Showing posts with label Gambling Lobbying. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gambling Lobbying. Show all posts
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Greenpeace electronics guide now rates lobbying
Greenpeace is using its latest green-ratings guide to press consumer electronics companies to do more than just clean up their own act.
The 14th quarterly "Guide to Greener Electronics," (PDF) which rates hardware makers on chemical waste, e-waste, and recycling efforts, now assesses each company's public efforts on environmental issues.
The report, issued Thursday, considers whether a company actively lobbies for industrywide laws that would prevent other companies from using environmentally damaging materials, as part of their corporate sustainability obligations.
(Credit: Greepeace)
Specifically, Greenpeace said companies should support a new version of the European Union's RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances in electronics). The update would ban brominated flame retardants (BFRs), chlorinated flame retardants (CFRs), and PVC vinyl plastic from being used in the manufacturing of electronics. (The regulation already restricts how much lead, cadmium, mercury, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyl (PBB), and polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) flame retardants can be used.)
As far as who's the greenest, Nokia still ranks at No. 1, but Greenpeace reduced the company's overall score by one point for "failing to do proactive lobbying" for the RoHS revisions.
The strategy brings an interesting idea to the forefront. With the new criteria, Greenpeace is essentially attempting to harness consumer buying-power to press private industry to pressure politicians.
But does this strategy really work? When picking out a new cell phone or computer, does the average consumer's thought process include a rundown of whether a company has stopped using BFRs in their products and has lobbied to prevent other companies from using them too.
Still, if no one can use a cheap-but-polluting manufacturing material, the playing field is leveled. Lobbying for a revised RoHS could be a win-win for companies that would like to eliminate the use of certain substances but fear creating an advantage for their competition.
Greenpeace asserts there's good reason for the change.
"The use of harmful chemicals in electronic products prevents their safe recycling once the products are discarded. Given the increasing evidence of climate change and the urgency of addressing this issue, Greenpeace has added new energy criteria to encourage electronics companies to improve their corporate policies and practices," Greenpeace said in a statement.
In addition to the ranking chart, Greenpeace issued detailed reports for each company on the list. Among the more interesting tidbits:
• LG Electronics moved up from 11th place to 6th place. Still, Greenpeace docked it one point for "backtracking on its commitment" to make all its products free of PVC vinyl plastic and BFRs by the end of 2010. LG is still committed to that for its cell phones, according to Greenpeace.
• Dell, Lenovo, and Samsung also received a penalty point each for failing to eliminate BFRs in products.
• Apple has come a long way in improving its environmental record. Once chastised by Greenpeace for not doing enough, Apple is now in fifth place--up from ninth in the last report and up from last place a few years ago. Except for power cords still awaiting safety approval in some countries, all Apple products are now free of PVC plastics and BFRs, according to Greenpeace. Apple was also given credit for actively lobby EU governments to ban CFRs, BFRs, and PVC vinyl plastic from electronics manufacturing.
• Microsoft dropped from 15th to 17th in part for failing to show support for the revised version of RoHS and for failing to use printed circuit boards free of BFRs. But the company did score points for managing to use renewable resources for 24 percent of its electricity and for committing to remove PVC, BFRs, and phthalates from its own hardware by the end of 2010.
• Nintendo continues to rank in last place for a variety of reasons. While it now has internal wiring that is PVC-free, it has not eliminated PVC vinyl plastic or BFRs from its products completely and offers no time line for doing so, according to Greenpeace. Nintendo has begun to disclose its emissions but has failed to reduce them, Greenpeace added.
The full report cards for each of the following companies is available on the Greenpeace Web site: Acer, Apple, Dell, Fujitsu, Hewlett-Packard, Lenovo, LG Electronics, Microsoft, Motorola, Nintendo, Nokia, Panasonic, Philips, Samsung, Sharp, Sony, and Toshiba.
Source:news.cnet.com/
Monday, January 4, 2010
New tactics alter flavor of lobbying
WASHINGTON - -- For decades, the National Restaurant Association was the poster child for the unbreakable alliance between Washington's business lobbyists and the Republican Party.
