We Are In This Together

Here it is … The column I hid in my files waiting for the time I was comfortable discussing the issue. I am a cancer survivor. I was diagnosed in 2006 with breast cancer and did everything I had to do to be cancer free … and, I am.

My friend, Frances Nam, did not have that chance. Frances was the vice president of government affairs at Sodexo USA in Maryland. She died on May 15th of complications from lung cancer.

I met her in 2004 when she started attending the Public Affairs Council and Innovate to Motivate conferences. She had it all together. She would bring her beautiful two daughters and au pair to the conferences so she could spend time at the meetings and they could keep up with their studies.

Frances was diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer last year and fought hard. She knew there wasn’t anything successful past Stage 4. She was a nonsmoker, which makes it even harder to understand. She called me a few times in the past year to talk about cancer and ask questions about how I dealt with chemo issues. I ran into her a year ago at a conference and she had mastered the scarf technique. I never did that well and opted for a variety of hats when the wig was too much.

My message this month may not have to do with lobbying or contribution compliance … It has to do with health compliance. I received my wake-up call in 2006 and Frances’ death is the snooze alarm reminding me that taking care of my health is my new 24/7 job.

Until next month, take the time to call the doctors for your checkups.
We need everyone here to handle the important government affairs work.

And, Frances … May Your Memory Be Eternal.

Elizabeth Z. Bartz
President and CEO

Call our office and we will send you a
LIVESTRONG band from the Lance Armstrong Foundation.
We are in this together.

You Should Know ...
    We are Tracking Pending Legislation to Keep You Informed

At any given time, more than 1,000 legislative bills, which can affect how you do business as a government affairs professional, are being discussed in federal, state, and local jurisdictions.

“One of the key components of our service to clients is keeping track of these bills in multiple jurisdictions. We follow the movement of hundreds of bills through the legislative process. On a continual basis, we make sure our clients have the information they need about bills affecting their business and operations,” said John Cozine, research manager at State and Federal Communications, Inc.

These bills are summarized in the State and Federal Communications’ digital encyclopedias for lobbying laws, political contributions, and procurement lobbying; this information is located on the client portion of the State and Federal Communications website. Summaries of major bills are also included in monthly e-mail updates sent to all clients.

“While it fluctuates, I am certain we are today tracking more bills working their way through the legislative process than ever before,” Cozine said. “I think this is a reflection of various factors – including increased corporate responsibility and calls from the general public – to have more transparency in political activities, lobbying efforts, and government procurement.”

The attached chart, which will run every month in your Compliance Now newsletter, shows the number of bills in play for lobbying laws, political contributions, and procurement lobbying. “This is really important information because some of these bills will become law and will have significant impact on the future activities for our clients,” Cozine said.

Knowledge about pending laws, Cozine noted, allows State and Federal Communications clients to revamp their own policies and procedures in time to meet changes in rules and regulations, or to comment on pending legislation that might have a negative impact on their business activities.

“This is just one of the many important services we provide clients. Our goal is to be the total government affairs information resource to clients to help them be effective – and compliant – in their government affairs activities,” Cozine said.

Summary of Changes UPDATE
by:  John Cozine, Esq.
Research Manager 

Government affairs professionals need to be aware of recent changes – and upcoming changes – in compliance laws for several states, including:

Broward County, Florida: Electronic lobbyist registration is now available in Broward County. The online system may be accessed at: http://www.broward.org/administrator/lobbyistreg.htm.

Federal: The Clean Law for Earmark Accountability Reform Act, also known as the "CLEAR Act," has been introduced in the House. If passed, the bill will ban congressional candidate committees from accepting campaign contributions from any company, including its senior executives and federal lobbyists, on whose behalf the candidate sought a congressional earmark.

Illinois: The Illinois Reform Commission issued its final 100-Day Report on April 28, 2009. The report recommends a wide range of ethics reforms in six key areas: campaign finance; procurement; enforcement; government structure; transparency; and inspiring better government. Under campaign finance, the commission recommends limiting contributions to $2,400 for individuals and $5,000 for political committees, year-round reporting of contributions, and the outright banning of contributions from lobbyists. To curb procurement abuse, the commission wants to subject no-bid and emergency contracts to much tighter scrutiny and limitations and establish an independent contract monitor to oversee and review state contracts. The commission also wants to increase enforcement of ethical violations, enhance state laws, grant the state attorney general the authority to conduct grand jury investigations into corruption, and create an independent public corruption division within the state police.

