) FS. Law Implemented 112.3215 FS. History–New 10-12-89, Amended 1-4-94, 7-2-00, 6-15-06.