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, and can be found in 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.

Q. I am interested in making a political contribution in Puerto Rico. What are the current political contribution limits? Am I required to disclose my contribution?

A. In Puerto Rico, individuals and PACs may make contributions.  Direct corporate contributions are prohibited. Puerto Rico has recently raised the annual political contribution limits. In response to the Federal Election Commission raising the federal contributions limits in 2 U.S.C. §441a(a)(1)(A),  the Oficina del Contralor Electoral (OCE) issued Circulated Letter OCE-CC-2013-02. The circulated letter raises the individual and PAC contribution limits to $2,600 per candidate per year, with an aggregate contribution limit of $13,000.  In an election year, the limits are modified to $2,600 per candidate per election, and $13,000 in the aggregate per election. These contribution limits do not apply to independent expenditures.

There are no reporting requirements for individuals making contributions in Puerto Rico.  PACs, however, have a quarterly disclosure requirement for any quarter in which contributions were received or expenditures were made.  PACs established and registered in a jurisdiction other than Puerto Rico have separate reporting requirements under the campaign finance regulations issued by the OCE.

For specific guidance on making contributions in Puerto Rico, please contact Sarah Kovit.

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.

(We are always 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.

This week we bring you the new Rosa Parks statue that was unveiled at the National Statuary Hall. She is the first African American woman to be honored with a life size statue in the Capitol.

It was on December 1, 1955 that Rosa Parks exercised her right to sit where she wished on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama.  In honor of that day and the celebration of the 100th anniversary of her birth, there was a ceremony for the unveiling of the Rosa Parks statue in the Capitol on February 27, 2013. Many of Ms. Parks’ relatives were at the unveiling ceremony. This wonderful picture of the statue comes from the Architect of the Capitol website.

According to a recent New York Times article, President Obama offered praise for Ms. Parks: “[The president] chronicled how Mrs. Parks, despite having held no elected office, lacking wealth and living far from the seat of power, touched off a movement that made it possible for him to become president.”

Other speakers said she united the country by choosing to be arrested, instead of giving up her seat.

Rosa Parks was given the highest civilian honors from the White House and Congress.  When she died in 2005, she was the first woman “to lie in state” in the Capitol Rotunda.

She will always be remembered for what she did for America.

Enjoy this video from PBS NewsHour:

Thanks for reading and we will see you next time.

In a Texas bill introduced predominantly dealing with the ethics of public servants, the requirement for registering as a lobbyist in the state would be expanded.

House Bill 2737 amends the state’s lobbying law to include goodwill lobbying.

Specifically, the following definition is added: “Communicates directly with a member of the legislative or executive branch to influence legislation or administrative action” or any variation of the phrase includes establishing goodwill with the member for the purpose of later communicating with the member to influence legislation or administrative action.

A person would not be required to register if he or she spends 26 hours or less during the calendar quarter engaging in the communication. Additionally, the other current thresholds for determining whether registering as a lobbyist is required would remain.

The bill, introduced by Rep. Dennis Bonnen, also make changes concerning the regulations of political contributions and expenditures, political advertising, the conduct of public servants, and the reporting of personal financial information by public servants.

Photo of the Texas State Capitol courtesy of Kumar Appaiah on Wikipedia.

March 4-7, 2013   2013 National PAC Conference, Miami Beach, Florida

March 6, 2013   Ohio Birthday Party, Washington, D.C.

March 13-15, 2013   SGAC Annual Meeting, Savannah, Georgia

April 14-16, 2013   NASPO Conference, Indianapolis, Indiana

April 22-25, 2013   BIO International Convention, Chicago, Illinois

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, and can be found in 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.

Q. I have been asked to testify before a committee of the state legislature regarding a pending or potential bill. Is this considered lobbying activity?

A. As is usually the case, the answer will vary drastically depending on the state in question. In this specific situation, there are at least three variables to consider when evaluating this question:

1. Is testimony excluded from the definition of lobbying? In many states, providing information, participating in a meeting, or otherwise communicating at the request of a public official is specifically excluded from the definition of lobbying. This is true even if the information will potentially influence legislation, as long as the contact was initiated by the state. In these jurisdictions, a person may be asked to testify about a topic as an industry expert without being subject to lobbying laws. For instance, in Colorado, a person who is not otherwise registered as a lobbyist, but provides information at the request of public officials is not required to register and report. Iowa has a similar exception for people providing testimony or information at the request of a public official.

2. Is the communication before a public committee? Often, participation at a public meeting or proceeding or otherwise testifying on the public record is excluded from lobbying laws. Delaware’s exemption is a good example of a state allowing for testimony at a public hearing without lobbyist registration. Likewise, Connecticut has an exception from its definition of lobbyist for those who are not hired specifically to lobby and whose appearances are limited to public testimony.

3. Is there a pending bill before the legislature? Finally, it may be important to determine whether there is an actual bill pending before the legislative body in question, or if the putative lobbying communication is only regarding potential legislation. Certain states only regulate attempts to influence legislation that has already been introduced. North Dakota is a good example of this point. In order to be considered a lobbyist, a person must be attempting to influence a live bill. An individual does not need to register as a lobbyist for attempting to influence a potential bill.

There are very few concepts, rules, or guideless applicable to all states, and accordingly, situations like this must be examined on a case-by-case basis. For specific guidance, please contact a member of the State and Federal Communications compliance department.