One of the most potent grass-roots lobbying groups in the capital, the group helped kill Bill Clinton's health care plan, bankrolled Newt Gingrich's Republican Revolution, and year after year helped drive stakes through such Democratic proposals as raising the minimum wage and protecting the environment.
But something strange happened after Barack Obama became president: Courted and cosseted by savvy White House political operatives, the National Restaurant Association and some other business powerhouses changed their stripes.
The "other NRA," for example, ousted its conservative leader and installed a more pragmatic chief executive. It began to take meetings with once-hated Democratic politicians, including White House aides. And when the titanic battle over health care began, the restaurant group broke ranks with such unreconstructed business groups as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and declined to attack the White House.
The shift is a tale of changing political tides, the ultimate practicality of business executives and of a successful Obama White House effort to reach out for allies among traditional adversaries. And it's beginning to change the balance of power inside the Beltway.
The new strategy embraced by the restaurant group and others such as the Business Roundtable has allowed them access to Democratic decision-makers and a chance to influence or at least mitigate proposed policy changes.
"The political landscape changed so dramatically over a short period of time that we had to make a decision on how to respond," said Jot Condie, president and CEO of the California Restaurant Association, who is on the board of the national group. "Are we going to lob bombs from afar and understand that return fire will kill us? Or should we try to mitigate legislation that is a relative certainty?"
The restaurant association began to shed its conservative aura in late 2007, installing Dawn Sweeney, a longtime Washington player known for pragmatism, bipartisanship and marketing savvy, as its first woman CEO.
The organization continued to meet with conservatives, but it also began talking with consumer activists, Democratic party leaders and White House officials.
"What we are trying to do is see how we can be at the table," Sweeney said. "If you are not at the table, you are on the menu."
When the health care battle came to a boil this fall, the National Restaurant Association was among those that broke ranks with such business groups as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers, declining to join their "Start Over" coalition that has launched an advertising campaign against the reform bills in key states.
The decision, along with those made by the drug industry and a handful of other business trade associations, helped Democrats keep their initiative moving. It also gave the National Restaurant Association access to the White House and to Democratic leaders on Capitol Hill, allowing them to be heard on key issues, such as whether small business would be exempted from some of the new law's requirements.
On the eve of the Senate's health care vote Dec. 23, Sweeney entered the White House gates to meet with, among others, the Obama family's personal chef, Sam Kass.
Sweeney, who represents the interests of the megachains such as McDonald's and Dunkin Donuts, also discussed first lady Michelle Obama's plans for combating childhood obesity.
"We should play a leading role," she said.
She took a similar approach, dubbed "mitigation and damage control" by members of her board, to consumer activists' demands that the health care bill include provisions on restaurant nutrition labeling.
Sweeney and her board members met with food safety activists at the Center for Science in the Public Interest to hammer out a precedent-setting industry-consumer deal on the issue. The compromise, forwarded to the House and Senate health committees, provided that calorie information be printed on menus, but more detailed information such as fat and cholesterol content would be available on request.
Sweeney has not endorsed the recently passed Senate bill, but she is able to tell her members that the excesses of earlier proposals were dropped thanks in part to the restaurant group's participation. And she notes that effective lobbying killed efforts to tax soft drinks, one of the most profitable items for restaurants, in the name of reducing obesity.
Her new friends at the White House have helped provide access to the Commerce Department, where Sweeney is in the early stages of developing a proposal that would have likely stunned her predecessors: using stimulus funds to encourage Americans to dine out and support the restaurant industry.
Sweeney makes the case that "restaurants are major providers of jobs, employing 13 million individuals in restaurants nationwide," making it the second-largest private sector employer in the country, after health care.
In November, Sweeney was one of 13 trade association chiefs invited to meet with Nancy-Ann DeParle, Obama's health care czar. Sweeney laid out a handful of specific fixes that could win her organization's support.