Oregon: Governor Kulongoski has signed Senate Bill 30 allowing lobbyists to pay entertainment expenses for public officials, subject to the overall gift limitation of $50 in the aggregate in a calendar year, repealing the former total ban on such entertainment expenses. This provision will apply to entertainment given on or after January 1, 2010. Senate Bill 30 also extends the amount of time the Oregon Government Ethics Commission has to develop an electronic filing system for lobbying reports to January 1, 2013.

Pennsylvania: The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has ruled the state's ban on contributions from casino owners and executives unconstitutional. The court held the ban violates the state constitution's guarantee of free speech.

S  P  E  C  I  A  L     F  E  A  T  U  R  E

China – Grab on for the Ride! [part 2]
              267 mph Trains, and a Building Boom  

EDITOR’S NOTE: Two employees from State and Federal Communications joined 75 people from the Greater Akron Chamber of Commerce on a recent trip to the Far East to gain cultural and business awareness and understanding in the People's Republic of China.  The group left Ohio on April 13th and returned on April 21st.

by: Jeff Roberts
Comptroller

Our day began early and in the dark as our bus left downtown Akron at 3 a.m. on April 13 en route to JFK Airport in New York City. We arrived safely and on time, got everyone and everything checked-in and through security, taking off around 5 p.m. for the 13½-hour flight to Beijing. We arrived at the Beijing airport around 6:30 p.m. on April 14. The airport is massive, reportedly covering an area equal in size to Columbus, Ohio. The enormous international terminal 3 was built for the 2008 Olympic Games. After collecting our things we headed to downtown Beijing and enjoyed a Beijing roast duck dinner before retiring to the hotel. Tiananmen Square in China We began our tour the following day as we visited many cultural landmarks, including the Temple of Heaven, Ming Tombs, and the Great Wall. We learned much about the city of 16 million people and its bustling economy. I have found that most of us here in the U.S. know something of Beijing from watching the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. It is interesting to note the famed “Bird’s Nest” stadium and the Athletes’ Village are empty and unused since the games ended. The government owns the property and plans to use the stadium for concerts and auto races, and has been trying to sell the apartments that make up the village at a starting price of US $1 million for 600 square meters in space. There are numerous fast-food restaurants such as McDonald’s and KFC. The offices of many U.S. corporations are visible in the central business district. Cranes dot the landscape in every city as new apartments go up to try and provide an ever-increasing demand for housing. About 95 percent of the people own their apartments, which gives them the right to live there for 70 years. The government provides housing for only five percent of the population. Persons buying apartments receive money for a down payment from the government, and the size of the down payment depends on job level and income. Our tour guide in the south is married to an eye surgeon who works at a top hospital, operating on high level government and military officials only for a salary of about US $20,000 per year. They received the equivalent of about $16,500 for the down payment on the apartment they purchased. The central government owns or controls most businesses, but some private enterprises exist with the consent of the government. One notably large and successful private business is AliBaba.com, a large information technology company located in Hangzhou. The government allowed this entrepreneurial venture after recognizing the importance of I.T. in developing the country. Another group of successful entrepreneurs are the farmers. In addition to rice and other staple goods, a large amount of tea and silkworms grow in the southern region. The government sets the prices for crops, but some market factors (supply and demand) also affect prices. The government owns the land but allows the farmers to work the land and build housing on it. Several have become wealthy since the 1990s. Jeff Roberts, left, and Dave McPeek, right, both of State and Federal Communications, Inc., stand with their English-speaking tour guide, “Emily,” in front of the Yunyansi Pagoda in Suzhou, China. Locals call the pagoda Tiger Hill. Built between 959 and 961 A.D., it is brick with seven floors and eight sides. Much like another famous tower in Pisa, Italy, the Yunyansi Pagoda leans almost four degrees to the east. The centerpiece of commerce is the city of Shanghai, home to 21 million people. The city has more than 4,000 skyscrapers, including the tallest building in China. New buildings, roads, and bridges are under construction everywhere. The government intends for Shanghai to remain an important international banking and financial center. Foreign companies are visible everywhere in the busy downtown. One of the most interesting things we did was to ride on the maglev train that connects the downtown to the international airport. The trip takes about 45 minutes by car, but only seven minutes on the 431 kph (about 267 mph) train that has no wheels and no conductor. Construction continues on the line to expand the reach of the train, with the ultimate goal of linking Beijing and Shanghai (about 1000 km apart). The people are very friendly and welcoming and want Americans to visit. I highly recommend taking the opportunity to do so if you can.

