OMB Says Lobbyists Allowed on Industry Advisory Committees in 'Representative Capacity'
Lobbyists may serve on federal advisory committees if they’re representing the interests of a nongovernmental entity like a company or industry association, said the Office of Management and Budget in an update to earlier guidance. The move marks a change from final guidance issued by OMB in 2011 that said all lobbyists required to register with the federal government cannot serve on advisory committees, commissions, boards, or similar groups organized under the Federal Advisory Committee Act, which include Industry Trade Advisory Committees for the U.S. Trade Representative and Commerce Department.
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The original OMB guidance was issued after President Barack Obama banned lobbyists from advisory committees in a 2010 Presidential Memorandum. The ban was upheld in 2012 by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit (see 12092724), but the court later reversed itself and the challenge is still ongoing (see 14012131).
In its revised guidance, OMB now says the ban does not apply to lobbyists appointed in a “’representative capacity,’ meaning that they are appointed for the express purpose of providing a committee with the views of a nongovernmental entity, a recognizable group of persons or nongovernmental entities (an industry sector, labor unions, or environmental groups, etc.), or state or local government.”
(Federal Register 08/13/14)