Wednesday, September 26, 2007
9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Barton Creek Resort
Agenda (PDF)

AGENDA
As of August 6, 2007. Subject to change.

9:00 a.m. — 9:50 a.m.
2007 Session Legislative Update
Impact of new lobby, campaign and ethics laws that passed and those that didn’t; and what to expect from the Commission post-session

Panel Background: Discussion of the legislation passed by the 80th Texas Legislature that impacts the advocacy and campaign areas of the law. Included in the discussion are the practical and literal effect of those changes on the ethical behavioral requirements on the Lobby and the process that the Commission will follow in dealing with the areas of the law recommended for change which were not addressed or failed to pass the legislature.

Confirmed Speakers: Natalia Luna Ashley, General Counsel and David Reisman, Executive Director, Texas Ethics Commission; Jack Gullahorn, PAAT

10:00 a.m. — 10:50 a.m.
Blog and Blackberry Lobbying
How today’s real-time e-mail and Internet communications impact the lobby and political leadership and the associated ethical and legal questions

Panel Background: Discussion of the practical, political and ethical issues arising from real-time news and legislative communications in the process of governing. Included are issues such as journalistic integrity vs. political spin; when online news and opinion becomes leg. advertising requiring disclosure; when blogs and special interest newsletters and RSS feeds become a campaign contribution or a reportable campaign expenditure; and what are the next steps in the e-frontier.

Confirmed Speakers: Paul Burka, Texas Monthly; Mike Hailey, Capitol Inside; Harvey Kronberg, Quorum Report; Ross Ramsey, Texas Weekly

11 a.m. — 11:50 a.m.
Panel Discussion
Corporations and Their Lobbyists: Managing consequences
Lobbyists and their Clients: Managing expectations

Panel Background: What are the evolving boundaries of ethical and responsible relationships between lobbyists and clients; between corporations and their subsidiaries; and between lobbyists and their associates? A reminder of the laws on conflicts of interest, and the consequences on corporate ventures if a company’s lobbyist leaves the company vulnerable to a reporting violation. What to do when your client asks or does things that can cause problems ethically. Presenters Pending.

Lunch Break
Box Lunches Provided by Barton Creek

12:10 p.m. — 1:00 p.m.
Luncheon Panel
The Speaker’s Race and the Law
The dos and don’ts regarding outside participation in the Speaker’s race

Panel Background: Analysis of the laws governing the process of electing a Speaker of the Texas House from the perspective of three persons charged with addressing complaints and answering questions on the legal, ethical and practical application of those statutes. Discussion of the process involved in reviewing civil, misdemeanor and felony complaints under the Speaker’s race campaign statute and how to advise your client/company of the ethical boundaries of participation.

Confirmed Speakers: David Escamilla, Travis County Attorney; Gregg Cox, Director of the Public Integrity Unit of the Travis County District Attorney’s Office; Natalia Luna Ashley, General Counsel of the Texas Ethics Commission

1:10 p.m. — 2:00 p.m.
The Official Rules of the Process
A discussion from the dais

Panel Background: The current status of the debate over the scope of the Rules and Procedures of the Texas House and how that debate may impact this interim, if at all. How does a lobbyist ethically and intelligently advise a client on what to expect? What will the process be when the House convenes in January of 2009?

Confirmed Speakers: Terry Keel, Parliamentarian of the Texas House; Ron Wilson, Deputy House Parliamentarian, 80th Texas Legislative Session

2:10 p.m. — 3:00 p.m.
PACS, Politics and the Rules du Jour

Panel Background: Discussion to include the current thinking on the impact in Texas of the recent Supreme Court decision in Federal Election Commission v. Wisconsin Right to Life, Inc. on corporate indirect involvement in elections. The legal and ethical parameters of what can be done in Texas by corporations to support a PAC’s administrative expenditures; the limitations on and ethical boundaries that apply when lobby and political activities are mixed.

Confirmed Speaker: Ed Shack, Attorney At Law

3:10 p.m. — 4:00 p.m.
Non-Session Lobbying
What can you be doing now to prepare yourself and your clients for the 2008 elections and 2009 session, and practical applications of the rules of engagement

Panel Background: How to avoid the ethical pitfalls of inadvertently making impermissible expenditures with corporate dollars, or failing to report activities correctly. Including discussions of hypothetical situations involving expenditures for Fundraisers, Corporate walk-throughs; PACs; “conferences and fact finding trips”; entertainment; corporate suites and the presence requirement. The scope of allowable lobby activities involving members and staff and meeting their expectations, ethically and effectively.

Confirmed Speakers: Natalia Luna, Ashley, Jack Gullahorn

4:00 p.m.
Closing Remarks
Jack Gullahorn