Secondary ticketers lobby up

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Dec 14, 2022 View in browser   By Caitlin Oprysko Presented by SECONDARY TICKETING COALITION LOBBIES UP: A coalition of ticket brokers and resellers has registered its first federal lobbyists as live entertainment giants Ticketmaster and Live Nation come under scrutiny in Washington. — The New York-based Coalition for Ticket Fairness retained Jonathan McCollum and Jack Roach of the Empire State law and lobbying firm Davidoff Hutcher & Citron to lobby on live event ticketing practices and restrictions, according to a disclosure filing. — The coalition has little online presence outside of a group on Facebook, but Davidoff Hutcher & Citron lobbies on the group's behalf in New York, including legislation signed into law this summer by Gov. Kathy Hochul. The bill aims to increase transparency among ticket sellers and brokers, cracking down on hidden fees and scalper bots. — The coalition's shift to federal lobbying comes as President Joe Biden has derided surprise fees in a number of different sectors as "junk fees" that he's pledged to eradicate. The issue reached a fever pitch last month, when Ticketmaster's botched presale for Taylor Swift concert tickets renewed policymakers' focus on the ticketing giant's 2010 merger with Live Nation in Washington and beyond, including allegations that Ticketmaster is seeking to gain dominance in the ticket resale market in addition to the primary sale market — charges the company has denied. DOJ BACKS REPEAL OF FARA LDA EXEMPTION: DOJ is throwing its support behind repealing FARA's exemption for lobbyists registered under the domestic statute, it told lawmakers last month — a development that could have massive ramifications for those working to shape public opinion and policy on behalf of foreign individuals and other nongovernmental entities, including U.S. subsidiaries of companies based around the world, Covington & Burling wrote in an alert to clients. — The department slipped the endorsement into a Nov. 22 letter to a bipartisan group of senators that weighed in on broader FARA reform legislation introduced last year. The letter appears to have been quietly uploaded to DOJ's website this week. — Though counterintelligence chief Jay Bratt alluded to the department's recent input in remarks to FARA experts last week, he did not mention its new stance on the LDA exemption, which has been the target of a number of new legislative proposals in recent months. — DOJ's new position is also notable in that it goes further than the changes proposed in the bill from Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa). The measure, which assistant Attorney General Carlos Uriarte wrote DOJ supports broadly, merely calls for an audit of the exemption, under which lobbyists performing work for nongovernmental foreign clients can register under the more opaque Lobbying Disclosure Act instead of FARA. — According to Uriarte, DOJ's National Security Division performed such an assessment of the exemption back in 2016 and determined it should be removed. Since its inception, "LDA registration has not proven to be an adequate substitute for transparency when FARA's requirements would otherwise apply," he wrote, arguing that "foreign governments increasingly use state-owned enterprises for a mix of commercial and geo-political strategic purposes, making it more difficult to disentangle agents for foreign commercial interests … and those who are agents for foreign governments and political parties." — Repealing the exemption, he continued, "would close this problematic gap in FARA without requiring registration by agents engaged in ordinary commercial activities." Despite DOJ's support for Grassley's bill, which would also grant the department badly needed new investigative and enforcement powers, it's unlikely to make the cut for lawmakers hashing out their end-of-year spending deal. Good afternoon and welcome to PI. Send tips: coprysko@politico.com. And be sure to follow me on Twitter: @caitlinoprysko.   A message from AT&T: Connection does more than bring people together – it opens a world of possibilities. AT&T has invested more than $100 billion in American infrastructure from 2017 to 2021, including U.S. capital investment and acquisitions of wireless spectrum, to connect Americans to a brighter future. AT&T is working to expand high-speed fiber access, enhance 5G connectivity and strengthen communications for first responders. Learn more about how AT&T is expanding broadband access and investing in America's future.   FIREARM BRACE MAKER HIRES BROWNSTEIN: A company that manufactures firearm braces has retained a former chief of staff to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and a former Justice Department official to lobby on a Biden administration proposal regulating certain guns equipped with such stabilizing braces. — NST Global, which does business as SB Tactical, retained Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck's Brian McGuire and Will Moschella to lobby on the proposed rule last month, according to newly filed disclosures. — Attorney General Merrick Garland announced plans for a new rulemaking on the issue last year, arguing that some versions of stabilizing braces, which were initially designed to be worn on the arm to allow individuals with disabilities more easily fire a weapon, instead allow users to fire from the shoulder. The initiative came shortly after a mass shooting in a Colorado grocery store in which the suspect allegedly used a stabilizing brace, which the administration linked to its push. — DOJ argues that usage of stabilizing braces transforms a firearm into what might be classified legally as a "short-barreled rifle" subject to heightened regulations under the National Firearms Act. The Trump administration introduced a similar proposal in 2020, but the outcry from gun rights advocates and the industry pressured officials into scrapping the plan. — The proposal again has drawn fierce opposition, garnering more than 200,000 responses during the public comment period last year. Nearly every Republican senator weighed in against the plan as well, blasting the plan in a letter to Garland last summer that noted the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives had greenlit stabilizing braces multiple times. — The lawmakers argued that the proposed rule was too broad. It "would turn millions of law-abiding Americans into criminals overnight, and would constitute the largest executive branch-imposed gun registration and confiscation scheme in American history," they added. — NST Global also retains Adnan Jalil of Alpha Strategies as well as Mark Barnes & Associates and Wiley Rein, according to disclosure filings, though Alpha Strategies has received all of the $180,000 the company spent on lobbying this year — three times what NST Global spent on lobbying in 2021. MANCHIN DIGS IN ON FOREIGN EV TAX BREAK LOBBYING: "Senator Joe Manchin is pressing Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to stand firm on North American-based manufacturing requirements for lucrative electric-vehicle tax credits under the Inflation Reduction Act, setting up a battle between the West Virginia Democrat and Korea's Hyundai Motor Co.," Bloomberg's Gabrielle Coppola and Ari Natter report. — "Hyundai and the Korean government have pushed for a lenient interpretation of the rules and more time to be compliant so their imported EVs can qualify for credits. 