§ 2.94.050. Exceptions.

The following persons are not required to register under this chapter:

A.

A person who owns, publishes or is employed by a newspaper, another regularly published periodical, a radio station, a television station, a wire service or another bona fide news medium that in the ordinary course of business disseminates news, letters to the editor, editorial or other comment or paid advertisement that directly or indirectly oppose or promote municipal questions if the person does not engage in further or other activities that require registration under this chapter and does not represent another person in connection with influencing municipal questions. This subsection does not exempt a person whose relation to the news media is only incidental to a lobbying effort or when a position taken or advocated by a media outlet directly impacts, affects, or seeks to influence a municipal question in which the media outlet has a direct or indirect financial interest.

B.

A person whose only activity is to speak or otherwise provide input or influence regarding a municipal question by attendance and participation at a meeting or other event attended by one or more city officials which:

1.

Is a publicly-posted meeting;

2.

Has been scheduled or planned by the city; or

3.

Is held for the specific purpose of obtaining the attendance and participation of the person at such city meeting or event, at the request of an authorized representative of the city.

C.

A governmental entity, its officers and employees, provided they are solely engaged in matters of governmental interest concerning their respective governmental bodies and the city.

D.

A person who engages in lobbying, but who neither receives compensation nor expends monies for lobbying with respect to any client or person. The term "expends does not include the costs of photocopying documents, purchasing copies of city documents and information, or creating other informational material by individuals who communicate with public officials to express personal opinions on behalf of themselves, their family or members of their household.

E.

A person who does not know and has no reason to know whether a municipal question is pending at the time of contact with a city official. This subsection shall not apply if the existence of a municipal question is discovered during contact with a city official and the person then engages in additional lobbying of the same or other city officials.

F.

A person who is performing an act that may be performed only by a licensed attorney or a person whose contact with a city official is made solely as part of the process of resolution of a dispute or other matter that is primarily legal in nature between a person and the city if the person is an attorney, so long as he complies with Rule 4.02 of the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct, as amended.

G.

A person whose only activity is contact with city staff including the city manager as a business prospect or the representative thereof, to meet or confer regarding a project and/or activity seeking/reasonably expected to seek economic development incentives during the time period prior to the presentation of a recommendation by city staff to the city council in an official meeting of the council.

H.

A person who is a representative of a city employee union and whose only direct communications concerning a municipal question are with the city manager and made as an authorized representative of the union or made on behalf of an individual member of the union.

I.

A lobby employer who would only be required to register under Section 2.94.040 of this chapter because of an expenditure to compensate a registrant to lobby on a municipal question of interest to the lobby employer.

(Ord. 16448 § 4, 2006: Ord. 16300 § 6, 2006)