Domain 8 | Public Policy, Govt Relations & Coalition Bldg Flashcards
Advocacy
The act of leveraging influence or attempting to influence a decision-making body on an issue of importance to the organization. Advocacy usually relates to leveraging or influencing legislation or moving the general public to action.
Coalition
An alliance formed for lobbying or public relations purposes. Associations broaden their reach by joining with organizations with interests that run parallel with theirs or converge in particular areas. Coalitions may require some financial commitment or may be underwritten by one or more entities that have an interest in a particular issue. The goal of a coalition is to unite voices and make the coalition’s interests known over the din of many other groups clamoring for attention.
Government Relations
Associations often advocate the views of members by making members’ positions known to legislators and regulators. It is common practice for associations involved in government relations to develop a formal procedure or program that acquires input from the membership, channeled through a GR Committee. Program goals and objectives should be concisely stated, measurable, based on thorough discussion, and approved by the board.
Examples of GR programs and activities are:
_Monitoring legislative and regulatory activity
_Holding legislative conferences
_Conducting grassroots lobbying
_Influencing public opinion on an issue
_Hiring a lobbyist
_Scheduling a “plant visit” (gives legislators a hands-on _experience with a member’s working environment)
Issues Management
A PR campaign for influencing and managing public opinion regarding a controversial issue, typically one that is currently the subject of a legislative or regulatory process. The issues management process includes defining a specific goal (e.g., passing a legislative bill), crafting a clear message, identifying the audiences to be influenced, crafting a multifaceted campaign to effectively reach those audiences, assessing the campaign’s momentum, and responding to public perception of the issue in a clear and consistent way
Legislation
Legislation: a resolution, bill, act, or similar item passed by a legislative body.
Legislative Body
Legislative body: The U.S. Congress, a state legislature, or any other governing body with the power to make laws for the general public.
Lobbying
An oral, written, or electronic communication with governing officials, such as members of Congress, congressional staff and aides, cabinet secretaries, political appointees, or senior executive branch officials, that attempts to influence the content of laws or rules and regulations.
Lobbying by 501(c)(3) associations
A 501(c)(3) organization may engage in some lobbying, but risks the loss of its tax-exempt status if it oversteps the rules. In general, no organization may qualify for section 501(c)(3) status if a substantial part of its activities consists of attempting to influence legislation. Whether attempts to influence legislation, i.e., lobbying, constitute a substantial part of an organization’s overall activities is determined on the basis of all the pertinent facts and circumstances in each case. The Internal Revenue Service considers a variety of factors, including the time devoted (by both compensated and volunteer workers) and the expenditures devoted by the organization to the activity, when determining whether the lobbying activity is substantial. Organizations other than churches and private foundations may elect the expenditure test under section SO1(h) as an alternative method for measuring lobbying activity. Under the expenditure test, the extent of an organization’s lobbying activity will not jeopardize its tax-exempt status, provided its expenditures related to such activity do not normally exceed an amount set by the IRS. This limit is generally based on the size of the organization and may not exceed $1 million.
Lobbying expense: Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 (OBRA 93)
This act eliminated the business tax deduction for lobbying expenses and required associations to tell members the exact portion of their dues that is nondeductible because it is spent on lobbying. Alternatively, associations may pay a 35% proxy tax on their lobbying expenses. This act imposes significant record-keeping requirements and administrative burdens on associations.
Lobbying: attempting to influence legislation
Having any communication with a member or employee of a legislative body or a government official or employee who may participate in the formulation of legislation that
_Refers to specific legislation and reflects a view on that legislation.
_Clarifies, amplifies, modifies, or provides support for views reflected in a prior lobbying
communication.
Lobbying: expense and tax deductibility
Organizations may use any reasonable method to allocate costs between lobbying and other activities. A method is considered reasonable when it is applied consistently, allocates a proper amount of costs to lobbying, and is consistent with the special rules contained in applicable regulations. Under the estimation rule, lobbying organizations must tell members at the time of dues assessment or payment what percentage of member dues is estimated to be nondeductible because of anticipated lobbying expenditures. Under the allocation rule, lobbying associations must allocate, on a dollar-for-dollar basis, all expenditures for federal and state lobbying against dues and similar income received by the association.
Organizations that elect to use the proxy tax pay a flat 35% excise-type tax on their lobbying expenditures and avoid having to notify members of dues nondeductibility.
Examples of non-lobbying activities
_Communications published or disseminated to the public
_Administrative requests for information; participation in a federal advisory committee
_Testimony provided before a congressional committee or subcommittee in response to an official request
_Written responses to a covered official’s request for specific information
_Legally compelled communications, e.g., a response to a subpoena; comments responsive to notices of proposed rulemaking
_Statements made in the course of judicial or administrative adjudications
_Requests on the public record for agency action
_Any communications made on the record in public proceedings
_Communications made on behalf of foreign governments or political parties
_Communications that the communicator could not publically report without disclosing information illegally
_Communications that the government is legally required to keep confidential
Lobbying activity and expenses
Communications that merely inform association members of details of a legislative bill would not be treated as lobbying unless the association has evidenced a purpose to influence legislation. Once a lobbying purpose is evidenced, all subsequent (but not prior) communications to members asking them, either explicitly or implicitly, to contact their legislators concerning a specific piece of legislation (a call to action) and the cost of those communications must be treated as lobbying.
Methods for determining lobbying costs for the purposes of allocation
_Expense ratio method: total operating costs are multiplied by the percentage derived by dividing labor hours devoted to lobbying by the total number of labor hours; the result is then added to any third-party lobbying costs.
_Gross-up method: basic labor costs for lobbying hours are multiplied by 175%. Basic labor costs are wages or other costs of labor; the result is then added to third-party lobbying costs.
_Alternative gross-up method: treats lobbying hours as zero for support staff; however, it multiplies 225% times its basic labor costs (excluding employee benefits) for all of the lobbying hours of its lobbying personnel and adds its third-party lobbying costs.
_Section 273a method: combines the ratio and gross-up methods, even if volunteers conduct lobbying activity.
Lobbying Contact
Lobbying contact: any oral or written communication made on behalf of an employer or client to a “covered legislative or executive branch official” regarding any of several subjects, such as formulation, modification, or adoption of federal legislation, including legislative proposals and regulatory rules, policies, and executive orders; the administration or education of a federal program or policy; and the nomination or confirmation of any person who requires U.S. Senate confirmation.
