TO: Mayor and Commissioners
FROM: Lynn Gelin, City Attorney
DATE: July 14, 2026
Title
DISCUSSION REGARDING DRAFT LANGUAGE FOR LOBBYING ORDINANCE
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Recommended Action:
Recommendation
Provide Direction to Staff Regarding Draft Language for Lobbyist Ordinance.
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Background:
At its June 2, 2026 meeting, the City Commission discussed the adoption of a lobbying ordinance consistent with a recently drafted ordinance from the City of Boca Raton. In short, while Boca Raton Ordinance 5785 adopts the Palm Beach County requirements with respect to registration requirements and prohibited conduct for lobbyists, Ordinance 5785 also establishes requirements applicable to the development review process.
Article VIII, Lobbyist Registration, of the Palm Beach County Code of Ordinances provides the framework for persons seeking to influence a board decision through oral or written communication or to obtain the goodwill of any member of a local municipal governing body with respect to the passage, defeat, or modification of any item which may foreseeably be presented for consideration. See Section 2-352, Definitions. The PBC Lobbyist Registration Ordinance provides registration and reporting requirements. Violations of this Ordinance are forwarded to the Commission on Ethics.
Boca Raton Ordinance 5785 requires lobbyist disclosure at the time that the development review process commences. Specifically, Ordinance 5785 requires an applicant to submit a written certification identifying each person retained or authorized to communicate with the governing body as part of a development application. An applicant must disclose whether such person is a “lobbyist” as defined under the PBC Ordinance, must disclose all principals or entities that retained such person and provide an affirmation that such person has either registered as a lobbyist or is not required to do so by law. During the pendency of the application, the applicant is required to update and suppleme...
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