Young People Are the Future … Encourage Them to Get Active

I recently spoke to a group of young professionals in Akron, encouraging them to become active in their communities. Many in this group, which is affiliated with the Greater Akron Chamber of Commerce, are already key personnel in their companies and organizations.

My goal in the talk was to encourage them to expand their reach by sharing time and talent with the larger community. Besides the altruism inherent in this idea, I told the group it was good business – a way to establish contacts, grow their company or organization, and share (and glean) ideas from other professionals.

I have always encouraged our team at State and Federal Communications to become – and then stay – very active in the community. Some of you might be aware we have what we call “State and Federal Charitable Service.” This is a formal program allowing our employees (those who contribute at least one-half of one percent of their salary to United Way) to spend up to 24 hours of company time per year volunteering for a United Way member agency or other community organization.

Thus far, employees have helped in programs for the homeless, victims of domestic violence, HIV-AIDS patients, and a women’s support group. Also, more than a dozen employees from State and Federal Communications participated in the 2009 United Way “Day of Action” by helping clean and paint a local pre-school. A large group of employees is already signed up for the 2010 “Day of Action.”

Why do I mention this? Not to tout what we do here at State and Federal, but to also acknowledge the fact that many of your companies and organizations have achieved tremendous success in contributing to your communities, and in promoting and supporting regional, national, and international causes.

I congratulate you. At the many conferences I attend during the year, I enjoy learning about your efforts in these areas. And I share ideas from what you tell me with our community leaders back in Akron.

As I did with the young leaders group in May, I encourage you to identify and encourage those young people in your own companies and organizations to get active in the causes you support. This will definitely make them better leaders, and build a tremendous sense of teamwork in your own organization.

Until next month, spread the good word to these young people who represent our future.

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

States Continue to React to Citizens United Decision

by John Cozine, Esq.
Research Manager

Since the United States Supreme Court handed down its decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, states have continued to react to the decision. The most common reaction among states has been to introduce legislation to eliminate statutes directly affected by the decision. Also common is legislation introducing or increasing reporting requirements for independent expenditures made by corporations and labor unions. Resolutions urging action by the United States Congress have also been introduced.

Some legislation has already passed and been signed into law. In Iowa, Senate File 2354 will now permit independent expenditures by corporations, but will also implement new restrictions and reporting requirements.

House Bill 1053 in South Dakota allows business entities to make independent expenditures but requires them to file reports with the secretary of state and to disclose each of the owners if the business entity is owned by 20 or fewer people.

Washington’s House Bill 2016 requires language in political advertisements paid by independent expenditures to state who paid for the advertisement, or if it was paid for by a committee, the committee’s five largest donors or the entity controlling the committee.

In West Virginia, House Bill 4647 requires similar disclosures in advertisements as well as introducing reporting requirements for independent expenditures by corporations.

Arizona passed a bill, House Bill 2788, which allows corporations to make independent expenditures to influence the outcome of a candidate election provided they register with the secretary of state and follow the guidelines established in the statute for making such expenditures.

Not every state has waited for the legislature to take action. Officials in Alaska, Massachusetts, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin have issued statements or opinions stating the state laws conflicting with Citizens United either cannot be or will not be enforced. In North Dakota, the attorney general appointed a task force to analyze the decision and develop legislation for introduction in 2011.

Finally, in two states the courts have become involved. The Minnesota Chamber of Commerce sued the state to force compliance with the Citizens United decision. In Colorado, Governor Bill Ritter requested a decision by the state supreme court to determine if the state’s voter-approved Amendment 27 was in conflict with Citizens United. Ultimately, the state court determined it was.

There is little doubt the changes to the laws will continue through 2010 and 2011. State and Federal Communications will continue to track the changes and report them as they occur.

Summary of Changes UPDATE
Note 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:

FLORIDA: Governor Charlie Crist has vetoed House Bill 1207. Among other provisions, House Bill 1207 provides for disclosure requirements of groups financing television, radio, and direct-mail advertisements, while also altering registration and reporting requirements in regards to independent expenditures and electioneering communications. Governor Crist's primary point of consternation with the bill is the availability of new political funds through newly created “Affiliated Party Committees” tied to the state parties. Some fear these committees will allow legislative leaders to gain more control and influence over money in the party coffers while hindering the transparency of the source of these funds.

