The cost of hospitality to be declared is the total cost divided by the number of people invited.

For events where food, beverages, entertainment, or other hospitality will be provided, lobbyists must determine the value of what is offered to each public office holder invited to the event by taking into account the total cost of the event (including venue rental costs, food/catering costs, bar/beverage costs, service costs, music or entertainment costs, transportation costs, and any other costs involved in hosting the event) and then dividing that total cost by the total number of people invited to attend.

Example.: A group of 40 MLAs is invited to a luncheon paid for by an industry association wanting to inform the MLAs of its concerns regarding a particular aspect of proposed legislation. Five in-house lobbyists from the industry association attend and speak to the MLAs. The cost of the luncheon is $25 per person X 45 people invited (40 MLAs plus 5 lobbyists) = $1,125.00.

Declaration:

The organization declares a $25 gift for each public office holder invited.

This is the case even if not all the public office holders invited attend the event.

This is the case even if not all of the organization’s in-house lobbyists attend the event because it is the organization that sponsored the event, not the individual in-house lobbyists.