Lobbying World

• TRANSPORTATION. Wexler & Walker Public Policy Associates is lobbying on airline security issues for Hawaiian Airlines. Disclosure forms indicate the lobbying efforts will focus on the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), but are not more specific. Chad Wolf, one of the lobbyists on the account, is the former assistant administrator for security policy at the TSA. The lobbying hire is the first for Hawaiian Airlines since 2010, when it terminated its lobbying contract with McBee Strategic Consulting.
 
{mosads}Philips North America wants Congress to provide incentives for state and local governments to use LED lighting on roads and highways, and has hired lobbyists at Clint Hackney & Company to push the idea. Lawmakers are currently working on a multibillion-dollar bill to fund federal highways for another six years before the current funding expires on Sept. 30.
 
• HEALTHCARE. The medical device company St. Jude Medical Inc. has signed with Rampy Northrup to handle issues related to ObamaCare implementation and regulatory efforts surrounding the medical device industry. Healthcare policy experts Stacey Rampy, who is a former aide to Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.), and Stephen Northrup, a senior health policy adviser to Senate Republicans, launched the firm last month and have been racking up clients.
 
• TAXES The Coca-Cola Company hired lobbyist William Hawkins to work on international tax reform efforts and some of the tax extenders that expired last year, though the lobbying disclosure forms don’t go into detail about which ones the company is looking to renew.
 
• TECHNOLOGY. HID Global is launching a campaign to educate lawmakers about secure ID cards, such as ones issued by the government that give employees access to certain buildings. The company, which manufactures the products, registered with lobbyists at The Glover Park Group to talk with members about the standards surrounding the cards, according to forms filed with the Senate.
 
• APPROPRIATIONS. The City of Alameda, Calif., which is located near San Francisco, is looking to secure federal funds for various projects and has hired the Washington firm Akerman to make its case to officials.