NEW JERSEY: The New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission has adopted new and amended pay-to-play regulations, which became effective April 19, 2010. One new rule provides that a business entity required to file an annual disclosure statement must create and keep records for a minimum of four years from the filing dates of their annual reports. An amended rule states the making of a currency contribution in any amount will trigger pay-to-play prohibition and disclosure provisions. Finally, the commission adopted a new amendment deleting references to non-profit entities from pay-to-play disclosure requirements.

OHIO: The Ohio State University, the University of Toledo, and Central State University were named by Ohio Board of Regents Chancellor Eric Fingerhut to conduct three pilot programs weighing alternatives to the "multiple prime" contractor method for public construction. Existing state law, which has changed little since 1877, requires separate contractors for main construction, electrical, steam, and plumbing for every project worth more than $50,000. A panel appointed in 2009 by Governor Ted Strickland recommended allowing new methods alongside multiple prime statewide, but the general assembly only funded three pilot projects. National estimates suggest that updated procurement contracting could produce savings on Ohio's $3 billion in annual public construction projects that range from 10 to 30 percent.

WASHINGTON: Encouraged by the recent U.S. Supreme Court campaign finance rulings, two volunteer political groups sued to strike down part of Washington's public disclosure law as a violation of their First Amendment rights to speech, assembly, and petition. The groups claim having to register as grassroots lobbying organizations is burdensome. They also claim they should not have to tell the government about their efforts to reach out to other citizens. Finally, they argue that revealing information about their financial supporters could leave them open to threats from political opponents. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court in Tacoma against the five members of the Washington Public Disclosure Commission (PDC) and its director.

WEST VIRGINIA: On March 23, 2010, West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin signed House Bill 4130, which creates the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals Public Campaign Financing Pilot Program. The program is a voluntary public campaign finance system for judicial candidates to the court of appeals. Candidates in a contested primary in 2010 can receive $200,000, and those running unopposed would collect $50,000. In the general election, candidates using the public financing program would be given $350,000 if they have opponents, and unopposed candidates would receive $35,000.

ASK THE EXPERTS

State and Federal Communications’ Experts Answer Your Questions

Here is your chance to “Ask the Experts” at State and Federal Communications, Inc. You can directly submit questions for this feature, and we will select those most appropriate and answer them here. Send your questions to: marketing@stateandfed.com. (Of course, we have always been available to answer questions from clients that are specific to your needs, and we encourage you to continue to call or e-mail us with questions about your particular company or organization. As always, we will confidentially and directly provide answers or information you need.) Our replies to your questions are not legal advice. Instead, these replies represent our analysis of laws, rules, and regulations.

Q.  If my employer hosts a function to which all members of the state legislature are invited, must I disclose the name of each individual legislator attending, or can I merely reference the fact that all members were invited?

A.  This is a very common occurrence for most lobbyists: to pay for events where all members of the legislature, or some other identifiable group, are invited. The reporting implications for such events range from simple aggregate disclosure to detailed reporting where the name of every legislator attending must be listed. The key to accurate reporting is to know how the state defines “all invited” and whether it takes into consideration any type of “sub-group.”

Here is a representative summary of the varied reporting requirements you might encounter with this type of event:

Arizona - All expenditures incurred by a principal or lobbyist for a special event for legislators – including parties, dinners, athletic events, entertainment, and other functions – to which all members of the legislature, either house of the legislature, or any committee of the legislature are invited must be reported. These expenditures do not have to be reported based on the cost per legislator. However, a description of the event, date and location of the event, number of persons invited, and total expenditures must be reported.

Arkansas - A “special event” is a planned activity to which a specific governmental body or identifiable group of public servants is invited. One of the unique aspects of Arkansas disclosure in this situation is that if the event has multiple co-hosts, the names of all other lobbyists sharing in the cost of the event must be reported.

