PROVIDENCE, RI – As the 2010 legislative session begins to heat up, Secretary of State A. Ralph Mollis is inviting lobbyists, their clients and employers to a workshop reviewing financial reporting, campaign finance and ethics laws.
“As Secretary of State, I am committed to making government more open and accessible. The more familiar lobbyists are with our system and the law, the better the information that my office gives the public will be,” said Mollis.
Everyone who is paid to lobby the General Assembly or the Governor’s office must register with the secretary of state’s office. Mollis produces monthly and annual reports that detail who is lobbying, the issues they follow, their compensation, their lobbying expenses and who their clients are.
There were 536 registered State House lobbyists last year. The five most heavily lobbied issues were health care, taxation, state affairs and government, insurance and business. The least lobbied subjects were agriculture, food, crime, fish and wildlife and, lastly, courts.
Mollis is offering the free workshop from 10 to 11 a.m., 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. and 2 to 3 p.m. on Mon., March 22, in the Senate Lounge on the 2nd floor of the State House.
The secretary of state’s office will review registration requirements, monthly and year-end expense reporting, reporting gifts or payments to legislators and executives of state agencies and state guidelines on campaign contributions to candidates and elected officials.
A representative of the state Ethics Commission will also review regulations governing conflicts of interest.
Secretary of State Mollis is committed to making it easier to vote, helping business grow and making government more open and accessible. For more information about the March 22 lobbying workshop, call the secretary of state’s Public Information Division at (401) 222-3983.
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