Virginia Issues Lobbying RFP

The City of Hampton, Virginia is seeking a lobbying firm. Hampton is an independent city located in Virginia. It is on the southern end of the Virginia Peninsula, bordering the Chesapeake Bay. The City boasts a strong military and technology presence. Langley Air Force Base is home of the First Fighter Wing. NASA Langley Research Center, where America’s first astronauts were trained, is now a major center for aviation research. Large employers include companies such as Alcoa Howmet, Craft Machine Works, Measurement Specialists, Inc., Sprint, and Verizon Communications.

The City is also home to multiple medical facilities including Riverside Regional Medical Center, Sentara Healthcare, and the Hampton Veteran’s Administration Medical Center. Hampton offers multiple higher education opportunities including Hampton University, Thomas Nelson Community College, Old Dominion University’s Peninsula Higher Education Center, and the National Institute of Aerospace. Hampton is part of a dynamic metropolitan region. Besides Hampton, the region contains four other cities with populations greater than 100,000.

PURPOSE

The purpose of this RFP is to solicit proposals to establish a contract for the provision of lobbying services for the City of Hampton.

SCOPE OF WORK

1. The Contractor shall provide all effort and materials necessary to assist the City in its lobbying and governmental relations with the General Assembly of Virginia (the “General Assembly”), including individual members of the General Assembly and committees. In addition to the specific duties enumerated below, Contractor agrees to perform other services not specifically listed but similar in nature as the need might arise at the direction of the City Manager and the City Council.
   • Monitoring and Consultation on Legislation
     • Prior to the General Assembly session, the Contractor shall begin by reviewing the City’s current legislative goals and priorities as well as City goals over the past several years to develop a full picture of the City’s legislative needs.
     • Upon request, the Contractor shall attend internal meetings with City staff, meetings of the City Council, and meetings of the City’s Council’s committees to provide consultation in connection with the work described below.
     • Before and during regular and special sessions of the General Assembly, Contractor shall:
       • Review all bills and resolutions introduced in the General Assembly Session, and identify proposed items that impact the City and its operations, alerting designated City representatives;
       • Analyze the potential effects of proposed state laws, state regulations, and other expressions of state policy that may affect the interests and projects of the City and provide reports to designated City representatives;
       • Assist with the development of the City’s legislative proposals, and strategies to advance those proposals, for submission to the General Assembly, including a schedule for such development and submission;
       • Assist the City with obtaining sponsors for City legislative proposals;
       • Assist with development of arguments that may be raised on behalf of the City in support of or opposition to proposed state laws, state regulations and other expression of state policy that may affect the interests of the City;
       • Assist with authorizing legislation on behalf of the City and as directed by the City;
       • Prepare remarks/talking points for City officials for their use in addressing the General Assembly, committees, and subcommittees;
       • Assist the City in developing policy papers, background materials, and other information for use in keeping Legislative and Executive branches apprised;
       • Monitor committees, commissions, and other local and state meetings as directed, and provide comprehensive reporting of same;
       • Monitor the progress of the state budget, both as proposed by the Governor and as proposed by the House and Senate Budget Committees, to determine the potential and final impacts of the state budget on the City; and
       • Monitor special sessions of the General Assembly for any legislation that has an impact on the City.
     • The Contractor shall monitor gubernatorial vetoes to determine their impact on the City.
     • The Contractor shall be familiar with projects and activities of various state agencies and advise the City of possible programs, grants or activities for which the City may apply and actively assist in seeking and developing funding for the City’s projects.
   • Representation
     During regular and special sessions of the General Assembly, the Contractor shall:
     • Pursue and favorably promote legislation included in the City’s legislative package as adopted by the City Council through working with City representatives and the sponsor of the measure;
     • Represent the City to advocate for measures that the City supports and against measures that are contrary to the City’s interests by meeting with legislators before particular measures are considered in committee or subcommittee as well as identify other localities, organizations, or stakeholder groups with whom the City and Contractor can work to form a broader, more effective coalition;
     • Represent City generally, and when specifically requested, in hearings before state legislative and executive bodies, including providing testimony before such bodies, and in contacts with individuals involved in the legislative or executive agency process;
     • At the request of the city, attend specific General Assembly Committee meetings; and
     • Facilitate meetings between the City and other local, state, and federal officials, offices and agencies.

Proposals due by June 22, 2017. Leading Virginia PR firms include Padilla PR and French-West-Vaughan.