On Sept. 14, President Bush signed into law the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act, S. 1. The new law amends some provisions of the federal Lobbying Disclosure Act (LDA) to make the relationship between lobbyists and lawmakers more transparent by requiring increased public disclosure of funds spent by lobbyists and of the actions of members of Congress. Because of rumors that President Bush would veto the measure, it was sent to him after Labor Day to avoid a veto while Congress was in recess.

After signing the bill, President Bush stated, "I am concerned that there are potential loopholes in some of the earmark reforms included in this bill that would allow earmarks to escape sufficient scrutiny. This legislation also does not address other earmark reforms I have called on Congress to implement, such as ending the practice of putting earmarks in report language."

After S. 1 was signed into law, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) commented, "This important law will help change the way that business is conducted in Washington — banning gifts and travel from lobbyists and companies who hire lobbyists, dramatically increasing public disclosure of the activities of lobbyists, slowing the revolving door between Congress and the lobbying world, requiring transparency in the earmark process, and increasing penalties for corruption."

All lobbying activity beginning January 1, 2008, will be subject to the new rules, including increased disclosure of lobbying activities by paid lobbyists, more restrictions on gifts for members of Congress and their staff, new restrictions on lobbying after working in the government, and greater transparency in the internal legislative process, such as earmark disclosure. As Congressional Quarterly explained, "Life in the Senate is about to change."

The Honest Leadership and Open Government Act is a first step to enhance government fairness and transparency. The next step is implementation. Officials in charge of creating draft forms and guidance to meet new lobbyist reporting requirements have been working since the end of August and should be finished by the end of November. The Federal Election Commission (FEC) will also have to conduct a rulemaking to implement the new bundled campaign contributions requirement.

Congressional officials and law offices must be ready to handle technical questions. For example, a few days after the bill was signed into law, the Politico reported on the demand for lawyers who will have to explain the new changes. "While money and politics watchdog groups applauded the new ethics law signed by President Bush last week, bigger cheers rang out in the tight-knit community of lawyers who are experts on campaign finance and lobbying regulations."

One of the most significant successes for government transparency is the required online posting of lobbying materials. Through a searchable and downloadable database, the Clerk of the House and Secretary of the Senate are required to make the information required in the lobbying registrations and reports publicly available for free over the Internet. This information will be kept for six years and also be linked to FEC databases.

A few important changes relevant to nonprofits:

• Organizations that engage in federal lobbying activities will now have to report quarterly as opposed to semiannually
• The registration threshold for these organizations dropped to $10,000 quarterly, which could increase the number of organizations that now must report their federal lobbying activities
• If an organization contributes more than $5,000 to a coalition and actively participates in the planning, supervision or control of the coalition's lobbying activity, the organization's name, address and principal place of business must be disclosed by the coalition
• Reporting organizations have to certify that they have not provided a gift or travel to a member of Congress or staff in violation of House or Senate rules