TAPC Government Relations – Working for Success in 2008

By Jake Posey and Steve Koebele
TAPC External Lobbyists

Calendar year 2007 was a tremendous success for TAPC legislative advocacy and the good work of the TAPC advocacy team is once again laying the ground work for a successful session in 2009. Our priority: addressing important legislative planning in 2008 by developing a comprehensive strategy to deliver meaningful changes in 2009.
Monitoring Interim Legislative Activity. The Texas House and Senate have received Interim Charges for 2008 and are required to study and report on the issues in those charges prior to the 2009 legislative session. Issued by the respective leaders of each legislative chamber, Interim Charges provide the key topics to be researched and studied by the numerous committees during the interim period between sessions (basically, calendar year 2008). While the revised franchise tax (aka, the Texas Margins Tax) is not an expressly stated focus for either chamber in 2008, please anticipate and expect that it will remain a topic of debate during the interim and the 2009 legislative session. Several entities, including the NFIB (National Federation of Independent Business) and the TAB (Texas Association of Business), continue to push for deeper reductions in tax rates for Texas small businesses.

Steve and I are working closely with the appropriate staff, agency and policy stakeholders to ensure that your voice is heard as the representative of Texas staffing industry in the Interim Study process. We are doing this by attending House and Senate Interim Committee Hearings, visiting with member and staff offices, and working closely with relevant state agencies such as the Office of the Comptroller to prepare for possible legislative action in 2009.

Continuing Advocacy. The TAPC executive leadership and advocacy team previously met with the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts executive staff to discuss TAPC member concerns with the implementation of new disclosure requirements applicable only to the staffing industry. This part of the law allows the clients of temporary employment firms to deduct the wages and benefits of the temporary employee assigned to the client company when calculating the client’s tax liability. However, in making such a deduction, the client may now statutorily – because of an amendment to HB 3928 that was not supported by the TAPC – rely on the temporary employment firm’s invoice or information that is provided by the firm to the client on a Form issued by the state Comptroller. Removing the above reporting requirement for temporary employment firms is a major priority for the TAPC advocacy team, looking ahead to the 2009 legislative session.

Minding Elections. Texas, as well as the rest of the nation, is experiencing a period of unprecedented voter turnout. This high level of turnout will likely have an effect on the current composition of the Texas Legislature. Also, several legislators decided not to run for office again. In the state House, for example, the current Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives has been under criticism from a small, but vocal group of Republican insurgents. If the balance of power in the Texas House of Representatives is altered, the TAPC advocacy team will need to reach out to new members on behalf of the TAPC, monitor new committee assignments, and evaluate the impact that any new balance of power might have on the staffing industry.

Building Bipartisan Branding. With legislative races ongoing, the TAPC advocacy team is working hard to appropriately build our bipartisan brand with as many members as possible, regardless of where their loyalties are pledged.

So What Does a Lobbyist Actually Do?
TAPC members are skilled recruiters, industry experts in the employment of others, and have their pulse on the job market of today’s economy but, do you know what the job of a lobbyist entails? Below, you’ll find a description of what your TAPC lobbyists do to support you and your association at the Texas Capitol.

Lobbyists are one of the staffing industry’s tools for protecting your interests at the Texas Capitol. Last year, over six thousand bills were introduced in the Texas Legislature. Many of these affect how business are treated in Texas and some can be directly targeted at the staffing industry. The primary job of your lobbyist’s during session is to monitor the introduction of legislation, assess its impact on Texas staffing industry and present to the association any bills that may be of interest to the industry. If the association needs clarification as to what a bill will do, the lobbyist will take several actions including contacting the author’s office, the committee clerk, and/or the sponsor.
If it is determined that a bill will hurt the staffing industry, the TAPC advocacy team must work to either defeat the bill or to have it amended. This requires lobbying the author and members of the Legislature, working with the author’s staff and committee consultant, negotiation with other stakeholder groups, and working with the association to coordinate effective grassroots lobbying, if necessary. A lobbyist must also monitor the budget process and lobby to protect the industry from additional fees and taxes. As many of you are aware, the Texas Revised Franchise Tax (a.k.a. The Margins Tax) was set to deal a crippling blow to the temporary staffing industry in Texas until the TAPC advocacy team passed key amendments to the Revised Margins Tax bill which effectively blunted theses negative effects. Lastly, if the industry needs a change in the law, the lobbyist attempts to obtain an author for a bill and lobbies it through the legislative process.
The highlights above are a sampling of activities that are directed for member benefits. We look forward to seeing you, the members, at the 2009 TAPC Day on the Hill in Austin. We always enjoy visiting with you about how we can work together in TAPC’s legislative growth and advocacy!

Thank you again for your genuine support and excitement about the TAPC. Your dues contributions help to defray the expenses associated with the commitment toward fighting legislation that is detrimental to our industry and to supporting issues which are favorable. As always, if you have any questions or ideas, please call Jake at (512) 646-0828 or Steve at (512) 646-7406.