Among them: Exempt small businesses from the law's penalties, change the calculation for defining part-time workers to allow for the seasonal fluctuations in the industry, and raise the minimum time allowed for complying with paperwork and registration requirements.
Those proposals alarm labor advocates, who see them as a way for employers to avoid providing benefits to workers.
Yet, most were adopted, at least partially, in the Senate bill, and Sweeney hopes for further gains when House and Senate leaders meet to reconcile their meetings.
Neil Trautwein of the National Retail Federation credits the Obama White House for tactical brilliance in finding ways to split the business community on health care.
"The genius of the administration's approach was to set broad principles and allow Congress to fill in the details," he said. "This immediately divided the focus of outside groups and ... it delayed development of a unified opposition."
Source:chicagotribune.com/
One of the most potent grass-roots lobbying groups in the capital, the group helped kill Bill Clinton's health care plan, bankrolled Newt Gingrich's Republican Revolution, and year after year helped drive stakes through such Democratic proposals as raising the minimum wage and protecting the environment.
But something strange happened after Barack Obama became president: Courted and cosseted by savvy White House political operatives, the National Restaurant Association and some other business powerhouses changed their stripes.
The "other NRA," for example, ousted its conservative leader and installed a more pragmatic chief executive. It began to take meetings with once-hated Democratic politicians, including White House aides. And when the titanic battle over health care began, the restaurant group broke ranks with such unreconstructed business groups as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and declined to attack the White House.
The shift is a tale of changing political tides, the ultimate practicality of business executives and of a successful Obama White House effort to reach out for allies among traditional adversaries. And it's beginning to change the balance of power inside the Beltway.
The new strategy embraced by the restaurant group and others such as the Business Roundtable has allowed them access to Democratic decision-makers and a chance to influence or at least mitigate proposed policy changes.
"The political landscape changed so dramatically over a short period of time that we had to make a decision on how to respond," said Jot Condie, president and CEO of the California Restaurant Association, who is on the board of the national group. "Are we going to lob bombs from afar and understand that return fire will kill us? Or should we try to mitigate legislation that is a relative certainty?"
The restaurant association began to shed its conservative aura in late 2007, installing Dawn Sweeney, a longtime Washington player known for pragmatism, bipartisanship and marketing savvy, as its first woman CEO.
The organization continued to meet with conservatives, but it also began talking with consumer activists, Democratic party leaders and White House officials.
"What we are trying to do is see how we can be at the table," Sweeney said. "If you are not at the table, you are on the menu."
When the health care battle came to a boil this fall, the National Restaurant Association was among those that broke ranks with such business groups as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers, declining to join their "Start Over" coalition that has launched an advertising campaign against the reform bills in key states.
The decision, along with those made by the drug industry and a handful of other business trade associations, helped Democrats keep their initiative moving. It also gave the National Restaurant Association access to the White House and to Democratic leaders on Capitol Hill, allowing them to be heard on key issues, such as whether small business would be exempted from some of the new law's requirements.
On the eve of the Senate's health care vote Dec. 23, Sweeney entered the White House gates to meet with, among others, the Obama family's personal chef, Sam Kass.
Sweeney, who represents the interests of the megachains such as McDonald's and Dunkin Donuts, also discussed first lady Michelle Obama's plans for combating childhood obesity.
"We should play a leading role," she said.
She took a similar approach, dubbed "mitigation and damage control" by members of her board, to consumer activists' demands that the health care bill include provisions on restaurant nutrition labeling.
Sweeney and her board members met with food safety activists at the Center for Science in the Public Interest to hammer out a precedent-setting industry-consumer deal on the issue. The compromise, forwarded to the House and Senate health committees, provided that calorie information be printed on menus, but more detailed information such as fat and cholesterol content would be available on request.
Sweeney has not endorsed the recently passed Senate bill, but she is able to tell her members that the excesses of earlier proposals were dropped thanks in part to the restaurant group's participation. And she notes that effective lobbying killed efforts to tax soft drinks, one of the most profitable items for restaurants, in the name of reducing obesity.
