I am always looking for great folks to add to our State and Federal Communications community. I recently was aware that Joe Wasser was looking for a new opportunity. Joe has more than 24 years of business development experience in the government relations and PAC industry. So I picked up the phone and called him.

Joe joined State and Federal Communications, Inc. in October as our new Senior Account Manager. He brings a wealth of experience and expertise in government relations and building relationships. I am thrilled he is on our team.

Prior to joining State and Federal Communications, Joe was one of the first employees of Capitol Hill Software which became Vocus before it was acquired by Cision. Joe was one of the most instrumental people in building the Vocus client base starting in 1997.

“I’m excited to work with my longtime friend Elizabeth and the team at State and Federal Communications,” said Wasser. “I know we can build upon the great work that has already been done and help the company grow.”

Joe will explore business development and new growth opportunities for State and Federal Communications including market assessment, and new and emerging industry potential.
When Joe started with Capitol Hill Software and Vocus, the products were sold as physical diskettes that were sent to clients. Similarly, State and Federal Communications sent out binders and guidebooks to clients and would regularly supplement them with additional pages.

While State and Federal Communications was modernizing the process of making compliance web-based, Joe and the Vocus teamwere doing the same thing to create one of the most widely used web-based filing tools for federal PACs. His experience adds great value to State and Federal Communications.

A life-long Maryland Terrapin, Joe is a big fan of Washington D.C. sports particularly the Washington Nationals. However, after getting a taste of a winning culture in the Cleveland Guardians, he has adopted the Guardians as a fan too.

Joe and his wife Suzanne live on the eastern shore of Maryland. They have two adult children and are delighted to be welcoming their first grandchild in January 2023.

If Joe knows you, he will be in contact with you. He is as much an extrovert as me and I already know he will be a great addition.

On behalf of the State and Federal Communications Family, we wish you and yours Happy Holidays and look forward to a busy 2023 in the states, federal government, municipalities, and international countries.

Meet Adrienne Borgstahl, Esq., Manager, Compliance Services at State and Federal Communications!

What are your areas of expertise?

I am a Manager of Compliance Services in our compliance department. I specialize in providing guidance regarding ethics and lobbying laws.

How many years of experience do you have at State and Federal Communications?

I have been with the company for 6 and a half years.

What is it that you do to help our clients?

I always answer questions promptly and try to present our clients with the big picture. When I provide our clients with all the necessary information, they can rest easy!

Q: What are the different types of lobbyists in Arizona? Which expenditures are required to be reported on the quarterly or annual report? Do expenditures by my contract firm need to be disclosed?

A: In Arizona, there are three main types of lobbyists required to be listed on the principal registration: the designated lobbyist, authorized lobbyists, and Lobbyists for Compensation (LFC). The designated lobbyist acts as the single point of contact for the principal and is required to file quarterly and annual reports. Authorized lobbyists are employed by the principal for the purpose of lobbying, other than the designated lobbyist, listed on the registration and permitted to perform lobbying activities on behalf of the principal.  An LFC is a third-party lobbyist or contract firm compensated for the primary purpose of lobbying on behalf of a principal. While an LFC can act as the designated lobbyist for a principal most companies prefer to use an in-house employee to serve as point of contact for accountability purposes.

The designated lobbyist and each LFC are required to file four separate quarterly reports. The fourth quarter report also requires a cumulative total for the calendar year. While quarterly reports do not require personal expenditures by an authorized lobbyist to be reported, all expenditures must be disclosed in the principal annual report. The principal annual report must also include all reportable expenditures previously disclosed by each LFC on their quarterly reports.

Reportable expenditures provide a benefit to an individual state officer or state employee, whether or not the expenditure was made in the course of lobbying. All expenditures must be reported in one of the following categories: food and beverage; speaking engagement; travel and lodging; flowers; or other expenditures.

Expenditures more than $20 must be itemized and include the name and title of the state officer or employee benefiting; date, amount, and category of expenditure; and the name of the person who made the expenditure on behalf of the principal. Expenditures less than $20 may be reported in the aggregate. Additionally, expenditures for special events require the disclosure of the legislative body invited, date, location, description of event, and the total amount to be disclosed.

During this upcoming Thanksgiving Holiday, many family members and friends will gather around a dinner table, and right before they dig in for a scrumptious meal, they will profess at least one person, place, thing, and/or idea for which they are grateful. I ask, however, why we should wait for a particular time of the year to show (and acknowledge) gratitude?

