SF-LLL

(a) Lobbying costs associated with obtaining Federal assistance awards. The costs of certain influencing activities associated with obtaining grants, cooperative agreements, contracts, or loans are unallowable. Lobbying with respect to certain grants, cooperative agreements, contracts, and loans is governed by relevant statutes, including the provisions of 31 U.S.C. 1352, as well as the common rule, “New Restrictions on Lobbying,” published on February 26, 1990, including definitions, and the Office of Management and Budget “Government-wide Guidance for New Restrictions on Lobbying” and notices published on December 20, 1989, June 15, 1990, January 15, 1992, and January 19, 1996.
(b) Executive lobbying costs. Costs incurred in attempting to improperly influence, either directly or indirectly, an employee or officer of the executive branch of the Federal Government to give consideration or to act regarding a Federal award or a regulatory matter are unallowable. Improper influence means any influence that induces or tends to induce a Federal employee or officer to give consideration or to act regarding a Federal award or regulatory matter on any basis other than the merit.
(c) Restrictions on nonprofit organizations and IHEs. In addition, the following restrictions apply to nonprofit organizations and IHEs:
(1) Costs associated with the following activities are unallowable:
(i) Attempts to influence the outcomes of any Federal, State, or local election, referendum, initiative, or similar procedure through in-kind or cash contributions, endorsements, publicity, or similar activity;
(ii) Establishing, administering, contributing to, or paying the expenses of a political party, campaign, political action committee, or other organization established to influence the outcomes of elections in the United States;
(iii) Any attempt to influence:
(A) The introduction of Federal or State legislation;
(B) The enactment or modification of any pending Federal or State legislation through communication with any member or employee of the Congress or State legislature (including efforts to influence State or local officials to engage in similar lobbying activity);
(C) The enactment or modification of any pending Federal or State legislation by preparing, distributing, or using publicity or propaganda or by urging members of the general public, or any segment thereof, to contribute to or participate in any mass demonstration, march, rally, fundraising drive, lobbying campaign or letter writing or telephone campaign; or
(D) Any government official or employee in connection with a decision to sign or veto enrolled legislation;
(iv) Legislative liaison activities, including attendance at legislative sessions or committee hearings, gathering information regarding legislation, and analyzing the effect of legislation, when such activities are carried on in support of or in knowing preparation for an effort to engage in unallowable lobbying.
(2) The following activities are excepted from the coverage of paragraph (c)(1) of this section:
(i) Technical and factual presentations on topics directly related to the performance of a grant, contract, or other agreement (through hearing testimony, statements, or letters to the Congress or a State legislature, or subdivision, member, or cognizant staff member thereof), in response to a documented request (including a Congressional Record notice requesting testimony or statements for the record at a regularly scheduled hearing) made by the recipient's or subrecipient's member of congress, legislative body, subdivision, or a cognizant staff member thereof, provided such information is readily obtainable and can be readily put in deliverable form, and further provided that costs under this section for travel, lodging or meals are unallowable unless incurred to offer testimony at a regularly scheduled Congressional hearing pursuant to a written request for such presentation made by the Chairman or Ranking Minority Member of the Committee or Subcommittee conducting such hearings;
(ii) Any lobbying made unallowable by paragraph (c)(1)(iii) of this section to influence State legislation to directly reduce the cost, or to avoid material impairment of the recipient's or subrecipient's authority to perform the grant, contract, or other agreement;
(iii) Any activity specifically authorized by statute to be undertaken with funds from the Federal award; or
(iv) Any activity excepted from the definitions of “lobbying” or “influencing legislation” by the Internal Revenue Code provisions that require nonprofit organizations to limit their participation in direct and “grass roots” lobbying activities to retain their charitable deduction status and avoid punitive excise taxes, 26 U.S.C. (I.R.C.) 501(c)(3), 501(h), 4911(a), including:
(A) Nonpartisan analysis, study, or research reports;
(B) Examinations and discussions of broad social, economic, and similar problems; and
(C) Information provided upon request by a legislator for technical advice and assistance, as defined by I.R.C. 4911(d)(2) and 26 CFR 56.4911-2(c)(1) through (c)(3).
(3) When a recipient or subrecipient seeks reimbursement for indirect costs, total lobbying costs must be identified separately in the indirect cost rate proposal and thereafter be treated as other unallowable activity costs in accordance with § 200.413.
(4) The recipient or subrecipient must submit a certification that the requirements and standards of this section have been complied with as part of its annual indirect cost rate proposal. (See § 200.415.)
(5)(i) Time logs, calendars, or similar records are not required to be created for purposes of complying with the record-keeping requirements in § 200.302 with respect to lobbying costs during a particular calendar month when:
(A) The employee engages in lobbying (as defined in paragraphs (c)(1) and (2) of this section) for 25 percent or less of the employee's compensated hours of employment during that calend
[…] full text at the eCFR link

Amended: 2016-11-28, 2020-08-13, 2020-11-12, 2021-04-02, 2024-10-01 · SHA-256 of the XML as served: dbcd5550e7fc4df56f2686c03eb99c6240aa6e830d2dfa8333421f6fda0bd044 · eCFR

The eCFR is an editorial compilation maintained by the Office of the Federal Register and GPO; it is updated daily and is not the official legal edition (the annual Code of Federal Regulations is). Text printed here is as the eCFR served it on the read date.

