State Ethics Commission suspends lobbyist registrations after finding repeated late filings

The State Ethics Commission on June 24 found reasonable grounds that multiple registered lobbyists failed to file required monthly lobbyist reports and voted to suspend registrations for up to one year or until outstanding violations were remedied.

At a preliminary hearing on a case involving a lobbyist identified in staff filings as Lance Robertson, staff presented evidence that the respondent did not file January, February and March 2026 lobbyist reports, though the reports were later filed after a complaint was opened. Staff cited social-media posts and public appearances during the relevant months as evidence the respondent was active while not current on filings. "Either you filed them or you didn't," staff said while urging the commission to act given confidence in the agency's new filing system.

Commissioners debated remedies and practical enforcement. The chair asked whether the commission could suspend a registration without referring the matter to an administrative judge; staff replied that suspension of a lobbyist registration under OCGA §21-5-72 is within the commission's authority and does not require an Administrative Procedures Act hearing. Commissioners discussed making suspension conditional — for example, lasting "one year or until all pending violations are satisfied" — and whether suspension should trigger a notification to other access-granting bodies. One commissioner noted that the agency can notify credentialing organizations and disable lobbyist badges when a registration is suspended.

The commission voted, by voice, to find reasonable cause on each missed-report allegation and to suspend the respondent's registration pursuant to OCGA §21-5-72 for one year or until all pending violations are satisfied. The same suspension language was later applied in a separate preliminary hearing for another lobbyist who missed two reports for March and April 2026; that suspension also passed by voice vote.

Staff told commissioners that late fees escalate automatically under the statute for lobbyist reports and that the commission's new filing system had improved notice and enforcement capabilities. Commissioners pressed staff for clarity about late-fee progression and whether the office routinely offers waivers; staff said waivers can be considered but the filer's responsibility remains to maintain current contact information for notices.

The motions and votes recorded in public session adopted the suspensions; the orders will include language notifying the respondent that continued lobbying while unregistered would be a separate violation. The commission also discussed administrative steps for documenting conditional reinstatement and internal tracking when respondents remedy deficiencies.

Next steps: staff will prepare signed suspension orders and send them to respondents and to any relevant badge/accessing organizations; the orders will specify that reinstatement requires compliance with outstanding filings and payment of assessed late fees or penalties.