Page 5 - Winter 2021 Digital inLEAGUE Volume 44 Number 01

Lobbying isn’t a Dirty WorD

By Ken Stein, League of Historic American Theatres President & CEO

You should have a relationship with your elected officials at every level of
government. At the very least, you should have routine interactions with the
elected officials in your specific community. Those officials should be intimately
aware of the services you provide for their constituents. At the national level,
the League of Historic American Theatres offers Advocacy as a new(ish)
member benefit.

Many non-profits are under the impression that they cannot lobby
elected officials without jeopardizing their 501(c)3 tax exempt status.
With very few exceptions, that is simply not true. Please see the
related article in this InLeague issue about the legal parameters for
non-profits and lobbying.

It is not often that the Federal Government is talking specifically about Historic
Theatres, but often they are considering legislation that affects most every
historic theatre. A few years back it was some changes to the ADA around
assisted hearing devices and not that long ago it was about Undoing the
Paramount Decree of 1948. More
recently it was the Paycheck
Protection Program (PPP) and right
now the Shuttered Venue Operators

Grant (SVO). There are also recurring
budget talks and legislative actions
that directly affect important Historic
Tax Credits. For those reasons, the
League of Historic American Theatres
is very much involved with advocacy
efforts on behalf of our industry and
has invested in skills and technology to
help us become much more effective

in the areas of legally allowable
lobbying.

Currently the League works closely
with other national organizations

including the National Trust for Historic
Preservation, National Endowment
for the Arts, Americans for the
(Continued on next page.)

February 2021 INLEAGUE | PAGE 3