Elizabeth Bartz, President and CEO of State and Federal Communications, is attending the Public Affairs Institute hosted by the Public Affairs Council in Laguna Beach, California.

The Public Affairs Council website says the Institute has the following aim: “For more than thirty years, the Public Affairs Institute has brought together a world-class faculty and mid-to-senior-level public affairs professionals to discuss emerging political, economic, social and technological issues and trends in a rigorous, intriguing, innovative curriculum. Class sessions are led by faculty members, distinguished in their particular fields of expertise, in a mix of large group lectures and small group discussions, allowing for an interactive, personal learning environment.”

The Twitter hashtag for the event is #2012Institute.

We are ready with the State and Federal Communications, Inc. Resolutions for 2012 and I think you are going to like them…Think 30, 50, 100. Sort of like Herman Cain’s 9 9 9, but not really.

Resolution #1 is to include 30% additional information onto our website. I am challenging the research department to make sure we are including all of the necessary information you need for your 2012 government affairs work.

Resolution #2 is to make it 50% easier for client use. That means we need to make sure we have additional subcategories so you can easily find the information you need.

Resolution #3 is to make it 100% accurate.  We know we are your #1 resource for lobbying, political contributions, procurement lobbying, and Canadian compliance and we have to be accurate so the information you forward to your colleagues and supervisors is absolutely correct.

For these resolutions…you can count on us to keep them!

Happy New Year.

Elizabeth Z. Bartz
President and CEO

Bloomberg Business Week has gathered a variety of opinions about the emerging Jack Abramoff redux-as-ethics-teacher phenomenon. The Kentucky Legislative Ethics Commission hired Jack Abramoff to be a speaker on the subject of ethics at their upcoming legislative training and people are reacting.

Elizabeth Bartz, President and CEO of State and Federal Communications, and Howard Marlowe, President of the American League of Lobbyists offered their thoughts. You also can find opinions from Craig Holman of Public Citizen in Washington, Melanie Sloan, the director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, and even Jack Abramoff himself.

Bartz was quoted saying: “Certainly you want to give people a chance to rehabilitate themselves. But is Jack Abramoff rehabilitated? I don’t think so.”

You can read the coverage in “Abramoff as Ethics Guru Latest Chapter in Political Second Acts” by Julie Bykowicz.

Don’t miss Scott Suttell’s “Even Those in the lobbying business aren’t Jack Abramoff fans” where he says Bartz’s comment is a contender for “quote of the year.”

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 2012.

We wish you a beautiful New Year.

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

First, get past the fact both conferences are in Florida. The Council keeps us busy enough that we rarely get more than a few hours to mill around.

Second, what you need to know is the Council makes sure it has the top-of-the-line speakers for the programs and the sessions are mixed in with people in the field who are doing great things in both grassroots advocacy and PAC recruitment.

Finally, and most important, you will find State and Federal Communications involved with the conferences. We have been involved with the advisory board for each conference, sending a number of staff, and we are included in the Market Resource Program.

You can obtain more information about these conferences at www.pac.org.

Until next month, continue to plan for your professional development. There is nothing like developing the important skills for your organization.

State and Federal Communications, and its predecessor State and Federal Associates, have been involved with lobbying compliance since 1976. You can imagine many others might try to duplicate our program but never have the resources or staff to implement the platinum type of service you currently receive from my highly trained in-house staff of 11 attorneys.

When I purchased my area of business from State and Federal Associates in 1993 and formed State and Federal Communications, Inc., we really were the only gig in town. As time goes on and as technology is easier, there are others—who have been clients or former employees—that feel a similar URL and a toll free number makes it easy to replicate. But don’t be fooled. There is only one true compliance company in Ohio and in this country and our reputation and our list of clients speak for themselves.

In government relations I have everyone down to two degrees of separation. In the case of competitors, it is only one because each has seen success and yearns for it. I don’t take it personally…it’s business. And, I assure you I take my business seriously and my relationship with my clients even more seriously. Your compliance needs have always been our absolute priority.

Thank you for the confidence you have in our services.  We look forward to many, many more years together.

Elizabeth Bartz, President and CEO of State and Federal Communications, is attending the Council of State Governments 2011 National Conference & North American Summit in Bellevue, Washington.

This year’s National Conference is being held from October 19-23 and for the first time will include representatives from Canada and Mexico.

Elizabeth Bartz was recently appointed to CSG’s Intergovernmental Affairs Committee for 2011/2012 term.

Executive Sourcebook on Lobbying Laws:

1. We are separating the penalties so you will see what they are for registration, reporting, and gift violations.

2. Does the jurisdiction have a document retention policy?

3. Is gift splitting allowed?

4. We are also separating the gift restrictions for lobbyists and non-lobbyists.

Executive’s Sourcebook on Political Contributions:

1. What is the jurisdiction’s document retention policy?

2. What restrictions are there on fundraising, as applied both to corporations attending a political event and as applied to corporations holding its own fundraiser?

Executive’s Sourcebook on Procurement Lobbying:

1. Restrictions on pre-RFP communications between a bidder and the procurement department?

2. Are there any post-RFP “cone of silence” restrictions?

3. Difference between “bidder” and “contractor.”

It continues to be our goal to be your #1 online resource for lobbying, political contributions, and procurement lobbying.

Until next month, let your fingers do the walking at www.stateandfed.com and see the amount of information available to you and your organization.

Elizabeth Z. Bartz
President and CEO

Elizabeth Bartz, President and CEO of State and Federal Communications, is attending the State Government Affairs Council’s Board Meeting.

She was elected president of SGAC in August.

The meeting is being held from September 21-22.

Elizabeth Bartz, President and CEO of State and Federal Communications, will be attending the Greater Akron Chamber Inaugural InterCity Leadership Visit in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. As a member of the Board of Directors of the Greater Akron Chamber, she will be representing the business community.

The trip will be from September 18 – 22, with the aim of exchanging ideas and learning best practices for regional growth.

Elizabeth Bartz, President and CEO of State and Federal Communications, will be announcing some of the recipients of the 2011 30 for the Future Awards.

The awards, hosted by the Greater Akron Chamber, recognize young professionals who have made extraordinary contributions in their industries and to greater Akron.

The dinner celebration and ceremony will be held tonight at the University of Akron’s Student Union Ballroom.

Here is a list of this year’s recipients.

Elizabeth Bartz, President and CEO of  State and Federal Communications, will be attending the Public Affairs Council Consultant Member Meeting in Washington, D.C. on August 23, 2011.