§ Ethics Rule 5.2Definitions

As used in Rule 5:
1. “Agency” means any entity in the executive branch of state
government created by the Constitution or laws of the State of
Oklahoma and supported in whole or in part by state funds or
entrusted with the expending of state funds or administering of state
property or otherwise exercising the sovereign power of the State of
Oklahoma, including but not limited to all such offices, departments,
institutions, boards, bureaus, commissions, agencies, authorities and
instrumentalities of the State of Oklahoma. “Agency” shall not mean
any city, county, rural electric cooperative or tribal housing
authority created under the Oklahoma Housing Authorities Act nor any
state entity that performs only advisory functions and that cannot
independently exercise the sovereign power of the State of Oklahoma;
2. “Commission” shall mean the Oklahoma Ethics Commission;
3. “Executive lobbying” means any oral or written communication
with a state officer or employee of an agency, excluding the Governor
or a member of the Legislature or with an employee of the Governor or
the Legislature, on behalf of a lobbyist principal with regard to the
passage, defeat, formulation, modification, interpretation,
amendment, adoption, approval or veto of any legislation, rule, rate,
regulation, executive order or any other program, policy or position
of state government. However, “executive lobbying” shall not mean
testimony given at, or submitted in writing to, a public hearing of
the agency, nor a speech, article, publication or other material that
is widely distributed, published in newspapers, magazines or similar
publications or broadcast on radio or television;
4. “Executive lobbyist” means any individual who is employed or
retained by another for financial or other compensation to perform
services that include executive lobbying, other than an individual
whose lobbying activities are only incidental to, and are not a
significant part of, the services provided by such individual to the
client, except the following individuals shall not be considered
lobbyists:
a.
an individual appearing before a state officer or
employee of an agency who receives no compensation for
his or her appearance other than reimbursement from the
state for expenses and who engages in no further
lobbying;
b.
a federal official acting in his or her official
capacity;
c.
any person exercising his or her constitutional right
to petition the government who receives no compensation
or anything of value for lobbying;
5. “Family member” shall include spouse, children (including
stepchildren), mother, father, sister or brother;
6. “Legislative liaison” means any state officer or employee
whose duties in fact include legislative lobbying, regardless of the
state officer or employee’s title and regardless of whether or not
legislative lobbying is included within the state officer or state
employee’s job description other than an individual whose lobbying
activities are only incidental to, and are not a significant part of,
the services provided by such individual to the agency. Each agency
shall have at least one (1) legislative liaison, unless all officers
and employees of the agency provide information to the Governor or a
legislator only at the request of the Governor or a legislator or an
employee of the Governor or the Legislature or as required by law,
and provided further that no officer or employee of the agency has
requested legislation, other than an appropriation for the agency, or
other legislative action, or unless the agency has a contract with a
legislative lobbyist to provide legislative lobbying services;
7. “Legislative lobbying” means any oral or written
communication with the Governor or with a member of the Legislature
or with an employee of the Governor or the Legislature on behalf of a
lobbyist principal with regard to the passage, defeat, formulation,
modification, interpretation, amendment, adoption, approval or veto
of any legislation, rule, regulation, executive order or any other
program, policy or position of state government. As used in this
Rule, “employee of the Governor or the Legislature” includes any
state officer or employee who advises the Governor, a legislator or
the Legislature on legislation other than legislation that affects
only his or her agency. However, “legislative lobbying” shall not
mean testimony given before, or submitted in writing to, a committee
or subcommittee of the Legislature, nor a speech, article,
publication or other material that is widely distributed, published
in newspapers, magazines or similar publications or broadcast on
radio or television;
8. “Legislative lobbyist” means any individual who is employed
or retained by another for financial or other compensation to perform
services that include legislative lobbying, other than an individual
whose lobbying activities are only incidental to, and are not a
significant part of, the services provided by such individual to the
client, except the following individuals shall not be considered
lobbyists:
a.
an individual appearing before the Governor or a
meeting of a legislative body who receives no
compensation for his or her appearance other than
reimbursement from the state for expenses and who
engages in no further lobbying;
b.
a federal official acting in his or her official
capacity;
c.
any person exercising his or her constitutional right
to petition the government who receives no compensation
or anything of value for lobbying;
9. “Lobbyist principal” means any person or entity, including an
agency, who employs or retains another person for financial or other
compensation to conduct executive or legislative lobbying activities
on behalf of the lobbyist principal; provided, however, it shall not
mean any individual members, partners, officers or shareholders of an
agency, a corporation, association, firm, joint venture, joint stock
company, syndicate, business trust, estate, trust, company,
partnership, limited partnership, organization, committee or club, or
a group of persons who are voluntarily acting in concert.