I would argue that in an ideal world, gratitude would be just a routine part of everyone’s daily existence; no hidden agendas, just opportunities to recognize the life influences that support and challenge us, and that remind us that there is a greater good that exists when we take the time to stop and reflect!  I would like to take the time now to proclaim that I am grateful for the following:  my family and friends whom are treasured near and far; my employer and industry colleagues whom continue to inspire me every day; the clients, whom continue to trust us with their Federal, State, and International compliance needs; and for the many opportunities and life lessons that have come my way over the past 52 years – some were welcomed; others I raised an eyebrow to, but overall, each of these have made me the person I am today, and so for all of these, I am grateful!

I invite you to take a moment each day to acknowledge the persons, places, things, and ideas for which you are grateful — and, while you’re at it, take the time to also show some gratitude to others! It’ll bring a smile to your face (and hey, who doesn’t love a good smile?).

It was bound to end sooner or later … All those Zoom conferences ending and people meeting again in person. We already have 55 meetings on the calendar for 2023. 55 and if you do the math there are a few which will overlap.

The best part is I have a great staff to help attend these programs. This was particularly important because I was truly planning to fly between Women in Government in Orlando and National Association of Business PAC at The Breakers the very same week in November. That changed immediately when we brought on Joe Wasser, formerly with Cision, and he was a regular at the NABPAC conference. So, I will miss the beautiful Breakers but I will not have to fly back and forth, which really sounded ridiculous.

People ask why I travel so much. It is easy. More than half of my life is in Akron, Ohio and I can count on one hand the number of clients we have in this city. The choices were to either step up to the plate and attend the conferences with clients—and prospective clients—attending; or get a kiosk at Washington National Airport (DCA) and just live there.

Back to 2023, our schedule of conferences and events is updated on our website. Many folks ask us about specific conferences and those of us who attend are knowledgeable as to how working with stakeholders is important for the work we do at State and Federal Communications, Inc.

So, watch out 2023, I still do not pack efficiently, but I am always available and ready to see you out and about…Along with many of my team members.

On behalf of State and Federal Communications, we wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving and look forward to connecting with you in December.

Q: I am a registered lobbyist in Illinois and want to take an Illinois official out to dinner in order to garner goodwill.  What do I need to know to ensure we are compliant?

A: In Illinois, lobbyists reports must itemize for each individual expenditure or transaction, including any expenditures made by a consultant in performing services for the lobbying entity. The report must include the name of the official for whose benefit each expenditure was made, the name of the client the expenditure was made on behalf of, the total amount of the expenditure, a description of the expenditure, the vendor to whom the expenditure was made, the date of the expenditure, and the subject matter of the lobbying activity, if any.

Lobby or lobbying is to communicate, including the soliciting of others to communicate with an official of the executive or legislative branch of state or local government for the ultimate purpose of influencing executive, legislative, or administrative action at the state, municipal, county, or township government level. In Illinois, influencing includes promoting goodwill. Additionally with the passage of Senate Bill 539 in 2021, lobbying on a local level, except in Chicago, requires registration and reporting with the state.

In order to comply with Illinois lobbying law, the dinner would need to be reported on the appropriate entity report. There are two notification requirements a lobbyist must make to an official. First, the official must be informed, in writing, at the time the expenditure is received by the official, that the expenditure is reportable, and the official will appear in the expenditure report. Second, within 30 days after a reporting deadline, a lobbyist must notify each official on whose behalf an expenditure was reported. The 30-day notification must include the name of the registered lobbyist, a description, the total amount, the date, and subject matter of the expenditure. Please note there is a $75 per person limit on meals. Additionally, because Illinois does not have a time or expenditure registration threshold, any other individuals attempting to influence the official will need to register as a lobbyist.

For more information, check out the “Reports Required” section of the Lobbying Compliance Laws online publication for Illinois.  Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have questions.

October, as with many of the months, recognizes several observances – one of which I just recently found out is National Mentoring Day (October 27th).  This began me thinking about my own journey towards mentorship, which first began with me loudly professing in my head that “I’m not sure I have the qualifications to be anyone’s mentor?”.  Fast forward to today, and I have realized that not only do I have the qualifications, but there is a “plus” in that mentees themselves also bring something to the table!

Mentees (like their mentors) have unique work/life experiences and perspectives that make for the ultimate “teachable moments”, and just as your mentee may gain some valuable advice, a different outlook, or a great job lead, so too can you gain all of these things – and more! I have had the opportunity to participate in a few mentoring programs over the years, and they were wonderful experiences that culminated with great friendships being made which continue to blossom!  Not to say that every mentor-mentee experience turns out to be a positive one, but more often than not, the reward that comes from mentorship is priceless!

So, I say to you – the next time you have an opportunity to be a mentor to someone, get out of your own head and seize the opportunity – you are definitely the mentor you were born to be! 

Meet Gamble Hayden, Coordinator, Federal Compliance Services!

What are your areas of expertise?

I am a member of the Compliance Team focusing primarily on issues related to Federal lobbying such as registration and reporting.  I am also the coordinator of the organization’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) initiatives.

