In 2007, the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act amended disclosure and reporting requirements to require quarterly, instead of semi-annual reporting. The Clerk and the Secretary are required to
review, verify and ensure the accuracy, completeness, and timeliness of the registration and disclosure statements; make a list of registered lobbyists, lobbying firms, and clients publicly available; create a computerized filing system; make all filing available for public inspection; retain registration and disclosure statements for a period of at least six years; summarize information contained in registrations and reports on a semi-annual basis; notify lobbyists or lobbying firms in writing of non-compliance; and notify the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia of non-compliance by a lobbyist or a lobbying firm if the registrant has been notified in writing and has failed to provide an appropriate response within 60 days. Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007

The Honest Leadership and Open Government Act (HLOGA) of 2007 amended the LDA. Disclosure

The HLOGA amendments to the LDA made several changes to disclosure requirements. These semi-annual contribution reports are to contain the following information:
the name of the person (including employer) or organization; the names of all political committees established or controlled by the person or organization; the name of each federal candidate or officeholder, leadership PAC, or political party committee, to whom aggregate contributions equal to or exceeding $200 were made by the person or organization, or a political committee established or controlled by the person or organization, and the date and amount of each such contribution made; the date, recipient, and amount of funds contributed or disbursed during the semiannual period by the person or organization or a political committee established or controlled by the person or organization; the name of each Presidential library foundation, and each Presidential inaugural committee, to whom contributions equal to or exceeding $200 were made by the person or organization, or a political committee established or controlled by the person or organization, within the semiannual period, and the date and amount of each such contribution within the semiannual period; a certification by the person or organization filing the report that the person or organization has read and is familiar with those provisions of the Standing Rules of the Senate and the Rules of the House of Representatives relating to the provision of gifts and travel; and has not provided, requested, or directed a gift, including travel, to a Member of Congress or an officer or employee of either House of Congress with knowledge that receipt of the gift would violate rule XXXV of the Standing Rules of the Senate or rule XXV of the Rules of the House of Representatives. Registration, Termination, and Disclosure Analysis

The Clerk of the House and the Secretary of the Senate have collected registration and disclosure data since the passage of the LDA in 1995. The following sections examine registration and disclosure data filed under the LDA between 2001 and 2007, and between 2008 and 2010 following the passage of the HLOGA amendments. All data are presented from the Clerk's lobbying disclosure website. Analyzing the registration, termination, and disclosure data before and after the HLOGA amendments allows a systematic examination of the amendments impact on the lobbying community. The HLOGA amendments to LDA, for the first time, required electronic filing to the Clerk and the Secretary. As more lobbyists and lobbying firms register with the Clerk and the Secretary, more termination forms may be submitted. The trend toward a greater number of year-end terminations evident under the LDA continues under the HLOGA amendments. Figure 5 shows the number of mid-year and year-end reports filed by lobbyists and lobbying firms between 2001 and 2007. Pursuant to the HLOGA amendments, disclosure reports were changed beginning in 2008 from semi-annual reports to quarterly reports. To reflect the reporting change, Figure 6 shows the volume of quarterly disclosure reports filed between 2008 and 2010. It is possible that the number of disclosures filed in the fourth quarter of 2008 and 2010 was a result of decreased lobbying activity. The most significant change in reporting occurred for the filing of disclosure statements. Lobbying Registration and Disclosure Definitions

Pursuant to the Lobbying Disclosure Act, as amended by the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007 (Chapter 26, Title 2, United States Code ), the following definitions are applicable to the registration and disclosure process.
On September 14, 2007, President George W. Bush signed S. 1, the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007 (P.L. 110-81), into law. The Honest Leadership and Open Government Act (HLOGA) amended the Lobbying Disclosure Act (LDA) of 1995 (P.L. 104-65, as amended) to provide, among other changes to federal law and House and Senate rules, additional and more frequent disclosure of lobbying contacts and activities. This report focuses on changes made to lobbying registration, termination, and disclosure requirements and provides analysis of the volume of registration, termination, and disclosure reports filed with the Clerk of the House of Representatives and the Secretary of the Senate before and after the HLOGA's passage. This report does not analyze the content of these reports.
Under the LDA, as amended by the HLOGA, the Clerk and the Secretary manage the collection of registration, termination, and disclosure reports made by lobbyists and lobbying firms. Prior to the HLOGA, lobbyists and lobbying firms were required to submit semi-annual reports to the Clerk and the Secretary. The HLOGA amendments to the LDA modified reporting requirements to require quarterly filing of disclosure and termination reports. These forms are available for public inspection from the Clerk's and Secretary's websites.
The filing of registration, termination, and disclosure reports under the HLOGA amendments has continued at approximately the same pace as under the LDA. Examining data for filings between 2001 and 2007 under the LDA, and for 2008 through 2010 under the HLOGA amendments, reveals that the number of new registrations has remained mostly consistent under the HLOGA amendments. The termination reports filed by lobbyists and lobbying firms no longer representing a client have also remained constant following the implementation of the HLOGA amendments. Only disclosure reports, now filed quarterly, show a change between 2007 and 2010. Under the HLOGA amendments, the number of disclosure reports filed in the fourth quarter between 2008 and 2010 has decreased from filings between 2001 and 2007.
For further analysis on the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act and its other provisions, including amendments to House and Senate gift rules, travel restrictions, and campaign contributions, see CRS Report RL34166, Lobbying Law and Ethics Rules Changes in the 110th Congress, by [author name scrubbed]; CRS Report RL31126, Lobbying Congress: An Overview of Legal Provisions and Congressional Ethics Rules, by [author name scrubbed]; CRS Report RS22566, Acceptance of Gifts by Members and Employees of the House of Representatives Under New Ethics Rules of the 110th Congress, by [author name scrubbed]; CRS Report RL34377, Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007: The Role of the Clerk of the House and the Secretary of the Senate, by [author name scrubbed]; and CRS Report R40091, Campaign Finance: Potential Legislative and Policy Issues for the 111th Congress, by [author name scrubbed].