Mission:

The Cuyahoga County Agency of Inspector General's Mission is to promote honesty and accountability in County Government. To this end, we commit to you that if you report an allegation of wrongdoing to our Agency it will be fully investigated and when appropriate a referral for further governmental intervention or internal discipline will be made. It is no longer business as usual in Cuyahoga County. This is about a change in the way we do business. We owe it to ourselves, to the taxpayers and to the residents of the county to engage in business practices of the highest ethical standards.

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Lobbyist Registration

The Cuyahoga County Code requires Lobbyists to register with the Inspector General within thirty days after the start of lobbying activity on behalf of his or her client. If you meet certain limited criteria, you may be exempt from the registration process. 

The Cuyahoga County Code defines a Lobbyist as:

  • any individual employed or retained  by a client to contact via private written or oral communication any County elected official, employee, or board member to influence the award of County contracts, the appointment or confirmation of any individual, or the formulation, modification, or adoption of any County legislation, regulation,  or policy.   A Lobbyist shall not include any individual who spends less than five percent (5%) of his or her compensated time lobbying governmental entities on behalf a specific client. "Lobbyist" shall not  include anyone who performs any of the actions described in this paragraph without compensation, whose performance  of such action consists solely of testimony provided at public meetings, or whose performance of such actions are an incidental and insignificant  portion  of one's duties.
 

 The following Lobbyists DO NOT need to Register with the AIG:

    • Lobbyists who meet one of the following exemptions are not required to register:
    • A person who owns, publishes, or is employed by a media outlet. This subsection does not exempt persons whose relation to a media outlet is only incidental to a lobbying effort, or where a position taken or advocated by a media outlet directly affects a County policy in which the media outlet has a direct or indirect economic interest;
    • Governmental entities and their agents, provided the communications relate solely to subjects of governmental interest;
    • A not-for-profit corporation solely seeking to provide a free service, or financial or in-kind support, for a county program or initiative.
    • An attorney or other person whose contact with a County employee or elected official is made solely as part of resolving a dispute with the County, provided that the contact is solely with County employees or officials who do not vote· on, or have final authority over, the policy decision.

If you meet one of the above exemptions, you DO NOT need to Register with the AIG.

Mandatory Lobbyist Registration

Lobbyists who do not meet one of the above listed exemptions must register with the AIG every 4 years by completing the following: 

  1. Complete the Lobbyist Registration Form;
  2. Sign/Affirm the online Ethics Certification Form,
  3. Complete the 30-minute video ethics training program; and
  4. Pay a $100.00 registration fee. 

 Registered Lobbyists must also submit an annual disclosure form to the AIG by January 1 of each calendar year.

For additional information and to access the disclosure forms please Click Here.