How long have you been with State and Federal Communications?

I have been with State and Federal Communications for over 7 years, and I’m also a former client!

How do I help our clients?

I assist the Associate Director of Federal Compliance Services with the filing of our clients’ Federal LD-2 and LD-203 reports.  In addition, I support the Assistant Director of Compliance Services with information related to the filing of our clients’ State Contribution Reports as well as our Corporate Contributions Compliance (C3) Program.

I met Nathan Gonzales several years ago when he spoke at a Public Affairs Council conference. I am a political geek and could listen to him for a long time. In 2020, State and Federal Communications subscribed to his Inside Elections with Nathan Gonzales and started sending it to our clients. I have received a number of comments from our clients about the information he provides on federal House and Senate races along with up is going on with State Gubernatorial races.

Nathan will address the State and Federal Community at 3 pm EST on Thursday October 6th. He will be in Chicago and I will be in Ohio but with the magic of Zoom, we will have a fabulous conversation well before early voting starts in several states. We have all read Inside Elections but let’s look behind the scenes and learn more about Nathan Gonzales.

He is exclusively represented by Leading Authorities speakers bureau, and is full of enthusiasm, and thought-provoking insights about politics. His recall of facts and figures is incredible, and he is natural, energetic, and engaging on stage. Nathan interviews nearly all the candidates personally – from congressional and gubernatorial to state races, and using poll numbers, economic data, historical information, trends, demographics, interviews, and entertaining stories and analogies, he analyzes the current political environment, shares what you need to know about the races you didn’t even know about and performs an election “autopsy” on the latest races, projecting what the results mean for you. In presentations, he takes a “descriptive” rather than “prescriptive” approach to the politics of the day, saying Inside Elections describes what is happening in the world of politics to project the results.

On Election Night 2016, Nathan was an on-air analyst for Newshour on PBS after working as an off-air consultant for ABC News on their Election Night Decision Desk for 14 years. Previously, he was an editor, analyst, and writer for The Rothenberg Political Report for more than 13 years before taking over the company in 2015. Additionally, he worked for CNN as a political analyst and as an associate producer for Capital Gang.

Gonzales has appeared on NBC’s Meet the Press and NBC Nightly News, C-SPAN’s Washington Journal, NPR’s All Things Considered, Fox News Channel, and MSNBC, and has been quoted in The New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, and USA Today. His work has also appeared on FiveThirtyEight, NBCLatino.com, and in Campaigns & Elections magazine. Wait, Campaigns & Elections? That’s where I cut my editing chops when I moved to DC in 1982.

Gonzales grew up in Oregon, earned his Master of Arts from The George Washington University’s Graduate School of Political Management (Washington, DC) and his Bachelor of Arts from Vanguard University (Costa Mesa, California). He arrived in Washington, D.C. as an intern in the White House Press Office and now lives in the city with his wife and four children.

Thank you.
EB

A time for many that is marked by a return to work from that much needed summer vacation, as well as preparation for the multitude of conferences and other events that are taking place throughout the country.

Here at State and Federal Communications, staff professional development is a priority for our President & CEO Elizabeth Bartz, who makes it a point of offering to ALL staff members a variety of opportunities for learning, networking and connection.  It is especially rewarding when we get the chance to engage with our clients at these events – what a wonderful way to continue to strengthen relationships!

This month, you’ll see various State and Federal Communications’ staff members attending:  Practicing Law Institute’s Corporate Political Activities 2022; Public Affairs Council’s State and Local Government Relations Conference; and the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation 2022 Annual Legislative Conference.

In addition to in-person gatherings, State and Federal Communications’ staff also participates in a number of online events throughout the year – we are always seizing opportunities to know more, particularly about the subjects we love the most – ethics and lobbying compliance!

I do hope that professional development is a priority for your organization, and that you are not only encouraged to take full advantage of these unique opportunities yourself, but that you are also an advocate for your colleagues’ professional development as well! A well-rounded employee (no matter their level within an organization) is a huge asset to any company – we look forward to seeing you out and about this month!

What are you doing today to help create change within your organization?

Meet Ellen Murray, Compliance Assistant II!

What are your areas of expertise?

I am a proactive problem-solver with strong organizational and communication skills.

How long have you been with State and Federal Communications?

I have been at State and Federal Communications, Inc. for three years!

How do I help our clients?

I support the professional staff of our compliance consulting department with keen attention to detail and a high degree of accuracy.

Everything I know about podcasts, I learned from Eric Nuzum’s book Make Noise.

Eric is a friend I met when he worked at WKSU, once the NPR station at Kent State University. He has done a lot of podcasts and original programming for NPR and Audible. Now, he is co-founder of Magnificent Noise, a podcast and creative consulting company in New York City.