(We are always 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.

Lobbying and consulting services could soon be subject to sales tax under Governor John Kasich’s budget proposal. House Bill 59, the governor’s expansive budget bill, proposes to decrease the state sales tax rate, but makes up for lost revenue by increasing the services subject to sales tax. All service transactions would be subject to the tax unless specifically exempted in the bill, including legal and accounting services.

You can view a list of the services that will be covered by the sales tax here.

While Governor Kasich predicts lobbyists will attempt to remove the tax on their industry from the budget bill, a Florida Institute of CPAs lobbyist claims it’s not just self-interest–determining who is taxed and who pays can be tricky when lobbying firms hire both accountants and lawyers to assist with projects.

If passed, the sales tax will apply to all non-exempt services rendered on or after September 1, 2013.

February 22-25, 2013   National Governors Association Winter Meeting, Washington, D.C.

February 26, 2013  Akron/Canton SMEI 41st Distinguished Sales and Marketing Award, Akron, Ohio

March 4-7, 2013   Public Affairs Council National PAC Conference, Miami, Florida

March 6, 2013   Ohio Birthday Party, Washington D.C.

March 13-15, 2013   SGAC Annual Meeting, Savannah, Georgia

Q. We’ve had some disagreement internally within our organization – please help. As a federal registrant employing in-house lobbyists, are we only required to report the time and expenses associated with our “registered” lobbyists.

A. It’s a good question. The answer to which often gets lost amongst the efforts to report lobbyists’ activities. Federal registrants are certainly required to make best efforts to track, capture, and report the lobbying activities and expenses of those employees who meet the 20% threshold standard (lobbyist employee). In addition, registrants are equally required to track, capture, and report expenditures associated with employees who do not meet the 20% threshold but still engage in lobbying activities during the course of the quarter (non-lobbyist employees.) The names of non-lobbyist employees are not included on the report and neither is information related to what issues they addressed or contacts they made. That said, the Secretary of the Senate and Clerk of the House have consistently advised that all employee time spent engaged in lobbying activities should be included when determining an organization’s lobbying expenses, even when the employee(s) does not meet the statutory definition of being a lobbyist. In line with the best efforts standard, then, it is important to have in place reasonable, demonstrable processes to capture both lobbyist and non-lobbyist activities.

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.

(We are always 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.

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, and can be found in 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.

The first rule details when non-lobbyist employees must register as a lobbyist. In North Carolina, an employee must register as a lobbyist if a significant part of that employee’s job duties include lobbying. The new rules stipulate that this threshold is met if at least five percent of an employee’s duties include direct or goodwill lobbying during any rolling 30 day period. Once this threshold is met, the employee must register as a lobbyist within one business day.

The second rule explains what must be included when providing a description of a reportable expenditure for the lobbyist reports. The description must identify what was given, who the third party was that received the expenditure, and the name of the event or meeting where the expenditure was given.

The third rule describes how to determine the immediate family member who is connected with a reportable expenditure. On the reports, the name of the designated individual or immediate family member connected with the expenditure must be reported. The person that must be identified is the person who either received or benefited from the expenditure, or who requested the expenditure be made on someone’s behalf.

The fourth and final rule effecting lobbying details what must be reported in connection with a lobbying event. The entire cost of a lobbying event must be reported, rather than just the costs of any gifts given. Examples of the non-gift expenditures that must be reported include supplies, facility rental, food, name badges, flowers and other decorations, planning services, and all other expenses and charges incurred in connection with the lobbying event.

While the 113th Congress is just over a month old, the dynamic of the worlds most deliberative body is still being shaped. Members are retiring early, leaving congress due to legal trouble, pursuing other interests in the private sector, or joining the President’s administration. However, the majority of the legislature is in place, and Bloomberg Businessweek has a fascinating chart breaking down the professions and trades of everyone in congress.

Perhaps not surprisingly, the overwhelming number of members are lawyers. The House boasts 128 lawyers and the Senate adds another 45. The second largest group represented are businesspeople with 130 members total in both bodies. Maybe somewhat surprising is the smaller number of career politicians as only 55 members of the House and 9 members of Senate have spent their professional lives in politics.

Though congress is still largely a male dominated institution (by a margin of 337), women gained a total of six seats while men lost a total of five. Among the demographic groups with the greatest amount of change were businesspeople with a net loss of 7 seats, the entertainment industry with a net gain of 3 seats, educators with a net gain of 2 seats, and lawyers with a net gain of 2 seats. Click the image to the right to see a larger version of Businessweek’s chart.

Note: These numbers don’t include appointments and changes made in recent weeks.

TIME’s Photos has an online showcase called “Political Buttons from the Button Museum: A Chicago museum portrays the history of American politics through the prism of a simple accessory.”

One of the buttons displayed is from before the Civil War. It displays a visage of Abraham Lincoln in the year he was reelected. TIME shows eleven other buttons besides the Lincoln button, but you can see many more at the Button Museum.

Elizabeth Bartz, President and CEO of State and Federal Communications, has a great assortment of political buttons.  Many are framed here at the office of State and Federal Communications.  It’s a quite impressive display.  Below you can see a few of the buttons she has collected over the years.

Thank you for reading and we will see you next time.