Her new friends at the White House have helped provide access to the Commerce Department, where Sweeney is in the early stages of developing a proposal that would have likely stunned her predecessors: using stimulus funds to encourage Americans to dine out and support the restaurant industry.
Sweeney makes the case that "restaurants are major providers of jobs, employing 13 million individuals in restaurants nationwide," making it the second-largest private sector employer in the country, after health care.
In November, Sweeney was one of 13 trade association chiefs invited to meet with Nancy-Ann DeParle, Obama's health care czar. Sweeney laid out a handful of specific fixes that could win her organization's support.
Among them: Exempt small businesses from the law's penalties, change the calculation for defining part-time workers to allow for the seasonal fluctuations in the industry, and raise the minimum time allowed for complying with paperwork and registration requirements.
Those proposals alarm labor advocates, who see them as a way for employers to avoid providing benefits to workers.
Yet, most were adopted, at least partially, in the Senate bill, and Sweeney hopes for further gains when House and Senate leaders meet to reconcile their meetings.
Neil Trautwein of the National Retail Federation credits the Obama White House for tactical brilliance in finding ways to split the business community on health care.
"The genius of the administration's approach was to set broad principles and allow Congress to fill in the details," he said. "This immediately divided the focus of outside groups and ... it delayed development of a unified opposition."
Source:chicagotribune.com/
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Lobbying on in BJP for vacant positions
The newly elected chairman of BJP Parliamentary Party L.K. Advani blesses Sushma Swaraj after she was appointed as Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha on Friday.
Leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party were on Friday lobbying hard with Ms. Sushma Swaraj, the newly anointed Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, for several positions that are lying vacant.
After Mr. Jaswant Singh resigned as chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, the most prestigious parliamentary committee, several senior MPs have made it known they would like to be considered for the position. With Ms. Swaraj’s elevation, the position of chairman of the standing committee attached to the Ministry of External Affairs that was held by her is also vacant.
In the parliamentary party, all positions are to be filled afresh, including the positions of Deputy Leaders of Opposition in the two Houses, till now occupied by Sushma Swaraj in the Lok Sabha and S.S. Ahluwalia in the Rajya Sabha.
For the deputy’s post in the Lok Sabha, the buzz is around the names of Ananth Kumar and Gopinath Munde. With the party becoming “Brahmin-heavy”— Mr. Jaitley and Ms. Swaraj and the next party chief, Nitin Gadkari, are Brahmins. On that score Mr. Kumar, also a Brahmin, is likely to lose out to Mr. Munde with his backward caste credentials.
On Saturday, the BJP Parliamentary Board is expected to announce its “choice”— Nitin Gadkari — for the position of next party chief at the end of tenure of Rajnath Singh. He will take charge by mid-January or February and set up his own team of office-bearers, for which hectic lobbying has begun.
Keywords: Advani, Sushma Swaraj, Nitin Gadkari, Rajnath Singh, lobbying
Source:beta.thehindu.com/
Rory Reid wants stricter lobbying, ethics rules
Clark County Commissioner Rory Reid said state government needs to be more transparent and loopholes in state ethics laws closed "so that Nevadans have faith in their government."
During stops in both Northern and Southern Nevada on Thursday, Reid, a Democrat who is running for governor, outlined his policy plan to tighten state ethics laws and impose tougher penalties on those who violate them.
"There's obvious deficiencies in existing Nevada law," Reid said. "(For example), a legislator could pass an agency's budget while at the same time lobby that agency for a private party. That doesn't engender confidence."
He said he would work to extend the period for legislators who leave office to two years before they could lobby their former colleagues.
Another example Reid cited is that even if an elected official is found to have violated state ethics laws, there is virtually no penalty unless the violation is determined to be "willful." He said he would mandate ethics education for elected officials, state employees and lobbyists and said any violation of state ethics laws should come with a penalty.
"If they violate it, there should be strict liability," he said. "There are all kinds of loopholes that need to be closed."
That includes members of the governor's staff, he said.
"I want my administration to be open and transparent so people understand why I'm doing what I'm doing," Reid said.
