Definitions

When used in this Chapter: (1) "Ethics board" means the ethics body which has jurisdiction over elected officials under Chapter 15 of Title 42 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950. (2) "Local government action" means any act by a local government agency or official to effectuate the public powers, functions, and duties of a local government official or a local government agency, including but not limited to any act in the nature of policymaking, rulemaking, adjudication, licensing, regulation, or enforcement; relative to contracts, requests for proposals, development of specifications, or engaging another person to perform a governmental function; to adopt, repeal, increase, or decrease any fee imposed on the affairs, actions, or persons regulated by a local government agency; or to affect the passage, defeat, or implementation of any legislation. (3) "Local government agency" or "agency" means any political subdivision, including any parish, municipality, school board, or special district, and any other unit of local government and any department, office, agency, board, commission, district, governing authority, committee, subcommittee, advisory board, task force, or other instrumentality of a political subdivision or other unit of local government. The terms "local government agency" or "agency" shall not include any entity which is an executive branch agency as defined in R.S. 49:72 or any unit of the legislative or judicial branch of state government. (4) "Local government official" or "official" means an elected official, an appointed official, or an employee in a local government agency. (5) "Expenditure" means the gift or payment of money or any thing of value for the purchase of food, drink, or refreshment for a local government official or for the spouse or minor child of a local government official for the purpose of lobbying or any gift or payment permitted by R.S. 42:1123(13) when the lobbyist or principal accounts, or would be expected to account, for the expenditure as an ordinary and necessary expense directly related to the active conduct of the lobbyist's, his employer's, or the principal's trade or business. (6) "Lobbying" or "to lobby" means any direct act or communication with a local government official, the purpose of which is to aid in influencing a local government action. (7) "Lobbyist" means any person who acts in a representative capacity and makes an expenditure in excess of five hundred dollars in the aggregate within the calendar year. However, "lobbyist" shall not mean any person who does not make any direct act or have any direct communication with a local governmental official for the purpose of influencing a local governmental action. (8) "Person" means an individual, partnership, committee, association, corporation, and any other organization or group of persons.