Lawmakers, Lobbying & Lou: Meet PA LAC’s Lobbyist Louis J. Biacchi
November 16, 2021Pennsylvania Legislative Action Committee (PA LAC) Delegate Matthew C. Collins, Esq., from the law firm of Horn Williamson, spoke with lobbyist Louis J. Biacchi, from Pugliese & Associates, about the lobbying profession and challenges unique to CAI.
Matthew C. Collins, Esq. (MC): As a lawyer who tries cases before judges and juries, I figured that I could hold my own in the halls of the Capitol. However, you have helped me to avoid stepping on landmines on more than one occasion. How did you develop such heightened senses?
Louis J. Biacchi (LB): As in most of life, experience is the best teacher. In my many years of lobbying, I have, to use your phrase, “stepped on a few landmines.” Trying not to make the same mistake twice is one of my personal rules.
MC: How would you differentiate the advocacy and persuasion that takes place in the courtroom versus the Capitol?
LB: There are some similarities. You need, in both instances, to have the facts on your side and a strong argument to go with the facts. A major difference is that in the courtroom, you generally have one opportunity to state your case. In the legislative process, as it almost always is slow, you have multiple opportunities to go back and restate your facts and arguments to key legislators who have control over your legislation.
MC: Let’s talk offense versus defense. I think the job of the plaintiff’s attorney is more difficult than the defense attorney’s job. It’s generally easier to attack a case than create a case. How about Harrisburg? Is it easier to block or pass legislation?
LB: Quite similar odds of success. Defense is always easier than offense legislatively, so when an organization seeks to move a bill, it must work harder and smarter than its opponents.
MC: Speaking of offense and defense, are you allowed to (publicly) have favorite sports teams?
LB: I find it best to publicly cheer for the particular Pennsylvania sports team that is on the screen when I am having beers and wings with legislators who are enthusiastically cheering for that team.
MC: I imagine one of the more difficult aspects of your job is not only getting the attention of the legislators but actually getting time with them?
LB: Time is the resource that a legislator has the least amount of, particularly when they are in the Capitol, but also in their home district. The keys to getting a few moments of their time are having previously developed a relationship with that legislator, being succinct in speaking with them, and being situationally aware when “now” is not a good time to approach them for a conversation.
MC: While it makes perfect sense, I was surprised to learn just how much legislators rely on their staff. Why is that?
LB: Literally hundreds of bills are introduced in each two-year legislative session. No legislator can know everything about each of these bills. Also, most bills never get out of committee and much fewer than that ever reach the Governor’s desk. Staff help legislators sort through all of these bills so that the legislator can focus on the most important bills with the greatest chance of movement through the General Assembly. Also, because of their time crunch, legislators depend on staff to help manage their time effectively.
MC: What is the average staff size for legislators?
LB: In the House rank and file, representatives have only a Capitol administrative assistant, and sometimes they share that assistant with another legislator. In their district office, they may have two additional staff. Committee chairmen have two or three professional staff, depending on the committee on which they serve. Leaders have as many as ten staff. In the Senate, almost every senator is a committee chairman, due to the large number of committees. So each senator has three or four Capitol staff and one or two staff in each of their usually two district offices. Senate leaders may have over ten professional staff.
MC: So staff can be just as important as the legislators?
LB: No, only the legislator makes decisions and votes, but staff are often a key to influencing the legislator on how to vote, so developing relationships is also very important.
MC: How much do you need to know and understand the legislator as an individual versus the legislator’s constituents?
LB: It’s most important to know the legislator as an individual, as a person. But it is also necessary to understand the constituency that elects and hopefully re-elects the legislator in order to most effectively frame an argument that may affect his or her constituents.
MC: Must staff members be from their legislator’s district?
LB: District staff are always from the district. Some staff originate in the district and migrate to Harrisburg. Others sometimes leave one legislator and go to work for another. There is no particular pattern to staffing.
MC: Aside from helping to pass or block legislation, what other services do you provide to your clients?
LB: Our government relations firm believes that part of our role for our clients is strategic policy planning, helping them to set realistic legislative goals. We also have a full-time staff person who monitors all legislation and regulations that might affect that client. She also monitors the media for client-related policy news. Additionally, for those of our clients that have political action committees and contribute financially to legislators, we advise them on the best use of their money.
MC: What aspect of your job are most people unaware of?
LB: There is a lot of hurrying up and then waiting for votes on legislation that get delayed.
MC: Although sometimes entirely outside of my control, having good facts and witnesses helps with my job. How can your clients help you?
LB: As we like to say in our firm, we don’t do magic. Our work is most effective in partnership with our client, who is always the subject expert and who must be involved in the legislative process for us to succeed.
MC: Do you live in a community association?
LB: I do. Ninety-seven homes in suburban Harrisburg. I was our HOA’s first president.
MC: With your assistance, CAI has made major progress in Harrisburg. However, I get the sense that many of the issues impacting community associations remain largely misunderstood in Harrisburg. What do you think?
LB: CAI’s issues are complex and generally affect a law that doesn’t get much attention in the Capitol unless CAI decides to amend it. Often CAI has passed bills with no amendments or input from any other interest group or legislator because they don’t understand the particular bill or the underlying law. Those are the good times. Other times, like currently, CAI is trying to pass bills that a number of influential interest groups oppose. This is when CAI’s members need to be actively supporting CAI’s legislative initiatives.
MC: What else can members of CAI do to help our efforts in Harrisburg?
LB: The main thing CAI members can do to help advance CAI’s legislation is to develop relationships with their legislators and to be responsive when CAI requests they reach out to their legislators to urge support for that legislation.
MC: Thank you for taking some time to speak with me, Lou.
About the Author
Matthew C. Collins, Esq., serves as Chair of the Community Association Practice Group at Horn Williamson. Mr. Collins represents community associations throughout Pennsylvania, providing clients with expert advice so they can navigate difficult situations and resolve issues in a practical and cost-effective manner. Mr. Collins is an active contributor and participant in the Community Associations Institute, where he serves on the Legislative Action Committee and the Political Action Committee.
