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Home Communiqué Current Articles Communique - November 2012 Communique - November 2012	The November 2012 issue of Bar Journal Communiqué Focuses on Elections, Legislature, & The Lobby NOVEMBER 2012 ARTICLES Local Lobbying—What to Do and How to Do It By Elizabeth M. Sorokac and Jacqueline N. Walton Round 4: Plaintiff’s Bar v. The Construction Industry by Ian P. Gillan The Search for Legislative Intent—”Just what the hell were you guys thinking?” By Terry Care © These articles were originally published in the printed magazine COMMUNIQUÉ, the official publication of the Clark County Bar Association.(November 2012, Vol. 33, No. 11). All rights reserved.PUBLICATION INFORMATION: The Communiqué publishes timely articles to keep attorneys abreast of current CCBA events and trends with scholarly articles, features, CCBA news and event calendars. Space is available for businesses to showcase their services or products.Get more information on this publication on the Communiqué page or by calling the Clark County Bar Association at (702) 387-6011.COVER IMAGE: "Tumbling Eve" is a digital painting created by Steph Abbott. © 2012 Steph Abbott. All rights reserved. Local Lobbying—What to Do and How to Do It By Elizabeth M. Sorokac and Jacqueline N. Walton© 2012 This article was originally published in the printed magazine COMMUNIQUÉ, the official publication of the Clark County Bar Association. (November 2012, Vol. 33, No. 11). All rights reserved. For permission to reprint this article, contact the publisher Clark County Bar Association, Attn: COMMUNIQUÉ Editor-in-Chief, 725 S. 8th St., Las Vegas, NV 89101. Phone: (702) 387-6011. Long-time clients call. They are frustrated, in a panic, and unsure what to do. They have a problem—they just received a recommendation of denial on their recently submitted land use application. Not only are they frustrated with the process (which can be confusing), but they need their application approved in order to conduct their business at a location where they have already signed a lease and set a grand opening date. The client has called you to fix their problem. What can you do?Lobby!As you may be aware, not all lobbying is done in Washington D.C or Carson City, and not all lobbying deals with enacting new laws. There is a substantial amount of lobbying done within the borders of Clark County and it involves solely local issues, like land use applications. Knowing how to advocate on behalf of your client to an elected official may be just the solution to your client’s problem. The following steps are a guide to help those new to (or perhaps rusty in) lobbying in the Las Vegas valley.Determine the jurisdictionIn the Las Vegas valley, there are four different jurisdictions: (1) Clark County; (2) the City of Las Vegas; (3) the City of North Las Vegas; and (4) the City of Henderson. Before beginning your lobbying work, you must determine the jurisdiction of your clients’ property due to each of the jurisdictions having its own lobbying rules and regulations. Your clients may be able to provide you with the jurisdiction of the property if they have already filed a land use application; however, they may be unsure. Further, you will want to do more investigation to determine what elected official represents the area the property is located within. The jurisdiction of the property and the elected official representative can be determined using publicly available information. There are two tools available online to assist you with this determination: (1) Clark County’s Geographic Information Systems program, available at http://gisgate.co.clark.nv.us/openweb/ (it provides the jurisdiction and the local elected official for the property regardless of which local jurisdiction the property is located within); and (2) Clark County’s Department of Business License Jurisdiction Locator, available at http://gisgate.co.clark.nv.us/ziploc/ (it provides the local jurisdiction the property is located within).Contact the right peopleOnce you determine the jurisdiction of the property in question, contact the office of the appropriate elected official to schedule a meeting to discuss your client’s application. Follow the lead of the elected official’s office, but try to get a meeting immediately before any scheduled hearing on your client’s application. If you meet with the elected official too far in advance of a hearing, you run the risk that the elected official may not be aware of your client’s application (i.e., they have not received their back up materials and/or staff briefing yet), and/or they may not remember all of the details of your client’s application by the time the hearing does occur.Register as a lobbyist when requiredThe City of North Las Vegas has no lobbyist registration requirements, but the other three local jurisdictions in the Las Vegas valley—Clark County, the City of Las Vegas and the City of Henderson—have regulations requiring lobbyists to register and report lobbying activity.1. Clark CountyClark County defines a lobbyist as “a person who communicates directly with a Commissioner on behalf of someone other than himself for the purpose of influencing governmental action of the [Clark County Board of County Commissioners (Board)] with regard to an agenda item that is to come before the [Board] for action, whether or not any compensation is received for the communication.” Clark County Code (CCC) § 2.39.020(A)(4). A governmental action is defined as “any item or matter that may be or is acted upon by the [Board] including, but not limited to, the adoption of ordinances and resolutions, the approval of contracts, the approval of licenses, the approval of zoning applications, and adoption of, or amendments to, land-use plans.” CCC § 2.39.010(3). Elected officers of the State of Nevada or representatives of the federal government whose activity is directly related to the scope of the office to which they were elected are excluded from the otherwise broad definition. CCC § 2.39.020(B).A lobbyist must register and file a disclosure form with the County Clerk, Commission Division, within five days after any direct communication with a commissioner. CCC §§ 2.39.020, 2.39.030(1) and 2.39.040. In order to register, you must complete and submit a registration statement to the County Clerk. CCC§ 2.39.030(1). Clark County combines the registration statement and the disclosure form into one document, which is available on the Clark County Web site (http://www.clarkcountynv.gov/). Once you submit the registration statement and disclosure form, the County Clerk will furnish an identification badge that must be worn when you engage in lobbying activity. CCC § 2.39.030. If you intend to lobby in Clark County on a regular basis, then you must file an annual lobbying registration statement no later than January 10th of each year. CCC§ 2.39.030(1).Lobbyists who file an annual registration, however, do not need to wear their lobbyist identification badge when engaged in lobbying activity. CCC§ 2.39.030(3). Be sure to comply with all of the requirements of Clark County when lobbying its elected officials. Failure to comply with the lobbyist registration