I am updating my article from a year ago when I first joined the Go Red For Women campaign in Akron. This year I was able to have my husband, JohnChames join me. (Yes, I put his first and last name together because there are a lot of Johns in my family. The only way to keep them separate is to use the last name.) If you recall last year’s photo you will notice this year a number of additional men joined the Red Tie Society.  If you haven’t found us in the picture, the hint is we are holding hands across the middle of the escalator at Macy’s.  And, yes, that is Jim Tressel near him.

Did you know American Heart Association recommends adults get at least 150 minutes a week of moderate intensity physical activity?  [That is about 22 minutes per day.] Here are some easy ways you can add physical activity into your daily life:

• Use  coffee breaks to take 5- or 10-minute walks. The weather is nice (except for Denver and Minneapolis) so time to pull out the sneakers and walk around the block.
• In parking lots, park your car as far away as you can. At State and Federal Communications, I have parking space #1 so I need to make sure I am walking up the stairs during the day to see the folks on the second floor—instead of taking the elevator.
• Get your personal heart-health status and learn how regular physical activity can help improve your health. Take the American Heart Association’s My Life Check assessment at mylifecheck.heart.org.
• Walk a flight of stairs 10 times a day. I am on my third Fitbit since last year and it helps track the steps and flights of stairs I take every day. And, as it relates to steps, try to reach 10,000 a day.
• Visit www.startwalkingnow.org to download the new Walking Path mobile phone application and find nearby walking paths, track your steps, and motivate your walking friends.

The American Heart Association’s mission is to build healthier lives, free of cardiovascular diseases and stroke.  Until next month, join the fight against women’s #1 killer—Heart Disease by donating to your local Heart Association.

Thanks,

Elizabeth Z. Bartz
President and CEO

Coultas has extensive background in federal affairs and government compliance. She previously worked as a government relations and public affairs professional for GolinHarris in Washington, D.C., where she lobbied on behalf of higher education and nonprofit clients, managed public affairs campaigns, and monitored legislation and regulation for high profile clients.

During her last semester of college at Kent State University, Coultas worked for Senator Mike DeWine. She went on to graduate cum laude, with a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and a minor in Pre-Law. After graduation she accepted a full-time position with the office of Senator DeWine. Two years later, Coultas left Capitol Hill for the private sector where she stayed with GolinHarris for eight years. She is a member of Public Affairs Council and American League of Lobbyists. In 2013, Coultas decided to return to her hometown of North Canton, Ohio with her husband in order to be close to family.

“Ms. Coultas’ addition to our team, coming from a world-wide PR firm, will greatly expand our marketing efforts and her experience in the federal government relations field is an asset hard to find in northeast Ohio,” said Elizabeth Z. Bartz, president and CEO.

State and Federal Communications, Inc. provides government compliance information and consulting to many of the Fortune 500 companies, to trade, labor, and professional associations, and to corporate and contract lobbyists in all 50 states. The firm’s in-house staff of attorneys is expert in state, federal, and municipal laws regarding lobbying, political contributions, and procurement lobbying. It provides accurate, comprehensive, and timely information through online and printed resources clients use to comply with laws in all 50 states, the federal government, and more than 125 municipalities.

Additionally, the company offers government affairs consulting services in which in-house attorneys work directly with clients to oversee government compliance reporting, and also provide information regarding ethics, gift laws, lobbyist registration and reporting, corporate political contributions, and government procurement lobbying.

This article is cross-posted from  the Akron Beacon Journal.

On April 1^st, we added Comptroller Jeff Roberts to the 10-Year Club. He is now our sixth member to this exclusive club. This is a huge recognition at State and Federal Communications.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, only 30 percent of employees had 10 year or more of tenure with their current employer. And, the median number of years with an employer is only 4.4 years.

Yesterday, we celebrated Jeff’s milestone and he mentioned so many things that have happened in 10 years.

• Staff increased from 13 to 36;
• Space increased from 8,200 sq feet to 16,000 sq feet;
• We published the updates to our Political Contributions and Lobbying Laws publications twice a year and now we update our website every day;
• We added the Procurement Lobbying and Canadian Lobbying to our suite of on-line services;
• Increased our consulting clients from 19 to 126; and
• The number of children from staff went from eight (8) to 32.