State and Federal Communications held a reception for Eric shortly after the publication of Make Noise, and before the pandemic halted all in-person events for the better part of two years. Since then, I kept saying to my team “I wanted a podcast.” It really isn’t as easy as that, but we finally have created LobbyComply Pod, which will begin September 7, 2022.

Why a podcast?

Because State and Federal Communications has things to say, and we want to be heard in the government affairs community.

Because we track thousands of legislative bills every year and many do not see the light of day and we want the government affairs community to hear the news so they can be compliant.

Because we work with corporations and trade associations who WANT to comply with the laws, and we want to be the one who is telling them what is going on in the states, municipalities, federal government, Canada, and European Union.

This will not be the Rosetta Stone of podcasts. Our programs will be three (3) minutes long. Long enough for you to sit back and relax with a cup of coffee.

We will make noise, but you will see, we will tell you things you do not know. We are not recreating Schoolhouse Rock.

The inaugural podcast is from me with an introduction for our program. If you like them, let me know…If you don’t like them, let me know. If you have a suggestion for a podcast, let me know. We are ready to send State and Federal tchotchke to those of you who communicate with us about our podcast. We aren’t paying you to do it…we just have a closet of branded items and this is part of downsizing and not having to rent storage.

In the meantime, the summer months are ending, and Labor Day has always been the start of school—back in the day when we started after Labor Day. Always a time for fresh and new beginnings…such as introducing LobbyComply Pod.

If you pick up Eric Nuzum’s book, Make Noise, send him a tweet at @ericnuzum and tell him @elizabethbartz sent you.

Thank you.
Elizabeth Z. Bartz, @elizabethbartz

To the Good Morning Man – For nearly a decade here in Washington, D.C. on the corner of 15th and K Streets sat a man who would blow his whistle very loudly and proclaim “Goooooddddd Morninnnggg!” to everyone that walked by – I’m telling you he blew that whistle about as loud as it could blow!  You could hear him yell, “Good Morning Young Lady!” or “Good Morning Young Man!”.  It would have been almost comical to see this had it not been for the fact that I suspected that he was a homeless man who just decided to pass his time away engaging with folks via his whistle and his cheerful voice!

You’ll notice that I’ve written this piece in the past tense, because, yes, unfortunately, I found out that “The Good Morning Man” passed away on July 29th from liver cancer.  A news alert came through my phone noting this, along with the story of the man who once was known as Larry Tutt – a Vietnam Veteran who suffered from PTSD and lived a life that was plagued by drugs, mental illness and a decade in jail on a burglary conviction.  As it turns out, according to a Washington Post article on Mr. Tutt, he was not homeless, but in fact rode the Metro each morning at 5:00am to head down to the corner of 15th and K Streets, an area in the heart of Washington, D.C.’s lawyer and lobby district, to bring a little cheer to everyone who walked by…

A few weeks ago, I was walking by that area and noticed that Mr. Tutt wasn’t there… There is scaffolding around the buildings located there, so I figured he just moved himself to another corner, though in the back of my mind, that explanation never really did seem comforting.  Now, in the interest of full disclosure, I will admit that sometimes I would avoid walking passed 15th and K Streets because I would say to myself, “I don’t feel like hearing that loud whistle in my ear this morning!”.  Little did I know how much I would miss hearing those sounds now that I’ll never get the chance to hear them again, nor to engage Mr. Tutt outside of just a friendly “Hello” as I kept on walking about my business – what I would do now to have one more opportunity just to talk to him and hear his story!

What a valuable lesson!  Do take the time to engage with people at every opportunity – you will be surprised at what you’ll likely learn from one another, and oh what wonderful things you’ll have in common!  Rest In Peace now Mr. Tutt, “Mr. Good Morning Man” — well deserved!

For more information on the life of Larry Tutt, see the Washington Post article referenced in this piece here.

Until Next Time!

Our Tools for School student supply drive is in the books, and we are thrilled with the results!

We asked our staff to donate school supplies, helping local groups collect materials for children to use this school year. The supply drive directly benefited students through two organizations: United Way of Summit and Medina, and Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church’s Philoptochos society.

Our amazing staff stepped up to the plate, and is shown with this outstanding final tally: 52 utility boxes, 1 container of Clorox wipes, 100 quart Ziplock bags, 50 gallon Ziplock bags, 110 folders, 2 notebooks, 12 binders, 750 sheets of notebook paper, 114 glue sticks, 150 washable markers, 144 highlighter pens, 72 dry erase markers, 14 erasers, 98 packs of 24 crayons, 875 pencils, 80 ballpoint pens,  44 rulers, and 48 pairs of women’s ankle socks.

See the video below to learn more about our Tools for School supply drive: