July 7, 2011 •
See Us in Person!
Plan to say hello at future events where State and Federal Communications will be attending and/or speaking regarding compliance issues.
July 12 -15, 2011 Social Media for Government Conference by Advanced Learning Institute, Washington, D.C.
August 8 – 11, 2011 NCSL Legislative Summit Booth 217, San Antonio, Texas
November 19-22, 2011 2011 SGAC Foundation Leaders’ Policy Conference , Miami, Florida
Here is your chance to “Ask the Experts” at State and Federal Communications, Inc.
Q. Summer is approaching and I will be attending conferences such as NCSL and ALEC. Can I pay for dinners with legislators and/or State Night events?
A. First and foremost, are you or your company registered to lobby in the state? Most states have more stringent gift laws applicable to lobbyists and lobbyist principals (Texas is the exception to this rule of thumb). The answer will also vary depending upon whether you are paying for a private dinner or sponsoring a State Night event. For example, taking a legislator to dinner, paying for cab fare or other transportation, or giving him a ticket to a ballgame are not considered part of the national conference agenda. Therefore, the normal gift limits will apply.
Many states have gift limit exceptions specifically carved out for expenditures at national conferences to which all members of the legislature are invited. State Night events are considered part of the conference agenda; therefore the gift limit exceptions will apply.
Although a State Night sponsorship may be permissible, it is important to determine if and when the expenditure must be disclosed. The reporting implications for such events range from simple aggregate disclosure to detailed reporting where the name of every legislator attending must be listed.
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.
June 1, 2011 •
See Us in Person
Plan to say hello at future events where State and Federal Communications will be attending and/or speaking regarding compliance issues.
June 8, 2011 NCSL/SGAC, Washington, D.C.
June 16, 2011 WASRG, Washington, D.C.
June 27 – 30, 2011 BIO International Convention, Washington, D.C.
July 12 -15, 2011 Social Media for Government Conference by Advanced Learning Institute, Washington, D.C.
August 8 – 11, 2011 NCSL Legislative Summit Booth 217, San Antonio, Texas
April 6, 2011 •
Texas-sized Fun at NCSL Ohio Night!
Planning on attending NCSL and want to be involved with Ohio Night in San Antonio? Look no further.
State and Federal Communications, Inc. is overseeing the planning of Ohio Night at Biga on the Bank, next to the Westin on the Riverwalk. We will have a great space with a fabulous view to interact with the Ohio legislators attending the event. My assistant with this event is none other than Former Ohio Senate President Finan, now with Calfee Halter.
The event will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, August 10 at Biga on the Bank. If you are interested in joining, please complete the form, and we will include you in our austere group of sponsors. [Click here for Ohio Night form.]
For more information about the NCSL Legislative Summit 2011, go to their website for details.
Until next month, check out the meetings being held all over the country and plan on joining us at the event of the summer, Ohio Night at NCSL.
October 8, 2010 •
Elizabeth Bartz Quoted by Public Affairs Council
Impact article discusses the Tea Party and anti-incumbent political climate.
Elizabeth Bartz, President and CEO of State and Federal Communications, Inc. was quoted in Impact, the Public Affairs Council’s digital newsletter. The article is titled “Has the Tea Party Already Peaked? Some Say: Don’t Be Too Certain.”
According to Bartz, the topic of the National Conference of State Legislatures was not the Tea Party:
“Everybody was talking about health care,” says Bartz. “None of the people there were talking about the Tea Party or Sarah Palin or Ron and [Kentucky Republican Seante nominee] Rand Paul, or anything of that ‘anti-establishment’ stuff.”
August 17, 2010 •
Ask the Experts – Do I need to report spending on legislators’ spouses?
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.
Q. I attended the annual meeting of the National Conference of State Legislatures. While there, I took a group of legislators from various states to dinner and picked up the tab. Most of the legislators were accompanied by spouses. In those jurisdictions requiring disclosure of this dinner expenditure, must I also disclose the amount spent on the spouse?
A. Almost all states requiring disclosure of food and beverage expenditures incurred on behalf of reportable officials also require disclosure of the amount spent on the official’s spouse or immediate family member. However, there are exceptions.
