Selling to State and Local Governments

Many companies do not realize that when they sell to state and local governments their sales efforts are covered by lobbying disclosure rules. In addition, common sales courtesies – like the business lunch – are subject to stringent gift and ethics rules. To add an additional layer of complexity, political contributions by the company, its board, company executives, and even the families of company executives are subject to pay-to-play laws in a number of jurisdictions. Pay-to-play laws can cause a company to lose a contract, and a personal campaign contribution by the spouse of an executive can cause a company to be barred from contracts for several years. This program, presented by Ronald Jacobs, co-chair of Venable’s Political Law Group, along with associate Alexandra Megaris, discusses the complexities of sales to state and local governments. 

Learning Objectives:

I.     Understand when sales activities trigger lobbying registration and reporting

II.    Recognize how gift rules differ for organizations that sell to governments

III.   Identify how pay-to-play laws apply to contributions by company employees

IV.   Learn how to create a compliance plan to pre-clear and track contributions by covered employees

V.    Summarize ways to harmonize government affairs and sales force lobbying tracking and reporting