Mayor Richard Kaplan, who governs the small south Florida town of Lauderhill, has decided that all journalists in his town should register as lobbyists, according to his reading of the city’s ethics code.

The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported that Kaplan told one of the paper’s reporters that the new ethics code, which goes into effect Jan. 2, allowed him to respond to all journalists’ press inquiries with a “no comment,” unless they were registered lobbyists.