New State, Federal Lobbying Rules Affect Faculty

Duke adopts new policy to cover lobbying situations

Friday, March 21, 2008

Durham, NC -- You’re a Duke professor and your old college friend calls from Washington, D.C., to pick your brain about a bill she’s drafting for her boss, a U.S. senator. She knows you’re an expert on the topic and seeks your advice. You chat with her for awhile and then suggest ways to make the legislation more effective.

After you hang up, you may also need to do something else: Report the conversation to Duke’s Office of Public Affairs and Government Relations. So, too, if you advocate for the passage or defeat of a law, who to nominate for a federal office or how to guide policy-makers within North Carolina.

These and other situations are covered in a policy Duke adopted this month to ensure its faculty and staff comply with increasingly stringent regulations governing their interactions with government officials. Adopted in the wake of well-publicized lobbying scandals, the regulations impose tougher rules and reporting procedures for a variety of scenarios involving both state and federal officials.

Duke’s new policy applies to faculty and staff only in their official roles. “Duke recognizes and supports the individual engagement of members of the university community as private citizens in public policy and the political process; nothing in this policy applies to such private interactions,” John F. Burness, senior vice president for public affairs and government relations, wrote to deans and other officials March 18 in a message announcing the policy, which is online here.

Burness said Duke “encourages and supports the engagement of our faculty and staff with policy makers at the state and national levels in their institutional roles.” He said Duke’s leadership adopted the new policy to ensure these activities “comply with the enhanced tax, lobbying and ethics laws and rules that govern these relationships.”

When do I have to report?

The complicated lobbying rules can create confusion for a faculty member attempting to discern reporting obligations. Click here to view a pdf file with some of the most common situations and faculty members' obligations under the new rules.

In his message, Burness provided the recipients with a questionnaire to guide them in reviewing the activities of their units by April 1.