Jeff’s input into the operation of the company is not seen to the outside crowd, but he has been an amazing trusted employee making sure we are always ahead on bills and the IRS. And, as he mentioned at our program yesterday, has never worried as to whether he would be paid or whether benefits would be provided.

We live in a different society now. Tenure used to only be associated with academic careers. In the private sector, tenure is the faithful commitment to an employer who has proven there is worth to staying.

Thanks to Jeff Roberts for 10 years of faithful service.

Do you remember this song from the Beatles?

 Well it was 20 years ago today,
Sgt. Pepper taught a band to play,
They’ve been going in and out of style,
But they’re guaranteed to raise a smile,
So may I introduce to you,
The act you’ve known for all these years,
Sgt.  Pepper’s Lonely hearts club band!

I like it because of the reference to 20 years ago, which is when I purchased the publications department from State and Federal Associates, Inc. and moved it all—furniture, files, clients, and my dog—to Akron, Ohio.

You will start seeing our new 20th anniversary logo, which is a huge deal for small businesses.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, young businesses are those who have been open for fewer than three years, while mature businesses have existed for more than 10 years. Those who are between three and 10 years old are considered as relatively young.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics, a division within the Department of Labor, reported fewer  than 50 percent of small businesses successfully make it past four years of operation.  In fact, only 44 percent of business owners can hack it through four years of operation.  Nearly 65 percent of businesses successfully make it past the first two years.

In 2011, the Houston Chronicle had an article by David Kaplan titled, “Small business longevity takes true grit.”   It read: “A small business with a strong backbone can defy the odds and last a long time. What many local small-business survivors have in common are tenacious owners. In the current economy, such doggedness can be crucial.”

The actual day of State and Federal Communications’ anniversary is July 1st and you will see videos from people wishing us Happy Anniversary or Happy Birthday.  We will take the time to celebrate this milestone…but we will not stop working for you, our clients.

I checked back to the article in the July 2008 Compliance NOW when we celebrated our 15th anniversary. The products we offer have been streamlined and technology has helped make it easier and faster for us to send you information.

We are proud of the niche we have in the government affairs industry. Our products and services are used by thousands of government affairs executives in corporations and trade associations across the country. We appreciate the confidence you have given us with your loyalty.

Milestones are important to show growth. Whether it is the 15th anniversary or 20th anniversary of the company, it shows movement. And, none of it would happen without our special clients, friends, and family.

 It’s wonderful to be here,
it’s certainly a thrill,
You’re such a lovely audience
we’d like to take you home with us
we’d love to take you home!

– Elizabeth Bartz

State and Federal Communications, Inc.’s, Ren Koozer, Executive Director, I.T., celebrated his 15th anniversary with the company. He received a U.S. flag [from the office of Congresswoman Betty Sutton] that had been flown over the U.S. Capitol on November 1, 2012 along with a certificate of authenticity, and a Samsung ATIV Windows 8 tablet.

We celebrated with his favorite New York cheesecake topped with blueberries and strawberries. Delicious.

Congratulations to a real team member.

One of the first events I attended when I moved to Akron in 1993 was Akron Roundtable. It was a bargain at $6 for a great lunch, great speaker, and we even had a silent prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance. I lived in the DC area for 12 years and never started a program with the Pledge of Allegiance.

Now, 20 years later I serve on this great board. Akron Roundtable was started in 1976 as a community forum to encourage and bring bold, creative, and new ideas to the region. To date, more than 400 major corporate executives, writers, government officials, artists, and civic leaders from around the country have addressed the Akron Roundtable audience.

And, on April 18th, we will have David Adkins, Executive Director of the Council of State Governments, as our speaker. CSG is the country’s only organization serving all three branches of state government. It is a region-based forum, which fosters the exchange of insight and ideas to help state officials shape public policy. David is a former Kansas state senator and served as vice chancellor for External Affairs at the University of Kansas Medical Center.

Many of us know David from our work with State Government Affairs Council and being a CSG Associate. This is the first time CSG has been represented at Akron Roundtable.

State and Federal Communications will hold a reception for David Adkins and the CSG family after the Akron Roundtable program. Its offices are across the street from the event. For more information about attending the program go to www.akronroundtable.org.