As prescribed in 3.808(b), insert the following clause:
Limitation on Payments To influence Certain Federal Transactions (JUN 2020)
(a) Definitions. As used in this clause—
Agency means executive agency as defined in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 2.101.
Covered Federal action means any of the following actions:
(1) Awarding any Federal contract.
(2) Making any Federal grant.
(3) Making any Federal loan.
(4) Entering into any cooperative agreement.
(5) Extending, continuing, renewing, amending, or modifying any Federal contract, grant, loan, or cooperative agreement.
Indian tribe and tribal organization have the meaning provided in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b) and include Alaskan Natives.
Influencing or attempting to influence means making, with the intent to influence, any communication to or appearance before an officer or employee of any agency, a Member of Congress, an officer or employee of Congress, or an employee of a Member of Congress in connection with any covered Federal action.
Local government means a unit of government in a State and, if chartered, established, or otherwise recognized by a State for the performance of a governmental duty, including a local public authority, a special district, an intrastate district, a council of governments, a sponsor group representative organization, and any other instrumentality of a local government.
Officer or employee of an agency includes the following individuals who are employed by an agency:
(1) An individual who is appointed to a position in the Government under Title 5, United States Code, including a position under a temporary appointment.
(2) A member of the uniformed services, as defined in subsection 101(3), Title 37, United States Code.
(3) A special Government employee, as defined in section 202, Title 18, United States Code.
(4) An individual who is a member of a Federal advisory committee, as defined by the Federal Advisory Committee Act, Title 5, United States Code, appendix 2.
Person means an individual, corporation, company, association, authority, firm, partnership, society, State, and local government, regardless of whether such entity is operated for profit, or not for profit. This term excludes an Indian tribe, tribal organization, or any other Indian organization eligible to receive Federal contracts, grants, cooperative agreements, or loans from an agency, but only with respect to expenditures by such tribe or organization that are made for purposes specified in paragraph (b) of this clause and are permitted by other Federal law.
Reasonable compensation means, with respect to a regularly employed officer or employee of any person, compensation that is consistent with the normal compensation for such officer or employee for work that is not furnished to, not funded by, or not furnished in cooperation with the Federal Government.
Reasonable payment means, with respect to professional and other technical services, a payment in an amount that is consistent with the amount normally paid for such services in the private sector.
Recipient includes the Contractor and all subcontractors. This term excludes an Indian tribe, tribal organization, or any other Indian organization eligible to receive Federal contracts, grants, cooperative agreements, or loans from an agency, but only with respect to expenditures by such tribe or organization that are made for purposes specified in paragraph (b) of this clause and are permitted by other Federal law.
Regularly employed means, with respect to an officer or employee of a person requesting or receiving a Federal contract, an officer or employee who is employed by such person for at least 130 working days within 1 year immediately preceding the date of the submission that initiates agency consideration of such person for receipt of such contract. An officer or employee who is employed by such person for less than 130 working days within 1 year immediately preceding the date of the submission that initiates agency consideration of such person shall be considered to be regularly employed as soon as he or she is employed by such person for 130 working days.
State means a State of the United States, the District of Columbia, or an outlying area of the United States, an agency or instrumentality of a State, and multi-State, regional, or interstate entity having governmental duties and powers.
(b) Prohibition. 31 U.S.C. 1352 prohibits a recipient of a Federal contract, grant, loan, or cooperative agreement from using appropriated funds to pay any person for influencing or attempting to influence an officer or employee of any agency, a Member of Congress, an officer or employee of Congress, or an employee of a Member of Congress in connection with any covered Federal actions. In accordance with 31 U.S.C. 1352, the Contractor shall not use appropriated funds to pay any person for influencing or attempting to influence an officer or employee of any agency, a Member of Congress, an officer or employee of Congress, or an employee of a Member of Congress in connection with the award of this contractor the extension, continuation, renewal, amendment, or modification of this contract.
(1) The term appropriated funds does not include profit or fee from a covered Federal action.
(2) To the extent the Contractor can demonstrate that the Contractor has sufficient monies, other than Federal appropriated funds, the Government will assume that these other monies were spent for any influencing activities that would be unallowable if paid for with Federal appropriated funds.
(c) Exceptions. The prohibition in paragraph (b) of this clause does not apply under the following conditions:
(1) Agency and legislative liaison by Contractor employees. (i) Payment of reasonable compensation made to an officer or employee of the Contractor if the payment is for agency and legislative liaison activities not directly related to this contract. For purp
[…] full text at the eCFR link

Amended: 2017-01-01, 2020-05-06, 2020-06-05 · SHA-256 of the XML as served: 79cb31a604c32a5066e743e6d345be471444f27863b3ca6e47ee13ef32668173 · eCFR

The eCFR is an editorial compilation maintained by the Office of the Federal Register and GPO; it is updated daily and is not the official legal edition (the annual Code of Federal Regulations is). Text printed here is as the eCFR served it on the read date.