You have probably read our blogs, columns, press releases, and digital media posts about our new publication, European Compliance Laws. As they say, it has opened up the world to the staff and to our clients.

We have only tiptoed into Europe and include compliance resources for Great Britain, Ireland, Scotland, and the European Union. We are adding more countries in 2018 and the cost for this year is nominal—only $1,000* more for all of these additional references.

I have also started a discussion with Interel Global Public Affairs and have been invited to speak about compliance at its 5th annual summit, Advancing Interests in a New Era, in Brussels, Belgium.

Recently I sat with Fredrik Lofthagen, Interel’s CEO, and his goal for this year’s program is to look to the future and provide thought-provoking topics on how innovation and technology is bringing in a new era of public affairs and the relationship between people, ideas, and organizations.

Many of you remember Jason Jarrell when he was at the Public Affairs Council. He has been instrumental in connecting me with Fredrik and I am very appreciative of these efforts.

Now, please understand, when I am at a table with Fredrik Lofthagen; Florence Maisel, managing partner in France; Grégoire Poisson, managing partner from the EU, and Jason Jarrell, managing partner of the global practice…well, all I can say is I felt a lot like Rodney Dangerfield in Caddyshack.

In all honesty, learning all about European countries has been eye opening and we look forward to working with the global practice departments of our clients.

Before next month’s issue, I will have also gone on my first cruise on the Mediterranean with my husband, John Chames, as we celebrate our 21st wedding anniversary. It is the first time we will be on a two-week vacation together…Truly concerned one of us will go overboard!

When we ended our three-ring, three volume publication—about 10 years ago—we had paper everywhere and Kinko’s was our best friend. Trust me, the Kinko’s in Fairlawn, Ohio had to have been the highest ranked store in the country with the amount of work we sent to the 24/7 shop.

Now, everything is on our website, www.stateandfed.com, and though we have far less paper and FedEx (formerly Kinko’s) is still in business but not really printing our updates; we have info…a lot of it.

I met with Research Manager Michael Beckett—as I do every year—to review what we included on our website and what is planned for the next year. Here is a brief list of items included to improve your ability to search for information:

1. Added question regarding gifts from lobbyist employers in both our Executive Source Guide on Lobbying and Procurement Lobbying;
2. Clarified whether federal PACs can contribute to state and local candidates in our Executive Source Guide on Political Contributions;
3. You will see additional information regarding a corporate PAC using payroll deductions to collect contributions;
4. We are now capturing social media regulations in the Grassroots section of both our Executive Source Guide on Lobbying and Procurement Lobbying; and
5. You will see we make sure we have indicated when the date the page was last modified.

And, there is more. The Research Department also:

1. Prepared the 2018 Guidebook so you were able to have it at the beginning of the year;
2. Prepared our Tip Sheet Ethics Implications for Expenditures at National Conferences and a second Tip Sheet on Grassroots Lobbying;
3. Published 549 blog posts on lobbycomply.com;
4. Transitioned to a new web-based database;
5. Prepared a guide on Inauguration activities in the states after the November 2017 elections;
6. Added the following new municipalities to the website: Bronx County, New York; Will County, Illinois; Laredo, Texas; Columbia Missouri; Dorchester County, Maryland; Irvine, California; and Coral Gables, Florida; and
7. Created from a blank piece of paper, the inaugural countries to European Compliance—Republic of Ireland; European Union; and United Kingdom.

What will they do in 2018?   Stay tuned for the April edition of Compliance Now.

In the meantime, let us know if you need assistance driving around our website. We would be happy to give you a tour.

It is a special event when State and Federal Communications introduces a totally new compliance publication to our lineup, as this can take years to research and develop.  The last time that happened is when we introduced Canadian Compliance Laws in 2008 as a complement to our U.S.-based series of publications.

Today we are introducing another compliance publication: I COMPLY European Political Compliance Laws.

For years, our many clients, including a number of multi-national companies with offices and/or separate companies outside of North America, have been inquiring about lobbying and political compliance law reporting, especially in Europe. For many, this is a relatively new area, and although the concept of having to report various advocacy efforts is the same, there are differences and nuances in the European region.

In fact, there are so many compliance rules and regulations being generated and revised regularly in Europe to absolutely warrant that we track and capture these. That is what we do. Wherever we see the need for political compliance reporting, we will focus our efforts to deliver this information to our clients.

Learn more about our new publication or any of our other offerings at stateandfed.com as we continue to strive to provide you unparalleled political compliance services.