Landmark Series – Presidential Libraries

This article is one of an ongoing series that focuses on historical and/or significant landmarks. 
The information below was gleaned from http://www.lbjlib.utexas.edu and http://www.whitehouse.gov.

Lyndon B. Johnson [1908-1973]   36^th President of the United States
Life and Times of ‘LBJ’ on Display at Presidential Library and Museum

“It is all here: the story of our time with the bark off. This Library will show the facts, not just the joy and triumphs, but the sorrow and failures, too." So spoke Lyndon Baines Johnson in reference to the library and museum that bears his name and preserves the history of a progressive and turbulent time.

Assuming the presidency in 1963 after the traumatic assassination of President Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson steered the nation through the remaining years of a decade which left an indelible mark on American culture and history. In addition to overseeing the space race and negotiating the conflict in Vietnam, Johnson worked to diffuse tension between the U.S.S.R. and the United States, saw the landmark Civil Rights bill enacted in 1964, and sought to implement his plan to make America “The Great Society” through aid to education, Medicare, urban renewal, conservation, a wide-scale fight against poverty, control and prevention of crime and delinquency, and removal of obstacles to the right to vote. 1968 proved to be the most challenging year of Johnson’s presidency, with widespread civil unrest and an escalation of the tensions in Vietnam. President Johnson did not seek re-election in order to devote his full energies to pursuing peace.

The Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum, located on the campus of the University of Texas at Austin, showcases a diverse collection of permanent and temporary exhibits in addition to the preservation of President and Ladybird Johnson’s papers. Visitors can experience a re-creation of the Oval Office, view the 1910 Model T Ford given to President Johnson by Henry Ford II, similar to the Model T Johnson’s family had in his youth, experience the growth and change of America from the early 1900’s to the 1970’s, and view over 10,000 items of presidential memorabilia dating from the inauguration of George Washington to the present. There is also a collection of 4,000 original political cartoons from President Johnson’s time in office, a large assortment of gifts of state, and presidential give-away items, of which President Johnson was known to proudly and liberally bestow.

President Johnson’s hope was that, “. . . visitors who come here will achieve a closer understanding of the presidency and that young people will get a clearer comprehension of what this nation tried to do in an eventful period of its history."

For more information:
Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum
2313 Red River Street
Austin, TX 78705
(512) 721-0200
www.lbjlib.utexas.edu

State and Federal Communications, Inc. Scrapbook

Elizabeth spotted Gerard Dehrmann [Wal-Mart] at a Cleveland Cavaliers game	Elizabeth with sports great, Rocky Bleier [at the US Chamber Small Business Summit]
Brian O'Connor, who is joining BIO in June, and Elizabeth	Kipp Snider [AMGEN], Elizabeth, and Steve Mitchell [Astellas Pharma] at the BIO Convention

A Demonstration of Our Online Source Guides

State and Federal Communications is a trusted adviser to you, our clients, by providing comprehensive, accurate, and timely information you need to stay compliant with laws and rules in regard to lobbying, political activities, and procurement lobbying.

Clients access this information through three online services: The Executive Source Guide on Lobbying Laws™, The Executive Source Guide on Political Contributions™, and The Executive Source Guide on Procurement Lobbying™.

Perhaps you only receive one, or two, of these information services, and would like a demonstration of what is contained in the others.

We invite you to take a free tour. Simply go to our website, www.stateandfed.com, and click on the
“Free Live On-line Demo” in the lower left corner of our home page. Once you click there, you will open a page where you will see three more hyperlinks in the middle:

Executive Source Guide on Lobbying Laws Executive Source Guide on Political Contributions Executive Source Guide on Procurement Lobbying

By clicking on any one of these, you will be able to read the comprehensive information we provide clients regarding the state of Alaska’s laws, rules, and regulations, along with every Alaska government contact you need. We have this same information for all the states, the federal government, and 126 municipalities – and the information is updated continually.

If you are interested in adding one or two of these services, give us a call and we can talk about special value for existing clients. We are your partner in government compliance – and we want to serve all your needs.

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