AHA: Lessons in Advocacy How to Make the Most of Your Visit With Your Congressional Delegation Alliance for Community Media North East Conference May 26, 2010 Gerry Lederer

Presenters Gerry Lederer ACM Advocate Miller & Van Eaton

Program Outline You’re not alone What can you do as a non-profit? Effective Advocacy Steps Effective Advocacy The State of Play and Messages CAP ACT SUMMARY

You’re Not Alone Model Letter to request co-sponsorship  aptoolkit/Sample_Sen-Rep-ltrs.doc aptoolkit/Sample_Sen-Rep-ltrs.doc Summary of the CAP Act  olkit/Summary.doc olkit/Summary.doc Sample letter to send FCC on ACM Petition  olkit/Baldwin-Genechowski.pdf olkit/Baldwin-Genechowski.pdf

But I am an non-profit –I can’t be an advocate! What are you permitted to do without jeopardizing your tax- exempt status.

Limitations on Advocacy by an NPO/Gov’t Employee Rule: “Nonprofit organizations have a right and responsibility to advocate for the communities they serve and engage in the public policy process. The resources listed here provide information about how to get involved.” National Council of Nonprofit Associations

Limitations on Advocacy by an NPO/Gov’t Employee The Ground Rules – according to the Center for Lobbying in the Public Interest. ( Can I lobby?  Yes – but there are rules. Under the 1976 law, charities may spend up to $1 million on lobbying, depending on the amount of their annual expenditures. If your org has not chosen to come under the 1976 law you are under the “no substantial part” test, which means that you can only devote an “insubstantial” amount of your resources to lobbying. Unfortunately, “insubstantial” has never been clearly defined under the law, with the result that nonprofits that do lobby but have not chosen to come under the 1976 law cannot be certain how much lobbying they may conduct without jeopardizing their tax exempt status.

Limitations on Advocacy by an NPO/Gov’t Employee What is an expenditure/Volunteer Time  If your organization has chosen to come under the 1976 lobby law, your organization needs only to report actual money expenditures. Since your lobbying will be by volunteers, there will be no money expenditure and therefore nothing will have to be reported to the IRS on the volunteers’ time spent lobbying. Under the 1976 law, the only time you have to report anything to the IRS is when there is an expenditure of money. Time spent by volunteers does not have to be reported. However, if you have not chosen to come under the 1976 lobby law, your organization is subject to the “substantial part” test and the time spent lobbying by volunteers will have to be reported.

Limitations on Advocacy by an NPO/Gov’t Employee Lobbying on Budgets  “Under the 1976 lobby law you are lobbying when you refer to specific legislation and reflect a point of view on its merits. “Specific legislation” includes a specific measure that has not yet been introduced but does not include general concepts for solving problems that have not been reduced to legislative proposals.”

Limitations on Advocacy by an NPO/Gov’t Employee Federal or State Law?  “State laws generally do not limit how much lobbying a nonprofit can do, but they often require disclosure of expenditures. These rules are different from state to state. At the federal level, if your organization has chosen to come under the 1976 lobby law, your permissible lobbying is judged only by the amount of money you spend on that activity. For example, you may spend up to 20% of your organization’s first $500,000 in annual expenditures on lobbying. The maximum an organization can spend is $1 million. If you have not chosen to come under the 1976 lobby law, you are under the “no substantial part” test and the rules are less clear as to what constitutes lobbying.”

Limitations on Advocacy by an NPO/Gov’t Employee Lobbying Federal Agencies  “For charities that have chosen to come under the 1976 lobby law, by filing IRS Form 5768, it clearly is not a lobbying activity because there is no legislation involved. That is, it doesn't count against the amount you may spend on lobbying. The same answer holds for organizations that are subject to the no substantial part test.”

