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Home My WebLink About99-1011 ConfidentialOPINION OF THE COMMISSION Before: Daneen E. Reese, Chair Austin M. Lee, Vice Chair Julius Uehlein Louis W. Fryman John J. Bolger Frank M. Brown Susan Mosites Bicket DATE DECIDED: 9/30/99 DATE MAILED: 10/13/99 99 -1011 Re: Lobbying, Principal, Lobbyist, State Official, Ticket, Football, Game, Hospitality, Report, Immediate Family. This Opinion is issued in response to your confidential advisory request received on September 3, 1999. I. ISSUE: Whether hospitality provided by a university to a state official and one to three specified guests is wholly attributable to the state official for purposes of reporting under Section 1305(b)(3) of the Lobbying Disclosure Act. II. FACTUAL BASIS FOR DETERMINATION: You are general counsel for University A, which has registered as a principal under the Lobbying Disclosure Act, 65 Pa.C.S. §1301 et seq. (Act). During the football season, University A provides hospitality, as defined in 51 Pa. Code §31.1, to various state officials, which hospitality includes a ticket to a University A football game, a pre -game buffet and transportation to and from the stadium, all of which are complimentary by University A. Initially, state officials receive a written invitation from University A to attend a specific football game. All written invitations provide, in part, as follows: University A would like to take this opportunity to extend an invitation to you to join us for this football game. We must restrict your invitation to a total of four persons. We thank you also for accompanying your guests, since the Confidential Opinion, 99 -1011 Page 2 invitation is non - transferable. Attached to each invitation is a Game Response Form, which includes an RSVP deadline to either accept and list the names of the state officials and guests or to decline. Until the state official arrives at B on game day, University A representatives retain possession of the football game tickets. When the state official checks in at the appropriate registration desk, he or she and his or her guests, if any, are provided (a) ticket(s) to the football game. The guests, like the state official, partake of the pre -game buffet and utilize the transportation to and from the football game. You pose the following question. Assuming a state official is provided one football game ticket for himself or herself, and three more tickets for his or her guests, and further assuming that the face value of each ticket is $C, should the state official be considered, for reporting purposes under Section 1305(b)(3) of the Act and Section 1105(b)(7) of the Ethics Act, as having received: hospitality in the amount of $C for his or her ticket alone; or hospitality in the amount of $D, representing the total value of the state official's ticket plus the three tickets provided to the guests? University A acknowledges that the complimentary value of meals and transportation provided to the state official's guests would be considered hospitality and reportable in the same fashion as the value of the football game tickets. III. DISCUSSION: It is initially noted that pursuant to Section 1308(c) of the Act in conjunction with Sections 7(10) and 7(11) of the Ethics Act, 65 P.S. § §1107(10), (11), advisories are issued to the requestor based upon the facts which the requestor has submitted. This Commission does not engage in an independent investigation of the facts, nor does it speculate as to facts which have not been submitted, in issuing advisories. It is the burden of the requestor to truthfully disclose all of the material facts relevant to the inquiry. An advisory only affords a defense to the extent the requestor has truthfully disclosed all of the material facts. In order to decide the issues which you have raised, this Commission must review the pertinent definitions and substantive provisions of the Act and related Regulations. Section 1303 of the Act defines "lobbying" as follows: "Lobbying." An effort to influence legislative action or administrative action. The term includes: (1) providing any gift, entertainment, meal, transportation or lodging to a State official or employee for the purpose of advancing the interest of the lobbyist or principal; and (2) direct or indirect communication. 65 Pa.C.S. §1303. The terms "principal," "lobbyist," and "immediate family" are defined in the statute as follows: "Principal." Any individual, firm, association, corporation, partnership, business trust or business entity: (1) on whose behalf a lobbyist influences or attempts to influence an administrative action or a legislative action; or Confidential Opinion, 99 -1011 Page 3 Id. (2) that engages in lobbying on the principal's own behalf. "Lobbyist." Any individual, firm, association, corporation, partnership, business trust or business entity that engages in lobbying on behalf of a principal for economic consideration. The term includes an attorney who engages in lobbying. "Immediate family" An individual's spouse, child, parent, brother, sister, mother -in -law, father -in -law, brother -in -law or sister -in -law. Section 1305(b)(3) of the Act provides: (3) In addition to reporting the totals required under this subsection, the expense report must identify, by name, position and each occurrence, a State official or employee who receives from a principal or lobbyist anything of value which must be included in the statement under section 1105(b)(6) or (7) (relating to statement of financial interests) as implemented by section 1105(d). 65 Pa.C.S. §1305(b)(3). In applying the above provisions to this matter, we shall only address the duties of the University under the Act. We must observe the standing requirements for advisories (see, 51 Pa. Code §39.2), and therefore may not address the duties of a state official under Section 1105(b)(7) of the Ethics Act relative to the scenario which you have presented. The question before us is whether the provision of football tickets and other related hospitality and transportation to a state official plus one to three guests who are specified by the state official is wholly attributable to the state official for purposes of reporting under Section 1305(b)(3) of the Act. We determine that it is. Where hospitality and transportation are provided by a principal to a state official and guests who are specified by the state official, we have a situation where the state official is provided outright with all of the tickets and the related hospitality and transportation, with the state official having the discretion to designate the other, ultimate recipients besides himself or herself. Accordingly, all such hospitality and transportation is attributable to the state official for purposes of reporting under Section 1305(b)(3) of the Lobbying Disclosure Act. Under the facts which you have submitted, because the tickets are offered by the University to the state official and one to three guests who are specified by the state official, all such tickets, hospitality and transportation are attributable to the state official for reporting purposes under Section 1305(b)(3) of the Act. In this case, for reporting purposes under Section 1305(b)(3) of the Act, the state official receives up to four football tickets, which you have valued at $C each for a maximum value of $D, plus the value of the related hospitality and transportation to and from the game for the state official and his or her designated guests. Although the question has not been posed, we note that for purposes of reporting the totals of expenses or amounts under Section 1305(b)(2) of the Act, the value of the tickets, hospitality and transportation to the state official and those of the state official's Confidential Opinion, 99 -1011 Page 4 guests who would be his or her immediate family members as defined under the Act would have to be included. The propriety of the proposed conduct has only been addressed under the Act and derivatively the Ethics Act to the extent applicable; the applicability of any other statute, code, ordinance, regulation or other code of conduct has not been considered in that they do not involve an interpretation of the Act. IV. CONCLUSION: Where hospitality and transportation are provided by a principal to a state official and one to three guests who are specified by the state official, all such hospitality and transportation is attributable to the state official for purposes of reporting under Section 1305(b)(3) of the Lobbying Disclosure Act. Pursuant to Section 1308 of the Act, a requestor who truthfully discloses all material facts in a request for an advisory and who acts in good faith based upon a written opinion of the Commission issued to the requestor shall not be held liable for a violation of the Act. This Opinion is a public record and will be made available as such. Finally, a party may request this Commission to reconsider its Opinion. The reconsideration request must be received at this Commission within thirty days of the mailing date of this Opinion. The party requesting reconsideration must include a detailed explanation of the reasons as to why reconsideration should be granted in conformity with 51 Pa. Code §39.1. By the Commission, Daneen E. Reese Chair