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Senate file compiles Campaign Finance Board recommendations to clarify lobbyist definitions and expert witness rules
Summary
Senate File 25‑62 compiles the Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board's recommendations to clarify who must register as a lobbyist, define expert witnesses, and adjust coverage for certain local officials; the committee heard multiple industry stakeholders and laid the bill over for further work.
Senator Westland presented Senate File 25‑62 on March 25 as a compilation of the Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board's recommendations to clarify lobbying rules adopted since 2023.
The bill would (among other changes) refine the definition of "expert witness," exempting such witnesses from registration when their communications occur in public forums or are otherwise public; require lobbyists to report information on expert witnesses who communicate with public or local officials at a principal's request; preserve the existing registration threshold for public employees (with a 50‑hour per month trigger for non‑employees); clarify the definition of metropolitan unit of government to include a regional railroad authority in the seven‑county metro area; and remove certain local officeholders from the statutory definition of "public official" for clarity about coverage.
Representatives of the Minnesota Government Relations Council, Associated General Contractors of Minnesota and allied professional associations supported clarification. Amy Wawlstein of MGRC urged clearer lines between consulting and advocacy so technical professionals are not inadvertently treated as lobbyists. Laura Ziegler of the Associated General Contractors said architects, engineers and construction professionals regularly provide technical testimony to local planning and zoning commissions and sought statutory clarity that such work is expert testimony rather than lobbying. Marie Ellis of the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits said the expert witness provisions would allow staff with direct program experience to testify without becoming registered lobbyists while requiring appropriate disclosure.
Witnesses and the sponsor said discussions will continue on details including PUC treatment, confidentiality and whether disclosure requirements might be adjusted for expert testimony. The committee laid the bill over for possible omnibus inclusion after testimony and indicated further drafting discussions will continue among stakeholders and the CFB.