Understanding Politics at All Levels Power Comes From Three Sources:  Money  Information  Ability to Reach an Audience Every Policy Decision is a Risk/Reward Calculation

Communicating with Elected Leaders Identifying the Member’s role Scheduling the Meeting Meeting Preparation The Meeting Follow-Up

Identifying the Member’s Role On what committees does the member serve? How involved is the member in this issue? What position has the member taken on the issue in the past? Is the member a friend or foe? A champion?

Scheduling the Meeting Identify existing relationships with staff Note any previous interaction with staff Identify points of mutual interest (upcoming events, specific actions being taken, etc.) Assess how much time to ask for.

Meeting Preparation Research past legislation on the issue that the member has introduced, co-sponsored, supported, or discussed. Identify the member’s position on any related issues. Limit the number of people attending the meeting. Assign talking points.

The Meeting Maintain a friendly demeanor - avoid confrontation Remind the staffer of past support and success Ask questions to determine the member’s current position on the issue

“Keep Us Connected” Introduce yourself Briefly introduce your organization Tell them about your shows, users and needs Ask them to:  Cosponsor CAP Act  Communicate with FCC that it must act on ACM petition

Follow Up Thank the member or staffer for the meeting. Promptly send any materials were requested during the meeting Schedule the next meeting or follow up call with staff Send a report to ACM.

COMMUNITY ACCESS PRESERVATION ACT COMMUNITY ACCESS PRESERVATION ACT H.R. 3745:

CAP ACT PROBLEM Cable Act Unnecessary Limits on the Use of PEG funds. Discriminatory Treatment of PEG channels SOLUTION Bill amends the Act to ensure that PEG fees can be used for any PEG purpose. PEG channels functionality, and placement must be equivalent to local commercial television stations.

CAP ACT PROBLEM Loss of PEG Support and Localism SOLUTION Cable operator must provide the channels and critical facilities it had been providing historically. Operators must make ongoing PEG support payments equal to the greater of the cash payment required under State law, or the value of the PEG support it historically provided.

CAP ACT PROBLEM Operators claiming they are video providers, not cable and therefore not subject to PEG obligations SOLUTION Act is amended to ensure providers using wired facilities in the rights of way are treated similarly and are subject to similar PEG requirements.

COSPONSORS OF CAP ACT (as of 5/26) Rep Ellison, Keith [MN-5] Rep Serrano, Jose E. [NY-16] Rep Pingree, Chellie [ME-1] Rep Blumenauer, Earl [OR-3] Rep Lofgren, Zoe [CA-16] Rep Markey, Edward J. [MA-7] Rep McNerney, Jerry [CA-11] Rep Delahunt, Bill [MA-10] Rep Baird, Brian [WA-3] Rep Speier, Jackie [CA-12] Rep Capuano, Michael E. [MA-8] Rep McGovern, James P. [MA-3] Rep McCollum, Betty [MN-4] Rep Barney Frank (MA -4] Rep Thompson, Mike [CA-1] Rep Honda, Michael M. [CA-15] Rep Larson, John B. [CT-1] Rep Davis, Danny K. [IL-7] Rep Stark, Fortney Pete [CA-13] Rep Schakowsky, Janice D. [IL-9 Rep Gutierrez, Luis V. [IL-4] Rep Doggett, Lloyd [TX-25] Rep Hinchey, Maurice [NY-22] Rep Abercrombie, Neil [HI-1] Rep Woolsey, Lynn C. [CA-6] Rep Driehaus, Steve [OH-1] Rep Farr, Sam [CA-17] Why isn’t your member on?

Models of Successful Engagement

Invite Members to tour facilities/show Town Hall Meetings Press Events Introductions to Compelling Community Leaders Build Alliances with like-minded advocates (Free Press, Common Cause, NATOA, USCM, NLC, NACo, National Hispanic Media Coalition, etc.)

Gerard Lavery Lederer Miller & Van Eaton, P.L.L.C Connecticut Avenue, N.W. Suite 1000 Washington, D.C Phone: Fax: Website: ACM has made available a full time advocate to assist you. My contact information is below.