To that end, he said, his schedule would be posted on the Internet daily, he would hold weekly press conferences and periodic town hall meetings across the state.
He said any individuals he appoints to boards would be required to sign "a code of responsibility" and disclose any instances where they have a potential conflict of interest.
Reid said he also wants to tighten rules for lobbying.
"To get Nevada back on track, we need to create a foundation of trust," he said.
Source:rgj.com/
During stops in both Northern and Southern Nevada on Thursday, Reid, a Democrat who is running for governor, outlined his policy plan to tighten state ethics laws and impose tougher penalties on those who violate them.
"There's obvious deficiencies in existing Nevada law," Reid said. "(For example), a legislator could pass an agency's budget while at the same time lobby that agency for a private party. That doesn't engender confidence."
He said he would work to extend the period for legislators who leave office to two years before they could lobby their former colleagues.
Another example Reid cited is that even if an elected official is found to have violated state ethics laws, there is virtually no penalty unless the violation is determined to be "willful." He said he would mandate ethics education for elected officials, state employees and lobbyists and said any violation of state ethics laws should come with a penalty.
"If they violate it, there should be strict liability," he said. "There are all kinds of loopholes that need to be closed."
That includes members of the governor's staff, he said.
"I want my administration to be open and transparent so people understand why I'm doing what I'm doing," Reid said.
To that end, he said, his schedule would be posted on the Internet daily, he would hold weekly press conferences and periodic town hall meetings across the state.
He said any individuals he appoints to boards would be required to sign "a code of responsibility" and disclose any instances where they have a potential conflict of interest.
Reid said he also wants to tighten rules for lobbying.
"To get Nevada back on track, we need to create a foundation of trust," he said.
Source:rgj.com/
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Skabar lobbying for remand centre
AMHERST – Brian Skabar is well aware of how people in this part of Nova Scotia feel about the loss of the area’s lone correctional centre and he’s working to try to minimize the impact.
The Cumberland North MLA said he is as disappointed as everyone about his government’s decision to build one new correctional centre to replace aging jails in Amherst and Antigonish, and he’s working with Justice Minister Ross Landry to put something in place that will handle the immediate demands of the system.
“I have spoken to the minister about concerns with the maintenance of the justice system in the Amherst area after the jail is gone and have been given every assurance that arrangements will be in place,” Skabar said Wednesday.
“There should be a press release from the minister’s office soon on that.”
Skabar said a remand centre is something he is hoping the province will commit to so that offenders don’t have to be shuttled across northern Nova Scotia between court appearances.
Soon after the province announced its plan to build a new jail somewhere between Truro and Antigonish, the local legal community and law enforcement agencies expressed concern with the administration of justice if offenders had to be shipped back and forth to another part of the province.
Skabar has made those concerns known to the justice minister and feels a remand centre in the area would alleviate those problems.
Since Landry’s decision, Skabar has taken a lot of heat from his constituents. Skabar understands the frustration, adding that as much as he understands the decision, it hasn’t made it easier to accept.
The MLA said that during the spring election campaign, he advocated making the jail decision on the best business case. At that time, he figured the plan was to build two jails and that Amherst would probably be an economical choice over the previous government’s proposed jail in Springhill.
But now that the province’s financial picture was clarified, he understands the decision to build one jail instead of two. That doesn’t mean he has to like it.
“Do I support the government's position on this matter? I do. Do I like it? No,” Skabar said.
“As someone from Amherst and the Cumberland North MLA, I don’t like the decision, but as a Nova Scotian I have to support saving over $5 million to build it and saving over $1 million a year in operating it.”
Skabar, who has yet to see the business plan on which the decision was based, said he has had several discussions with Amherst Mayor Robert Small, but could not attend a news conference held last week by area municipal leaders because he was not notified about it until the night before.
dcole@amherstdaily.com
Source:amherstdaily.com/i
The Cumberland North MLA said he is as disappointed as everyone about his government’s decision to build one new correctional centre to replace aging jails in Amherst and Antigonish, and he’s working with Justice Minister Ross Landry to put something in place that will handle the immediate demands of the system.