Also in Arkansas, hospitality rooms may be reported as a “special event” provided the lobbyist invites specific governmental bodies or identifiable groups of public servants. When reporting hospitality room expenses, the lobbyist must itemize the date the hospitality room was open; the name of the event hosted; the exact amount paid by the lobbyist towards the total expenditure for the hospitality room; and the names of all other lobbyists sharing in the cost of the room.

Georgia - Aggregate expenditures on food, beverages, and registration at group events to which all members of an agency, including the legislature and its committees and subcommittees, are invited must be disclosed. Also, if an expenditure is made on behalf of a public official and is simultaneously incurred for an identifiable group of public officials, the individual identification of whom would be impractical, the name of the individual official need not be disclosed. A general description of the identifiable group will suffice.

Louisiana - For legislative lobbying, the following must be invited before invoking group disclosure: the entire legislature; either house; any standing committee; select committee; statutory committee; committee created by resolution of either house; subcommittee of any committee; recognized caucus; or any delegation thereof. Disclosure includes the name of the group invited; the amount, date, and location of the event.

For executive branch lobbying, group disclosure is when more than 25 executive branch officials are invited to a reception, social gathering, or other function. The name of the event, amount, date, and location must be reported.

Utah - In Utah, food or beverage expenditures must be reported if the aggregate daily expenditures benefitting the public official are greater than $25, unless the food or beverage is provided in connection with an event to which all of the members of the legislature, a standing committee, interim committee, legislative task force, or a party caucus are invited.

Washington - Washington does not provide for group reporting. Even if all members of the legislature, or all members of any sub-group within the legislature, are invited, every individual person must be listed by name if the expenditure exceeds $25 per occasion (which it usually does when group events are involved).

If two or more lobbyist employers share the expenses of a reception or other entertainment event, the lobbyist primarily responsible for organizing the event must disclose on his or her monthly L-2 report the names of the legislators (and members of their immediate families) attending the group event. Rather than duplicating this list of attendees, the L-2 reports filed by the lobbyists of the other employers sponsoring the event may make reference to the lobbyist’s report that contains these details.

We have not listed rules for all the states, only examples of some states. If you have a question on a state not listed here, please contact us directly at 330-761-9960.

State and Federal Communications, Inc. Scrapbook

Brian O’Connor, the manager of state government relations for BIO (the Biotechnology Industry Association), attended a Cleveland Cavaliers game with Elizabeth Bartz in April. (Brian is wearing a LeBron James jersey, number 23.)	Bill Lowery, 2009 campaign chairman for United Way of Summit County, presented Elizabeth Bartz and the employees of State and Federal Communications, Inc. with an award for “highest per employee corporate giving” for those employers with 25-49 employees. Bartz and the employees of State and Federal Communications are longtime supporters of United Way. The award was given to companies that presented “model giving campaigns,” Lowery said at the United Way annual meeting in April.
Journalist and radio personality Liane Hansen, senior host of the National Public Radio newsmagazine Weekend Edition Sunday, spoke in April at the Akron Press Club. Several members of the State and Federal Communications, Inc. team listened to her talk. In photo, from left, are: Joe May, Nola Werren, Ken Kelewae, Audrey Epps, Hansen, Elizabeth Bartz, Tony Pasquale, Sarah Gray, and Amber Fish Linke.
Members of the Koozer families in both Ohio and Pennsylvania are active supporters of the annual March of Dimes March for Babies campaign, whose mission is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth, and infant mortality. Standing in their "Braden's Bunch" team shirts are, from left: Ren Koozer and Nicolette Koozer, both of State and Federal Communications, Inc.; Pam Koozer [Event Coordinator for Clearfield County March for Babies] and Dennis Koozer. In the front row, from left, are cousins: Zachary Koozer and Braden Koozer.	Nola Werren, right, and Myra Cottrill, both of State and Federal Communications, talk with Colorado Speaker of the House Terrence Carroll at the SGAC Annual Meeting in Denver this past March.
Elizabeth Bartz met with several people at the NCSL Spring Forum this past April in Washington, D.C. In right photo, Elizabeth is with Chris Badgley and wife, Barbara. In left photo, Elizabeth is with Jean Cantrell of Philips Electronics.

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