Until next month, make your reservations to be in Akron on April 18th. It will be a great day with David in town. And, if you have to spend the night—and who wouldn’t want to—John Lithgow is part of the University of Akron’s speaker series that evening at EJ Thomas Hall. If we can be of assistance in planning your day, please do not hesitate to contact me at ebartz@stateandfed.com.

Thank you.

Elizabeth Bartz

President and CEO, State and Federal Communications

As everyone prepares to celebrate the New Year, I would like to take this opportunity to offer a note of thanks. State and Federal Communications has had an exciting year and we look forward to a bright 2013.

We wish you a beautiful New Year.

Elizabeth Bartz
President and CEO of State and Federal Communications, Inc.

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.

If you are registered as a state lobbyist, there is a good chance you have received notification for the state to conduct an audit on your lobbying reports. California, Indiana, Pennsylvania, New York, West Virginia are just a few states with random acts of audit.

But, are you ready for an IRS audit of your federal reports?

According to State and Federal Communications friend and client, Ken Gross from Skadden Arps, about 75 percent of the filings to the US Secretary of the Senate are filed using the LDA method, as opposed to the IRS method. That’s fine in practice, but your organization’s IRS filings need to show everything but lobbying activities.

When we are speaking with clients and audiences we emphasize the importance of keeping track of time, not only for your lobbying reports, but for your company’s filing with the IRS since the time devoted for lobbying is not deductible. It is impossible for anyone to spend 100% of time on lobbying because there are other administrative things people have to do, meetings to attend, and conferences to attend.

It is important companies keep two sets of books.

No, this is not The Producers where Matthew Broderick has two books—one to show the government and one not to show the government. It allows your organization to file its LD2 report without having to disclose lobbying expenditures for state and grassroots activities and still have the information to include in the IRS filings.

Take the opportunity to ask the accounting department if they are keeping track of time two different ways to insure your LD2 reports are accurate and, more important, when the IRS is a’knocking you can rest assured your reports are A-OK.

Until next month, I wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

We have many things for which we are thankful at State and Federal Communications. Before the day gets away from us, we would like to thank you for following Lobby Comply Blog.

We have had a great year and look forward to giving our very best service to our clients in 2013. Health and happiness to you and to your families.

From all of us at State and Federal Communications, we wish you Happy Holidays!

Each of them, as well as eight more of us from State and Federal Communications, attended the Council on Government Ethics Laws (COGEL) in Columbus, Ohio last week. Each of them presented at the conference and took the work they do every day and shared it with others.

Jim Sedor is our in-house rock star. He is Editor of News You Can Use our weekly news service we provide to all of our clients. We know now difficult it is to read 100 newspapers a week so we…I mean, Jim…helps you out by reviewing them for you. At COGEL, Jim spoke at one of the breakfast table topics on Monday, December 4th on How Do You Use the News.

John Cozine is the Research Manager and oversees a group of attorneys reviewing states, municipalities, and Canadian provinces and territories to make sure our website has all of the information our clients need for lobbying, political contributions, procurement lobbying, pay-to-play, gift laws, legislative sessions, and on and on and on. At COGEL he led a breakfast table topic on Monday about the Popular Vote vs. the Electoral College.

Joe May, Social Media Coordinator, had an encore performance of an earlier presentation—DIY Outreach and Education: e-Learning and Beyond.

Joe has taken State and Federal Communications and put us on Facebook, Twitter, Linked In, Lobby Comply blog, and even You Tube (State and Federal Communications TV). He has conducted presentations to federal government agency staff and at the Heartland Group (a regional part of COGEL) on how everything can work together to reach people using social media…and that includes a lot of people.

I love sharing my staff with others. They are in the trenches and making sure we are always providing our clients with up-to-the-minute news.

Until next month, we wish you all a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukah, and a Happy New Year. We look forward to 2013 and know you will be extremely busy with every state’s legislature in session.

Kyrie Eleison

Down the Road that I must travel

Kyrie Eleison

Through the darkness of the night

Kyrie Eleison

Where I’m going will you follow

Kyrie Eleison

On a highway in the night.

Wait a minute. Do you know what follows a presidential election? That’s right, all 50 states have a 2013 legislation planned session. Every one of them—Yes, Nevada, Kentucky, and Texas, too.