requirements can result in a fine of up to $1,000.00. CCC 2.39.080.2. City of Las VegasThe City of Las Vegas defines a lobbyist as “any person who communicates directly with a member of the City Council on behalf of someone other than himself or herself to influence action by the City Council, and is compensated for the communication.” Municipal Code of the City of Las Vegas (MCLV)§ 2.51.010. The City of Las Vegas exempts representatives “of a bona fide news medium in connection with communications that are made solely in the course of that person’s business of gathering news for or on behalf of that news medium” from the definition of a lobbyist. Id. The City of Las Vegas requires that all lobbyists complete a registration form for each communication with a public officer—defined as the Mayor or any other member of the Las Vegas City Council. MCLV §§ 2.51.010 and 2.51.030(A). If the lobbying of a public officer occurs at the City Hall complex, then the registration form must be filed with the City Clerk the same day. MCLV § 2.51.030(A).If the lobbying of a public officer occurs anywhere other than the City Hall complex, then the registration form must be filed with the City Clerk within five working days of the communication or before the next scheduled City Council meeting, whichever is earlier. Id. Once the registration form is filed, the City Clerk will give you an identification badge that must be worn whenever you are acting as a lobbyist. MCLV § 2.51.030(C). If you intend to lobby in the City of Las Vegas on a regular basis, then you may request an annual badge from the City Clerk. Id. Thereafter, you only need to provide specific information after each communication with a public officer. Id.Compliance with all of the requirements of the City of Las Vegas when lobbying its public officers is important as the failure to do so is unlawful. MCLV § 2.51.030(E).3. City of HendersonThe City of Henderson defines a lobbyist as “a person who appears in City Hall including the city council chambers or any other building in which the City Council or the Planning Commission, or any of their standing committees, hold meetings or any other location an appointment to meet has been set; and communicates directly with a member of the City Council, the Planning Commission and/or City staff on behalf of an individual, group or entity and will lobby for their interests or benefit to influence staff, legislative or council action; and receives a salary from an employer or compensation from that individual, group or entity and will lobby for their interests or benefit to influence legislative or council action.” City of Henderson Ordinance No. 2952 (Ordinance), §1(1)(a). Please be aware of the effect of this provision; Henderson’s ordinance is very broad and contacting an employee in a division of the City of Henderson may be considered lobbying!The City of Henderson exempts certain persons from the definition of a lobbyist, such as employees of bona fide news media and public officers, depending on the scope of lobbying activities. Municipal Code of the City of Henderson (MCH)§ 2.100.010(b). The City of Henderson also requires all lobbyists to register. MCH § 2.100.020.A lobbyist must file a registration form with the City Clerk annually and prior to any communication occurring that is considered lobbying. Ordinance, § 1(2)(a). The registration form is available on the City of Henderson’s Web site (http://www.cityofhenderson.com/). Once you file a registration form, you will be issued an identification badge that must be worn whenever you engage in lobbying activity. Ordinance, § 1(2)(c). In addition to the registration form, you must also file a disclosure form for any communication with the City Council or Planning Commission. Ordinance, § 1(2)(d). The disclosure form is also available on the City of Henderson’s Web site, and must be filed with the City Clerk within five working days of the communication. Id. Additionally, if your lobbying includes communication with the City staff, then you must file a disclosure form within five working days of the end of every month during which a communication occurred. Ordinance, § 1(2)(e). Again, be sure to comply with all of the requirements of the City of Henderson when lobbying its City Council, Planning Commission or City staff—any person who willfully or knowingly violates these requirements is guilty of a misdemeanor. Ordinance, § 1(4).4. City of North Las VegasAlthough the City of North Las Vegas does not have any lobbyist registration or reporting requirements, lobbying is permitted. The same advocacy principles set forth herein apply equally to North Las Vegas.Put your best foot forwardWhen preparing for a meeting with an elected official, take into consideration your audience. Realize that lobbying differs from arguing in court in that your audience may not have a background in the law. There is no “adverse” party here and the setting is more relaxed—you may be meeting with the elected official in their office or at a coffee shop. Despite the meeting’s more relaxed setting, always be prepared. Know your client, your client’s application, and your client’s business. Prepare a list of topics for discussion. Work to anticipate the elected official’s questions and have answers ready. Oftentimes their questions will go beyond the information required in the application you are there to discuss.For the meeting itself, be sure to bring any helpful visual “exhibits” (e.g., photographs, maps or a site plan) and be ready to succinctly present your “case.” Highlight the positive portions of your client’s application, but be ready to address the negatives, just as you would for oral argument before a judge. Finally, always treat the elected official with respect, make your point without being overly aggressive (your meeting is a time for honest discussion), and be personable.Follow up and follow throughAfter a meeting with an elected official, follow up may be required. Did the elected official have a question you did not anticipate or request a photo that you did not have? If so, make sure to provide the elected official with the answer to the question or the document requested before the hearing, if possible. The elected official may be depending on the answer or the document to make a decision regarding your client’s application. Do not make the mistake of attending the hearing without having provided the elected official with the requested information or documentation.Even if no specific follow up is required, it never hurts to send an email thanking the elected official for the time spent with you as you may need to contact them in the future. Always strive to make a good impression and think about your relationship with each elected official you meet in the long-term and not the short-term. In lobbying, your reputation is everything.Elizabeth M. Sorokac is an owner and founding member of Reisman Sorokac . She has been practicing in Las Vegas since 2001. Her practice focuses on real estate, government affairs, administrative law and corporate matters. She can be reached via phone at (702) 727-6258 or via email at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it