“I have spoken to the minister about concerns with the maintenance of the justice system in the Amherst area after the jail is gone and have been given every assurance that arrangements will be in place,” Skabar said Wednesday.
“There should be a press release from the minister’s office soon on that.”
Skabar said a remand centre is something he is hoping the province will commit to so that offenders don’t have to be shuttled across northern Nova Scotia between court appearances.
Soon after the province announced its plan to build a new jail somewhere between Truro and Antigonish, the local legal community and law enforcement agencies expressed concern with the administration of justice if offenders had to be shipped back and forth to another part of the province.
Skabar has made those concerns known to the justice minister and feels a remand centre in the area would alleviate those problems.
Since Landry’s decision, Skabar has taken a lot of heat from his constituents. Skabar understands the frustration, adding that as much as he understands the decision, it hasn’t made it easier to accept.
The MLA said that during the spring election campaign, he advocated making the jail decision on the best business case. At that time, he figured the plan was to build two jails and that Amherst would probably be an economical choice over the previous government’s proposed jail in Springhill.
But now that the province’s financial picture was clarified, he understands the decision to build one jail instead of two. That doesn’t mean he has to like it.
“Do I support the government's position on this matter? I do. Do I like it? No,” Skabar said.
“As someone from Amherst and the Cumberland North MLA, I don’t like the decision, but as a Nova Scotian I have to support saving over $5 million to build it and saving over $1 million a year in operating it.”
Skabar, who has yet to see the business plan on which the decision was based, said he has had several discussions with Amherst Mayor Robert Small, but could not attend a news conference held last week by area municipal leaders because he was not notified about it until the night before.
dcole@amherstdaily.com
Source:amherstdaily.com/i
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Minnesota Senator Day Resigns With Eye On Gambling Lobbying
Minnesota Senator Dick Day is unhappy with the failure of his state to bring legalized casino gambling to state racetracks. That is why he is resigning from his public office in order to lobby full time for expanded gambling.
Day has tried, unsuccessfully, to bring casinos to Minnesota during his time as a senator. He feels that he has not been able to give his full attention to the issue because of other pressing needs in his district.
"I don't have enough time to go legislate 201 legislators, because I have my own senate district, and we're trying to get roads and schools and a whole host of things done," said Day, "So what happens is nobody is actually stayed on it and talked to legislators every single day on this."
Day believes that the money that could be generated by allowing slots and video gambling at Running Aces and Canterbury horse racing tracks would help tremendously in efforts to bridge a $1.2 billion budget deficit.
It is Day's estimation that the expanded gambling could bring in $125 million annually in revenue for Minnesota. He will be leading the group, "Racino Now." After all of his failed attempts, Day believes this is a time when the gambling legislation could pass with the proper exposure to legislators.
"I believe that this is the year we can put it over the top," said Day. He will be leaving his office after serving six terms, and will begin to lobby full time in a month.
Source:casinogamblingweb.com/
Day has tried, unsuccessfully, to bring casinos to Minnesota during his time as a senator. He feels that he has not been able to give his full attention to the issue because of other pressing needs in his district.
"I don't have enough time to go legislate 201 legislators, because I have my own senate district, and we're trying to get roads and schools and a whole host of things done," said Day, "So what happens is nobody is actually stayed on it and talked to legislators every single day on this."
Day believes that the money that could be generated by allowing slots and video gambling at Running Aces and Canterbury horse racing tracks would help tremendously in efforts to bridge a $1.2 billion budget deficit.
It is Day's estimation that the expanded gambling could bring in $125 million annually in revenue for Minnesota. He will be leading the group, "Racino Now." After all of his failed attempts, Day believes this is a time when the gambling legislation could pass with the proper exposure to legislators.
"I believe that this is the year we can put it over the top," said Day. He will be leaving his office after serving six terms, and will begin to lobby full time in a month.
Source:casinogamblingweb.com/
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