Keeping Up With Legislation in the Information Age

Marty Green, Esq. Senior VP and Legislative Counsel, Illinois CPA Society
The Latest on Advocacy and Legislation

We’re living in a time known as the “information age,” where all of us can easily consume news anytime, anywhere, and from many different sources. Of course, while it’s easier to get information, knowing who to get it from and who to trust has become overwhelming. Fortunately, the Illinois CPA Society (ICPAS) Government Relations team is here to make it a little easier, as we monitor legislation, share important updates on legislation, and advocate on behalf of our members and the profession.

With the busy spring legislative session, I thought this would be a good time to highlight all the curated information and news we make available. Since ICPAS serves members across the spectrum of the accounting profession, we attempt to cover legislation and topics of interest to certified public accountants (CPAs) regardless of their practice areas, in addition to legislation impacting CPAs and their clients. That said, here’s a rundown of government-related information and services available to you as ICPAS members.

GOVERNMENT RELATIONS LANDING PAGE

The Government Relations landing page is maintained as a one-stop shop for you to access information on state and local government. It details whether the Illinois General Assembly is in session, includes live legislative tracking reports, and provides access to other important updates. We also post state and federal legislative and regulatory news—in some instances cumulative information to capture the evolution of issues. Information on the nonpartisan Illinois CPAs for Political Action committee, as well as an overview of ICPAS’ legislative accomplishments, is also posted.

We also provide the following resources:

• Legislative Morning Report: This morning report is posted each day the General Assembly is in session, providing an anticipated rundown of activities for the day.
• Capitol Insight: This monthly e-publication includes legislative and regulatory news. Most members automatically receive this publication, but opting-in or out of receiving it can be managed through the “My Email Preferences” section of members’ online profiles when logged into the ICPAS website.
• Legislative Tracking Reports: These live, 24/7 reports reflect legislative items of interest (both general and tax), bill statuses, and working annotations on bills.
• Capitol Recap: This video series provides an update on legislative activities taking place under the State House Dome.
• Advocacy Toolbox: On occasion, we send grassroots action alerts when we need your help contacting state and federal legislators on an ICPAS legislative priority. These alerts direct you to a webpage with a preformatted message to send to your state or federal legislators asking them to vote for or against legislation. (You can also customize messages with your own words.) Notably, these alerts are sent sparingly so as not to run the well dry on your end or inundate legislative offices with messages. However, contacting your legislators through this page takes as little as two minutes to complete, and it’s important that legislators hear from constituents on issues of importance.

Additionally, we’ll send out all-member messages or segmented communications on significant issues impacting the profession. Keep a lookout for these emails.

As you know, the legislative and regulatory environment is dynamic, and our No. 1 priority is keeping you informed. Hopefully these resources and tools can help you stay ahead in the information age as it relates to issues impacting your practice areas and clients.

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