We Are Celebrating Our ‘Sweet 16’

July 1st is a major holiday at State and Federal Communications, Inc. In 1993, I signed contracts and agreements with my former employer, State and Federal Associates, and took my little publications department from Alexandria, Virginia to Akron, Ohio. We are celebrating our Sweet 16.

My little company is nothing compared to the other greats in Akron – Goodyear and First Energy – but Akron Mayor Don Plusquellic does refer to me as the “smiling face of business.”

A lot has happened in my little town since we moved here and a whole lot has happened in the field of government affairs. In our office, the staff has changed dramatically from 1993 when my sister, Helen Daley, was the only person on staff. Now, we have 30 people in the office – all dedicated to doing the work to help our colleagues in the government relations field.

Thank you for helping us achieve this milestone.

Until next month, remember its summer, which means vacations … wait, it means meetings, meetings, and more meetings. We are looking forward to seeing you in July at Utilities State Government Organization, Council of Engineering and Scientific Society Executives, ALEC, and NCSL.

Elizabeth Z. Bartz
President and CEO

Legislation We Are Tracking

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. 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. The attached chart shows the number of bills we are tracking in regards to lobbying laws, political contributions, and procurement lobbying.

Consultant or Lobbyist?
Remember Which ‘Hat’ You Are Wearing

by Amber Fish Linke, Esq.
Compliance Manager

Lobbyists and political consultants earn a living based upon their common area of expertise: influence and involvement in the political arena. Should they be punished, scrutinized, or otherwise judged when the lines naturally blur between these two roles?

State and Federal Communications Participates
in United Way of Summit County ‘Day of Action’

 “The Day of Action is a way we can all express – in action – our desire to make our community a better place to live, work, and raise a family. It also fosters a sense of teamwork within our own company,” Bartz added.

Those from State and Federal Communications who participated are: Sarah Biggs, Val Blake, Myra Cottrill, Megan Huber, Ken Kelewae, Ren Koozer, Joe May, Dave McPeek, Katie Morton, Tony Pasquale, Justin Quinlan, Bobbi Simpson, Susan Stofka, Jim Warner, and Nola Werren.

A Y's Place, where the State and Federal Communications’ employees volunteered, provides early child care and education, before and after school programs, and specialty day camps.

Starting around 9 am, the 15 employees made the rooms and kitchen area sparkle, and cleaned up outside areas. Throughout the day, A Y’s staff checked in on the work and repeatedly thanked team members for all they were doing.

Katie Morton, executive assistant at State and Federal Communications, organized the day for the company. When it was over, the team – tired but proud – saluted Katie for the work she put in to organizing the event. Many team members expressed a desire to participate in the Day of Action next year.

Overall, more than 1,100 people from 58 companies contributed 6,630 volunteer hours at more than 100 project sites during the Day of Action. United Way officials termed the effort a huge success.

Summary of Changes UPDATE
Make Note of These Recent Changes to Compliance Regulations

by John Cozine, Esq.
Research Manager 

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

Illinois:  The legislature passed several pieces of ethics legislation, which have been sent to the governor for signature. One piece of legislation would increase lobbyist registration fees to $1,000 a year. Lobbyists would also be required to file weekly financial reports disclosing activities during legislative sessions and monthly reports when lawmakers are not in session. The legislation bans political contributions from companies with state contracts of more than $25,000, and imposes new requirements to receive state grants in amounts more than $25,000. The Gift Ban Act was also extended to include immediate family members of those already prohibited from taking gifts over $100. Potential fines are increased to $20,000 for violations.

Maine:  The governor signed Legislative Document 832, which requires a registered lobbyist or lobbyist associate to wear a clearly visible name tag whenever the lobbyist or lobbyist associate is engaged in the act of lobbying. The bill will go into effect 90 days after formal adjournment of the legislature, which occurred on June 13, 2009.

New Mexico:  The New Mexico State Investment Council has implemented a policy banning lobbyists and placement firms from placing investments from the state pension fund and public investment account. The policy also bans gifts and campaign contributions from individuals and entities that have contracts with the state investment council, private equity investment advisory committee, and state investment office.

New York:  Herbert Teitelbaum, the executive director of the New York State Commission on Public Integrity, resigned less than a week after the disclosure of a report from the state inspector general accusing Mr. Teitelbaum of certain indiscretions. Mr. Teitelbaum's resignation went info effect on June 24, 2009.

Philadelphia:  The “millionaire’s provision” in Philadelphia’s campaign finance was triggered by a candidate for district attorney who made a $250,000 contribution to his own campaign. Under the law, if contributions from a candidate to his or her own campaign total $250,000 or more (regardless of the time period over which such contributions are made), the contribution limits for all other candidates for that city elective office are doubled. As a result of the contribution, contribution limits for candidates for the district attorney position participating in the 2009 election have doubled to $5,200 for individuals and $21,200 for PACs.

Tennessee:  The Tennessee Ethics Commission voted 5-1 to place its executive director, Bruce Androphy, on administrative leave and terminate him entirely on August 10th. Rebecca Bradley, the agency's executive assistant, was named interim director.

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.nixonlibraryfoundation.org, http://www.nixon.archives.gov, http://www.whitehouse.gov, and http://www.wikipedia.org.

Richard M. Nixon [1913-1994]   37^th President of the United States
Library Reveals the Highs and Lows of a Controversial Administration

The Presidency of Richard M. Nixon remains one of the most notorious and complicated administrations in our nation’s history. Elected to office in 1968, Nixon focused on reducing troop levels in Vietnam, forging new international connections, continuing space exploration, and managing domestic pricing and currency standards. His landmark achievements in renewing contact with The People’s Republic of China and negotiating a detailed nuclear arms treaty with the U.S.S.R., along with his service as a Navy lieutenant, congressman, senator, and vice president, are overshadowed by the controversy surrounding the Watergate scandal.

Winning the 1972 election by a landslide victory, Nixon’s popularity quickly turned after media and government investigations revealed burglary of the Democratic National Convention offices in D.C. by Nixon supporters, the ensuing cover-up of the event by the administration, and widespread abuse of power. In the face of impeachment, Nixon resigned on August 8, 1974. One month later, he was pardoned by President Gerald Ford of any offenses committed or participated in while in office. In his post-presidency years, Nixon obtained praise as an elder statesman involved in domestic and foreign travel and authored several books on his political experiences.

The Nixon Presidential Library and Museum shows both the prominent achievements and the struggles of a multi-faceted president and administration. Originally founded as the Richard Nixon Library and Birthplace Foundation, it was privately funded and managed until 2007, when the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) officially welcomed the library into the presidential library system.

Located in Yorba Linda, California, on land adjacent to the birthplace and early childhood home of President Nixon, the institution contains images and artifacts from Nixon’s career in public service and family life. Among these are numerous gifts of state; Army One, the helicopter used by Presidents Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon and Ford; and a replica of the Lincoln sitting room from the White House family quarters. At present, work is in progress to transfer all of the records from the Nixon administration from NARA’s facility in College Park, MD to the Yorba Linda location. The transfer is scheduled to be completed by late spring 2010.

For more information:
Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum
18001 Yorba Linda Boulevard
Yorba Linda, CA 92886
(714) 983-9120
www.nixon.archives.gov
www.nixonlibraryfoundation.org

State and Federal Communications, Inc. Scrapbook

Joe Crosby [Council on State Taxation - COST] with Elizabeth Bartz.	Gerard Dehrmann [Wal-mart], Elizabeth, and Phil Serghini [Wal-mart].

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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