'Unfortunately, I have heard that some automakers and foreign governments are asking your agency for a broad interpretation of 45W that would allow rental cars, leased vehicles, and rideshare vehicles' to be eligible for the $7,500 commercial vehicle tax credit, Manchin wrote in letter to Yellen made public Tuesday." — "'If these vehicles are deemed eligible, I can guarantee that companies will focus their attention away from trying to invest in North America.' Manchin, who provided Democrats a pivotal vote on the legislation, fought to include new limits on who could claim the tax credits, which he previously dismissed as 'ludicrous.'" — "Hyundai and the Korean government have put up an aggressive lobbying campaign to persuade the Biden administration to tweak the bill or loosen enforcement. South Korean trade ministers and members of its assembly have reached out to their US counterparts in Washington to lobby for more time before the restrictions kick in, either through legislation or regulation. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and other officials have brought up the issue in meetings with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris as well." HARD TIMES: "Democracy for America, a liberal group founded by former presidential candidate Howard Dean, is planning to shut down unless a last-minute savior comes through," three people familiar with the plans tell Holly Otterbein and Daniel. — "The political action committee notified remaining employees that their last day will be Thursday, the people said. A number of the 13 to 15 employees on the organization's payroll in early November had already been laid off in recent weeks." After Holly and Daniel's story posted, the group's special adviser Charles Chamberlain "confirmed the decision to close the PAC in a statement to POLITICO. He said the nonprofit 501(c)(4) would remain in operation." — "The organization started in its current form after Dean's unsuccessful 2004 presidential campaign, and throughout its history it helped elect more than 1,000 progressive candidates and raised $70 million dollars since it started, staff said. In recent years, it focused on structural democracy reform, ranked choice voting, student debt relief and Medicare for All."   A message from AT&T:   Jobs Report — The Coalition for Community Solar Access has hired Elizabeth Van Holt as new markets director and Kate Daniel as its Northeast regional director. Van Holt was most recently Midwest region director of state government relations at the American Petroleum Institute and Daniel previously served as director of policy at Catalyze. — U.S. Mortgage Insurers has named Seth Appleton as its new president. He is currently with the Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization and co-chairs the Bipartisan Policy Center's Housing Council. — James Sonne is now head of government affairs at PGIM, Prudential's global investment management business. He most recently was lead government relations adviser at MassMutual and is a SIFMA and Treasury alum. — Ed Skyler was promoted to executive vice president of enterprise services and public affairs at Citi.   JOIN THURSDAY FOR A CONVERSATION ON FAMILY CARE IN AMERICA : Family caregivers are among our most overlooked and under-supported groups in the United States. The Biden Administration's new national strategy for supporting family caregivers outlines nearly 350 actions the federal government is committed to taking. Who will deliver this strategy? How should different stakeholders divide the work? Join POLITICO on Dec. 15 to explore how federal action can improve the lives of those giving and receiving family care across America. REGISTER HERE.     New Joint Fundraisers Nevada Senate Victory 2024 (DSCC, Sen. Jacky Rosen, Nevada Democratic Victory, Smart Solutions PAC) New PACs Democratic Values PAC (Hybrid PAC) Hope In Action PAC (Hybrid PAC) Protecting the American Dream PAC (PAC) New Lobbying Registrations B. Braun Medical: B. Braun Medical Carlyle Consulting: Miccosukee Tribe Of Indians Of Florida Cfm Strategic Communications (Conkling Fiskum & Mccormick): Benton County Davidoff Hutcher & Citron, LLP: Coalition For Ticket Fairness, Inc. Fennel Consulting, LLC: National Housing Compliance, Inc. Holland & Knight LLP: City Of Hampton, Va Howells Government Relations: Fallbrook Public Utility Distriict K&L Gates, LLP: Horseracing Integrity And Safety Authority Monument Advocacy: Juvare O'Brien, Gentry & Scott, LLC: Bren-Tronics, Inc. Smith Dawson & Andrews: Solar United Neighbors Action Squire Patton Boggs: American Solar Rail LLC Subject Matter (Fka Elmendorf Ryan): Ande The Russell Group, Inc.: Carbon Autonomous Robotics Systems Veolia North America, LLC: Veolia North America, LLC   POLITICO AT CES 2023 : We are bringing a special edition of our Digital Future Daily newsletter to Las Vegas to cover CES 2023. The newsletter will take you inside the largest and most influential technology event on the planet, featuring every major and emerging industry in the technology ecosystem gathered in one place. The newsletter runs from Jan. 5-7 and will focus on the public policy related aspects of the event. Sign up today to receive exclusive coverage of CES 2023.     New Lobbying Terminations California And Nevada Credit Union Leagues: California Credit Union League   A message from AT&T: One year ago, one-third of the population in unincorporated Vanderburgh County, Indiana did not have access to fixed broadband solutions. But thanks to a $39 million public-private partnership, AT&T has started to connect more than 20,000 households and businesses in the county.   In communities across the country, AT&T has invested more than $100 billion in American infrastructure over the past five years to connect Americans to a brighter future. This includes U.S capital investment and acquisitions of wireless spectrum from 2017-2021. And now, thanks to the unprecedented federal broadband funds made available, communities across the country are also able to collaborate with companies like AT&T to expand broadband availability to residents and businesses at a lower cost. Expanding broadband access and investing in America's future opens a bridge to possibility for all. Learn more at att.com/infrastructure.     Follow us

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