- In Idaho, the lobbying law does not require disclosure of expenditures for spouses and family members of legislators. However, it is common practice for lobbyists to report such expenditures anyway.
- In Michigan, food and beverage expenditures on behalf of spouses or family members are not reportable. However, travel expenditures greater than $725 on behalf of spouses or family members are reportable.
- In Montana, a principal is not required to report expenditures made on behalf of a spouse or immediate family member of a legislator, public officer, or employee.
- In Rhode Island, expenditures made on behalf of family members are not reportable as lobbyist expenditures, but are reported by elected officials.
- In Vermont, expenditures on behalf of a spouse or immediate family member are not reportable.
(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.
August 10, 2010 •
Nola Werren’s Impressions from NCSL 2010
Nola Werren, Esq., a Client Specialist at State and Federal Communications, Inc., manages the company’s C³ Consulting Services.
For the twelfth consecutive year, State and Federal Communications, Inc. exhibited at the National Conference of State Legislature’s Annual Legislative Summit. This year the conference was held in Louisville, Kentucky. We always find that our attendance at the conference is enriching and productive, even when some days start with a 7:30 a.m. team breakfast meeting and end with the SGAC Late Night event [which, by the way, is never a disappointment]!
However, this year stands apart from the rest in that I was invited to moderate one of the continuing legal education sessions. Entitled Citizens United v. FEC: Political Blockbuster?, the panel addressed the ruling in January by the United States Supreme Court that it is unconstitutional to bar corporations and labor unions from making either independent expenditures or electioneering communications. At NCSL’s 2010 Spring Forum held in Washington, D.C., in April, the group immediately saw the importance of including a session at the annual Legislative Summit to address the impact the Court decision will undoubtedly have on the states.
The panel was comprised of Ken Gross, a partner at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom in Washington, D.C.; Jason Torchinsky, a partner at Holtzman Vogel PLLC, in Virginia; and Maryland Delegate Jon S. Cardin, who represents Maryland’s 11th District in Northwest Baltimore County. Disclosure requirements in light of the post-Citizens United political landscape were perhaps the most lively debated issue by the panel, and it could not have been more timely given the fact that within the hour after our panel adjourned, Senate Democrats failed to gather the 60 votes needed to overcome an expected filibuster of The DISCLOSE Act, Congress’ legislative response to the ruling in Citizens United.
Here is Nola Werren moderating the Citizens United Panel discussion at NCSL:
No recap of this year’s NCSL Legislative Summit would be complete without mentioning Ohio Night. The venue for the event was the LeRoy Neiman Gallery at the Muhammad Ali Center. Having grown up watching a lot of Sunday afternoon sports with my dad, I was quite familiar with LeRoy Neiman and his signature artistic style. He would usually start with a blank canvass at the beginning of, let’s say, a golf tournament, and by the end of the tournament, his abstract was complete and captured the essence of the event in all its vivid glory. Well, the gallery at the Muhammad Ali Center did not disappoint. Especially impressive were his renderings of the two Ali versus Liston fights for boxing’s world heavyweight championships.
Every year since 1999, our experience at the annual NCSL Legislative Summit seems to outdo the previous year. Next year’s summit in San Antonio will undoubtedly live up to that expectation….and who knows what “political blockbuster” might occur between now and then.
July 26, 2010 •
NCSL Summit 2010
The National Conference of State Legislatures Summit 2010 is under way and we are there.
Elizabeth Bartz, Nola Werren, Tony Pasquale, and Ren Koozer from State and Federal Communications, Inc. are attending the National Conference of State Legislatures 2010 Legislative Summit in Louisville, Ky.
U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell opened the event at Monday morning’s general session.
Our own Client Specialist Nola Werren, Esq. will be moderating for the forum “Citizens United v. FEC: Political Blockbuster or Not?” on Tuesday, July 27, from 1 to 2 p.m. in Room CC108 – Level 1.
If you happen to be at the NCSL Summit, be sure to drop by and visit with us at booth #310! For those of you who would like to follow us on Twitter, use #SFC_NCSL as your hashtag!
State and Federal Communications, Inc. provides research and consulting services for government relations professionals on lobbying laws, procurement lobbying laws, political contribution laws in the United States and Canada. Learn more by visiting stateandfed.com.
