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About Government Relations
Elements of the MNCPA government relations program:
Lobbying
The MNCPA government relations director
Geno Fragnito is the Society's
hired registered lobbyist. Geno works directly for the organization.
He does
not divide his time between the CPAs and a number of other clients.
He works
full-time for the membership and spends half his year at the Capitol educating
legislators on CPA issues and pushing for positive changes for the profession
and its clients.
Educating MNCPA members
A large part of the work performed throughout the year is educating
members about the how the Society is advocating on their behalf. This
is accomplished in a number of ways:
- Articles are written in each edition of the Footnote, the Society newsletter, under the
Capitol Connections section.
- Legislative updates are sent out
to all members twice a year informing them of new legislation that assists or enhances the profession.
- Members are contacted about key issues for each legislative session and are encouraged to inform their legislators about the MNCPA position.
Advocating for you
Proactive steps are constantly taken to make sure CPAs are viewed as
credible, resourceful, and well-respected business people in the Capitol halls. Some of our proactive measures include:
- Holding one-on-one meetings with legislators.
- Attending fundraisers with Democrats and Republicans.
- Meeting regularly with other key stakeholders, such as Commissioners of the administration, the Governor's Office, and other associations and organizations that share common interests with the Society.
All of these actions help us be visible, accessible, and have a place at the table with key decision makers.
Building relationships with Minnesota's
congressional delegation
Building relationships with Minnesota's congressional delegation is another function of the MNCPA government relations program. In Minnesota, there are 8 U.S. Representatives and 2 U.S. Senators. We are fortunate in Minnesota that two of our U.S. Representatives are CPAs – Congressmen Kennedy and Peterson.
The government relations team and members of the legislative issues committee meet regularly to keep the congressional delegation informed as to what our issues are at the federal level, and in turn, the congressional members share with us what is happening on these issues and others in Washington.
Raising the
visibility of the profession
Each year before and after the session, there are a number
of fundraisers that MNCPA members attend on behalf of the profession. The main purpose of these fundraisers is to be seen, contribute to the caucuses, build relationships with members, and educate them about our issues. As anyone who is involved with the legislature will tell you, contributing
to political caucuses and individuals is the "price of doing business" at
the Capitol.
Grassroots letter writing
Each session, the MNCPA has legislative priorities, and it is important
for members to contact their legislators about them. Legislators listen to their constituents and are interested in what you
have to say. We have had a lot of success each year by MNCPA members reaching
out to their elected officials and contacting them on particular issues.
It's a critical part of the process.
Whistlestops (road trips)
Every fall, government relations director Geno Fragnito takes the
MNCPA legislative program on the road to Greater Minnesota. The purpose of these whistlestops is to make sure that members in outlying areas are
informed about the issues the Society is working on. It is also an
opportunity for CPAs in out-state Minnesota to have an exchange with their legislators, as the local state legislators are invited to participate in these meetings. The meetings are usually conducted over breakfast or lunch and involve a presentation by
Geno highlighting the past
year's legislative successes.
Member involvement: how you can help
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