House accepts conference compromise on lobbyist-reporting threshold, removes media registration language

The House accepted a conference committee report on H.B. 14, marked up as a third substitute, that narrows but preserves lobbyist-reporting requirements. Representative Jay Tanner, speaking for the conference, said the Senate held firm on raising the reporting trigger to $50 (from $15) and noted the House succeeded in removing a more burdensome provision that would have required media organizations to register as lobbyists.

Tanner said another major change accepted from the Senate was a related-person amendment that clarified reporting for events and paid meals. He described the final package as addressing concerns about scope and administrative compliance, while opponents and some members continued to express unease about the perceived implications for legislators’ reputations and the scope of reporting.

Representative Barrington and others urged caution about the appearance of impropriety but supported the conference compromise, while Representative Ted Tanner said the bill "has never intended to do anything about impugning anybody's integrity," emphasizing the bill is about triggering reporting of expenditures. The House voted to adopt the conference report and later voted final passage on third substitute H.B. 14 (recorded vote reported as 66 yes, 5 no) and returned the measure to the Senate for further action.

The transcript records the chief elements of the conference compromise: a $50 de minimis reporting threshold, removal of the media-registration requirement, adjustments to event-trigger language, and a clarifying related-person provision to close a perceived loophole. The House recorded procedural measures consistent with adopting the conference report and moving the bill toward final enactment.