OAR 199-010-0150: Civil Penalty for Late Filing and Lobby Law Violations

(1) The Commission may impose a civil penalty for each day a lobbyist expenditure report or client/employer expenditure report required by ORS 171.745 and 171.750 is late beyond the due date established in 171.752. The penalties will accrue at $10 per day for the first 14 days and at $50 per day thereafter. Such penalty shall not exceed the amount of $5,000 pursuant to ORS 171.992. (2) Excluding violations of ORS 171.752, the Commission will identify each action that constitutes a violation of ORS Chapter 171 and when multiple violations are committed, will charge them in the following manner: (a) When a lobbyist or client/employer of a lobbyist has committed two or more violations by repeated equivalent actions, the Commission will charge the lobbyist or client/employer with a single violation and count the repeated actions using the number of the equivalent acts as aggravating factors when imposing any sanction as discussed in (2)(b) of this rule. The following examples are offered to illustrate this rule and not meant to limit its application: (A) Each lobbyist must register with the Commission when exceeding the limits of time or expenditures set forth in ORS 171.735. Failure to register as a lobbyist for each client/employer could be a distinct violation of ORS 171.740. If a lobbyist fails to register for two or more client/employers, the multiple violations will be combined into the charge of one violation with each additional failure to register being counted as an equivalent action. (B) When a lobbyist fails to report an occasion on the Lobbyist Quarterly Expenditure Report when an amount exceeding $50 is spent for the benefit of a legislative or executive official, the lobbyist violates ORS 171.745. If a lobbyist fails to report two or more officials who participated in the same event, the multiple violations will be combined into the charge of one violation with each additional failure to report an official being counted as an equivalent action. (C) When a client/employer represented by a lobbyist fails to report an occasion on the Client/Employer Quarterly Expenditure Report when an amount exceeding $50 is spent for the benefit of a legislative or executive official, the client/employer violates ORS 171.750. If a client/employer fails to report two or more officials who participated in the same event, the multiple violations will be combined into the charge of one violation with each additional failure to report an official being counted as an equivalent action. (b) When two or more single violations are charged as one violation, each additional violation by this rule will be counted as an equivalent action. The number of equivalent acts will be identified as an aggravating factor and included in the calculation of any assessment of a civil penalty that would constitute a sanction as described in OAR 199-008-0015.