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The Government Affairs practice group provides clients with proactive representation before federal, state, and municipal governments. Our services include legislative and executive branch counseling, advocacy, negotiation, and preparation for hearings before, or presentations to, legislative and administrative bodies. We offer an effective combination of legal and public policy skills to businesses, industry associations, government entities, and individuals. Our contacts and experience enable clients to simultaneously pursue legislative and regulatory actions to address problems they may have as a consequence of government action or inaction.
It is our number one priority to provide timely and accurate information on proposed governmental policies under consideration by either the legislative or executive branch of government. Such initiatives frequently can affect a client's cost of doing business. It is critical for our clients to be able to rely upon the best and most up-to-the-minute advice. We interact with senior officials throughout government on a regular basis in order to provide our clients with informative and timely counsel.
In addition to knowing legislative and regulatory branches of government, our Government Affairs practice group members make it a point to know our clients' businesses well. Our group provides a full-service approach to our clients' needs that includes active involvement with these organizations to provide a complete level of support. We have found that this approach produces positive results. Through our Government Affairs group, our clients can rest assured that they will be alerted not only to problems looming on the horizon, but also to opportunities that could enhance their options and flexibility.
- Legislative Counseling. This area involves not only legislative advice and monitoring, but includes working to obtain passage or defeat of proposed laws and regulations. Moffatt Thomas has approximately twenty regular legislative clients including insurance companies, lending institutions, natural resource companies, public utilities, hospitals, state agencies, and businesses. Some of those clients have an interest in monitoring a particular issue; others have broad interests involving the passage or defeat of dozens of legislative proposals. In addition to regular legislative sessions, we also are involved with interim legislative study committees.
- State Regulatory Activity. The firm regularly appears before state and local agencies, including the following: Idaho Public Utilities Commission, Department of Health and Welfare, Alcohol Beverage Control Bureau, Idaho Department of Insurance, Idaho Board of Professional Engineers and Professional Land Surveyors, Idaho State Board of Accountancy, Idaho Department of Finance, Board of Tax Appeals, Idaho Department of Administration, Division of Environmental Quality, Idaho Department of Lands, Planning and Zoning Commission, county commissions and city councils. Clients include a variety of associations and individual businesses. Actions include, but are not limited to: license revocation hearings, bids for contracts, permit issues, rate change requests, contract approvals, no-action letters, tax adjustments, and client registrations.
- Federal Regulatory Activity. Supplementing our services at the state level, Moffatt Thomas works with federal agencies as well. These include the S.E.C., Copyright and Trademark Office, Federal Communications Commission, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Internal Revenue Service, the Department of Interior, the Department of Agriculture, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Our clients consist of associations and private businesses for whom we perform work similar to that at the state level.
- Court Activity. We are often retained to challenge the activities of federal, state, or local agencies or to seek a declaratory judgment regarding the interpretation of a law.
Government Affairs attorney: Stephen R. Thomas at 208.345.2000 or at srt@moffatt.com
Note that other firm attorneys and legal assistants often become involved in projects depending upon manpower needs and individual areas of expertise.
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