Section 12A-15.3(1) and (2) of the Dallas City Code requires a person to register if the person receives compensation or reimbursement of $200 or more in a calendar quarter for lobbying. Under Section 12A-15.2(3) of the Dallas City Code, compensation includes any money, service, facility, or other thing of value that is received, or is to be received, in return for or in connection with lobbying services rendered, or to be rendered, including reimbursement of expenses incurred in lobbying. Compensation does not include a payment made to any individual regularly employed by a person if the payment ordinarily would be made regardless of whether the individual engaged in lobbying activities, and lobbying activities are not part of the individual’s regular responsibilities to the person making the payment. Therefore, if your company does not receive the above-described compensation or reimbursement in a calendar quarter for lobbying a Dallas city official, then it is not required to register as a lobbyist. Further, if a CEO, board member, or employee of your company lobbies a city official, but such lobbying is not part of that individual’s regular job responsibilities and only occurs incidentally, then those individuals do not have to register as lobbyists.

If you have a staff lobbyist, however, who lobbies city officials as a regular part of his or her job responsibilities, regardless of whether the individual holds other responsibilities with the company and regardless of whether the individual’s compensation for those lobbying duties are paid for separately or are covered by the individual’s salary, that individual would have to register as a lobbyist. So if the employee is regularly assigned by your company to lobby city officials, which means to communicate with city officials in an effort to influence or persuade them to favor or oppose, recommend or not recommend, vote for or against, or take or refrain from taking action on any municipal question [see definition of  “lobbying” in Section 12A-15.2(10)(A)], and the employee receives compensation or reimbursement of $200 or more in a calendar quarter for those lobbying activities (even if such compensation is included in a salary that also covers other job responsibilities), then that employee would be required to register as a lobbyist and your company would be his or her client. Please note that any communications the employee has with a city official for the purpose of managing a project being performed by your company under an existing city contract would not be considered a lobbying contact that triggers registration requirements.

Also note that under Section 12A-15.2(12), a municipal question means a public policy issue of a discretionary nature that is pending before, or that may be the subject of action by, the city council or any city board or commission. It includes, but is not limited to, proposed actions or proposals for action in the form of ordinances, resolutions, motions, recommendations, reports, regulations, policies, nominations, appointments, sanctions, and bids, including the adoption of specifications, awards, grants, or contracts. It does not include the day-to-day application, administration, and execution of city programs and policies such as permitting, platting, and design approval matters related to or in connection with a specific project or development.

I assume by “meeting,” you are asking if a lobbying contact occurred. A lobbying contact would only occur if any communication was made to the council member “in an effort to influence or persuade an official to favor or oppose, recommend or not recommend, vote for or against, or take or refrain from taking action on any municipal question.” See Section 12A-15.2(10) (A) of the Dallas City Code.
If we are at a meeting and say hello to and/or introduce a council member to someone we know, must we count that as a meeting?
Please note that Section 12A-15.2(10) (B) lists certain types of communications that are not considered lobbying. Under Section 12A-15.2(12), a “municipal question” means a public policy issue of a discretionary nature that is pending before, or that may be the subject of action by, the city council or any city board or commission. The term includes, but is not limited to, proposed actions or proposals for action in the form of ordinances, resolutions, motions, recommendations, reports, regulations, policies, nominations, appointments, sanctions, and bids, including the adoption of specifications, awards, grants, or contracts. The term does not include the day-to-day application, administration, and execution of city programs and policies such as permitting, platting, and design approval matters related to or in connection with a specific project or development.
If we meet with a council member about utility construction in their district, must we log that meeting/contact?
Please note that even if a lobbying contact occurred, it would not trigger the lobbyist registration and reporting requirements unless it was made by a person who received compensation or reimbursement of $200 or more in a calendar quarter for lobbying activities. See Section 12A-15.3 of the Dallas City Code. Also note that certain exceptions to the requirements for lobbyist registration and quarterly activity reports are set forth in Section 12A-15.4 of the Dallas City Code.

Section 12A-15.2(10) (A) of the Dallas City Code defines lobbying as “any oral or written communication (including an electronic communication) to a city official, made directly or indirectly by any person in an effort to influence or persuade an official to favor or oppose, recommend or not recommend, vote for or against, or take or refrain from taking action on any municipal question.” Thus, all such communications are lobbying, unless specifically exempted by Section 12A-15.2(10) (B).

A corporation, partnership, or other entity is required to register as a lobbyist if it receives compensation or reimbursement of $200 or more in a calendar quarter for lobbying. If it does not receive compensation for lobbying activities but has more than one paid lobbyist on staff that would be required to register individually, the corporation, partnership, or other entity may choose to register as a lobbying firm and include in that registration the names and lobbying contacts of its staff lobbyists, instead of having them register individually. See Ordinance No. 27834 (adopted by the Dallas City Council on April 7, 2010), which: (1) amended Section 12A-15.2(11) of the Dallas City Code to define “lobbying firm” to include “a person who has one or more employees that are lobbyists on the person’s behalf and the person is the client,” and (2) added Section 12A-15.3(b) which reads as follows:

A lobbying firm that is not required to register under Subsection (a) of this section may register as a lobbyist with the city secretary if the lobbying firm has more than one employee who is required to register under Subsection (a). A lobbying firm that chooses to register under this subsection for all of its employees that are lobbyists, instead of having them register individually, will be deemed to be a “registrant” and “a person required to register” for all purposes of this article and will be subject to all requirements, procedures, and penalties applicable to a “registrant” and “person required to register,” as those terms are used in this article.

An employer/company is required to register as a lobbyist if it receives compensation or reimbursement of $200 or more in a calendar quarter for lobbying. If the employer/company does not receive compensation for lobbying activities but has more than one paid lobbyist on staff that would be required to register individually, the employer/company may choose to register as a lobbying firm and include in that registration the names and lobbying contacts of its staff lobbyists, instead of having them register individually. See Ordinance No. 27834 (adopted by the Dallas City Council on April 7, 2010), which: (1) amended Section 12A-15.2(11) of the Dallas City Code to define “lobbying firm” to include “a person who has one or more employees that are lobbyists on the person’s behalf and the person is the client,” and (2) added Section 12A-15.3(b) which reads as follows:

(b) A lobbying firm that is not required to register under Subsection (a) of this section may register as a lobbyist with the city secretary if the lobbying firm has more than one employee who is required to register under Subsection (a). A lobbying firm that chooses to register under this subsection for all of its employees that are lobbyists, instead of having them register individually, will be deemed to be a “registrant” and “a person required to register” for all purposes of this article and will be subject to all requirements, procedures, and penalties applicable to a “registrant” and “person required to register,” as those terms are used in this article.