Are you ready for it?

This is just a reminder our website at www.stateandfed.com has all of the legislative sessions included and we update it every month because there are changes, extensions, and our favorite sine die days. Very soon you will easily see the legislative sessions for every individual state on its Home Page, which will make it easier for you to know whether a lobbying report is due and whether you can make a political contribution during the time the legislature is session.

Once again, our goal for 2013 is to make our website 100% accurate and 100% easier for our clients to use. And, you know if you have a suggestion, all you have to do is call me at 330-761-9960 and I would love to listen to it.

My name is Elizabeth Bartz…And, I approve this message.

Back to singing with Mr. Mister!

When I was young I thought of growing old

Of what my life would mean to me

Would I have followed down my chosen road

Or only wished what I could be.

I first voted in the 1976 Presidential Election—Jimmy Carter vs. Gerald Ford—and have voted in every Presidential election since. In fact, I only missed voting in one election in 1979 when I was in college and did not mail my absentee ballot.

I have not questioned whether I should vote…I just always made sure I did and I made sure I understood the issues and candidates.

So, what am I getting to this month? I want you to vote. Maybe I did not say it correctly. I WANT YOU TO VOTE.

I am not going to go Howard Beale (Movie: Network, 1976). But, I do want you—this country needs you—to study the issues and candidates in your states and cities and review the candidates running for U.S. President between now and November 5th. Get a good night’s sleep and then wake up on November 6th and VOTE, as if your life depended on it.

If you have questions about who is running in the states, check out the State Elections Guide on our website, www.stateandfed.com. We partnered with Stateside Associates to prepare a state-by-state guide on candidates, polling, and contribution guidelines.

Until next month, study the issues. Study the candidates. Study…and be ready to VOTE.

Your favorite movie about politics or business?

I really liked All the President’s Men because of the history it presented. I liked Wall Street, which showed me how bad it could be if I wanted to be a mean businessperson, so I am trying to do the opposite. I work for the good guys.

Books that influenced your understanding of the work you do?

PAC Power: Inside the World of Political Action Committees, by Larry J. Sabato, and Politics and Money: The New Road to Corruption, by Elizabeth Drew. I read them when I was first getting started in this profession and I wanted to learn more about PACs. They gave me a good foundation in how this world works.

A president you admire?

I could say something safe like George Washington, but I really admire Bill Clinton. I was living by myself in Alexandria, Va., when he gave his acceptance speech. I loved what he said about believing in hope. I remember jumping up and down in my apartment screaming with approval. I also admire what he accomplished. I like what he did to reform welfare. Thanks to programs his administration established, I was able to sell my house in Alexandria and buy one back in Ohio. I was able to sell the house in Alexandria to a woman who was getting off welfare. She was able to buy it for $2,000 down. I was thrilled to do that. I also admire AmeriCorps. My daughter participated in Teach for America, which is part of AmeriCorps. That’s a great program.

Business leaders you admire?

Steve Jobs, though I wouldn’t want to emulate everything he did. But like Bill Gates, he had a mind for business. He had a vision, and I am inspired by that in building my own company. There’s a big gulf between my company and Apple or Microsoft, but I can still keep working to make it better.

How are state budget problems affecting the public affairs profession?

Because the states are trying to raise revenues, they are looking at the lobbying profession and trying to raise registration fees. The registration fee in Ohio for years was $10. Now it is $25. There was an effort in Illinois to raise it to $1,000. It is now $300 there. That might not sound like a lot of money, but when you realize that a lot of companies have multiple registrations, it adds up. It makes companies think seriously about whether they should register. It’s going to have a big impact on this profession.

On the policy side?

Pay-to-play is a big issue. The procurement process is changing as states try to make sure there is not a connection between a contribution and a contract.

What’s on your iPod?

I have two iPads, and iPod, one iPhone, one Droid, a MacBook and a laptop. So I’m too connected. But musically, I’m all ‘70s, but no disco. That means Carly Simon, James Taylor, late Beatles. I had Carol King’s Tapestry on an eight-track tape player, if you remember what those were. I just moved it to my iPod. Also, I liked Fleetwood Mac even before they performed at Clinton’s inaugural.

This visit was courtesy of the Public Affairs Council’s October 2012 Impact newsletter.