Mark Anderson, Chair

I am pleased to welcome all of you to the newly-formed Government Affairs Practice Committee and our first Committee newsletter.

As I have discussed with many of you, the purpose of this Committee is to provide resources and networking opportunities for those engaged in the lobbying profession. To that end, I welcome all of your suggestions about things we can do to make this a productive committee for us all.

The Committee has already been quite busy developing quality programming and launching a variety of initiatives. During the ABA Annual Meeting in Chicago, we sponsored an excellent program that was very well attended and received outstanding reviews. We are also planning a series of events for the November 20-21 Business Law Section meeting in Washington, D.C. Three of our members, Cleta Mitchell, Jan Witold Baran and Steven Dover will be presenting a CLE session entitled Recent Developments in Campaign Finance and Lobbying Laws, on November 20. Also on that day we will hold a Committee meeting. A social event for the committee is also in the planning stages. We hope you can attend.

The Committee is also working on two other projects. First, a CLE Teleconference co-sponsored with the Corporate Counsel Committee entitled Government Affairs for the Corporate Counsel is in the works. Our most ambitious project, a compendium of federal, state and international lobbying laws is also in the works, thanks to our two new Projects Subcommittee Co-chairs that are spearheading the project, Jenny Kim and David Stewart.

Finally, we are actively seeking ideas for programming. Currently, we need to plan a program for the upcoming Business Law Section Spring Meeting in Denver. So if you have ideas for a session, would like to chair the session, or would like to help with the development of the program in some other way, please let me know as soon as possible. Submissions to the ABA to secure a spot in Denver are due this month.

So let me thank John Knapp for undertaking this effort and launching our Committee's first newsletter. Please don't be shy about submitting articles to John for inclusion in our Winter or Spring newsletters.

I look forward to all of your participation and hope to see you in November.


Mark Anderson, Chair
Government Affairs Practice Committee
Stateside Associates
(703) 525-7466 ext 225
mda@stateside.com

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Where permitted by state law, direct corporate contributions are often a simpler means of contributing to candidates and political parties than political action committee (PAC) contributions. Although there may be certain reporting rules that apply (e.g., California's "major donor committee" requirements), these rules are typically less burdensome than the more stringent PAC requirements and, in many cases, these laws do not require disclosure of the corporation's donors. Of course, if a company has the budget, making corporate contributions avoids the necessity of raising funds from employees, stockholders, and the like.


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The Hatch Act of 19391 ("Hatch Act") was originally enacted to prevent federal employees from participating in partisan political activity, thereby curtailing corruption in the political process. In 1940, the law was expanded to cover state and local employees whose salaries are paid, in part, by federal funds or whose duties are connected to federally funded activities. In the 1940s and 1970s, the Hatch Act was appealed to the United States Supreme Court on the grounds that it violated free speech but both times, the high court upheld the constitutionality of the prohibitions. In 1993, the law was amended to clarify that federal, state and local employees maintain certain rights to engage in personal, off-duty, voluntary partisan activity, speech and expression. Despite the clarification that off-duty speech is protected, the statutory restrictions of the Hatch Act can have serious implications for federal, state and local government employees as well as those individuals who interact with these covered employees. Because of this, it is useful for all government affairs attorneys to have a basic familiarity with the Hatch Act and its restrictions.


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On July 2, 2008, the new Canadian federal Lobbying Act became law. This new law includes features not seen before in federal or provincial lobbying legislation. With increased enforcement, larger criminal monetary penalties, and heightened scrutiny of lobbying-related matters, U.S. corporate counsel and businesses that lobby the federal government must be aware of the more stringent federal lobbying rules under this area of the law and the significant risks associated with non-compliance.


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As of September 1, 2009, Texas began regulating certain aspects of procurement lobbying. This change came about as a result of the passage of Former H.B. 3445, which Governor Perry signed on June 19, 2009. The new law also added a few additional exceptions to the lobbyist registration requirement.


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One of the most fascinating and promising changes taking place in Virginia today is the Commonwealth's rapid recognition and evolution in the area of energy and energy related business opportunities. Beginning with the 2006 Session of the Virginia General Assembly, Virginia created and is moving rapidly forward with the implementation of the Virginia Energy Plan. That Plan and the discussions surrounding it, have brought to the forefront of public and legislative debate a variety of exciting opportunities to meet the state's growing energy needs. Surprisingly, all of these developments have quickly emerged in a state that heretofore was dominated by traditional fossil fuels, primarily coal.


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