Shot back on 6.26.7 the video captures sisters Allie and Abby as they work their way through the capitol looking for support of House Bills 1528 & 1529. The bills extend tax credits for films made in Pa. Both bills passed and became law. __________________________

From Pennlive

Did Veon, Kopp cross the line? Posted by blieberm September 04, 2007 07:14AM Categories: Rendell, State House, State government

In the gray area this morning are former state House Minority Whip Mike Veon and Colleen Kopp, a former Rendell administration deputy secretary for legislative affairs, over e-mails the pair of lobbyists sent that may have crossed the line and violated the one-year lobbying ban on former state and legislative officials.

The e-mails sent by the lobbyists representing Lionsgate Films with advocates of the $75 million film tax credit they were supporting are in a gray area, according to some attorneys and ethics experts who were shown the e-mails obtained by Capitolwire.

Barry Kauffman, executive director of Common Cause/Pennsylvania, tells the online news service that Kopp and Veon would be in violation of the law if she contacted the administration and he lobbied House members on the legislation.

But the governor and his staff say there was no foul by Kopp.

"Not one time did Colleen lobby the governor's office on any issue since she left. Not one time," says Steve Crawford, Rendell's secretary of legislative affairs and her former boss. And Rendell added that Kopp was never on the near-daily conference calls in the final two weeks of budget negotiations.

"I never spoke to Colleen about it, and she didn't lobby us [the administration]," he told Capitolwire.

Administration officials said Kopp lobbied the legislature, while Veon lobbied the administration.

Kopp also defended the e-mails as "a statement and opinion of strategy in response to a request for strategic advice from the client. We don't believe there is any prohibition in the law against providing strategic advice or offering our opinion to a client about the House or Governor's office."

Several experts apparently agreed that the e-mails could be considered strategic advice, but one Republican senator said, "Those e-mails come awfully close to the line."