We’ve noticed these “Bring RAP Back!” banners displayed at several elementary schools. This one is on the fence in front of Kaaawa Elementary.

RAP refers to the Read Aloud Program operated by Read Aloud America, a successful Hawaii-based nonprofit that’s been around since 1995.

In recent years, it’s funding has come almost entirely from the State of Hawaii, receiving over $1 million a year during recent years. But budget cuts have slashed its state funds, along with those of other social service agencies.

The message on the sign: “Email, write, or call local, state, & federal legislators to help.”

My questions: Does this constitute lobbying?

This banner encourages people to support state grants or contracts for this one agency. It isn’t a general message, something like, “Reading is important, do your part.” Instead, it is a very specific plea to benefit a specific agency.

That message appears to meets the definition of lobbying. Here’s what the state lobbyist law says:

“Lobbying” means communicating directly or through an agent, or soliciting others to communicate, with any official in the legislative or executive branch, for the purpose of attempting to influence legislative or administrative action or a ballot issue. [emphasis added]

And anyone who is paid for their lobbying and spends either five hours in any month, or $750 in any reporting period (which can be as long as eight months) is considered a lobbyist and has to register. If there are more than a couple of banners, the $750 threshold could easily have been exceeded.

A quick check shows Read Aloud America does not have a lobbyist registered with the State Ethics Commission and has not reported its lobbying expenditures. But whether or not they actually crossed the time/expense threshold and should have been registered is very difficult to determine.

House Speaker Calvin Say’s office responded quickly to the State Ethics Commission’s request for further information about meetings with representatives of Hollywood movie company, Relativity Media, during which gift sets of DVDs were distributed, but his response provided little information.

Say told the commission he does not recall any details of his meetings with representatives of the movie company, which spent over $200,000 lobbying for a bill that would have substantially increased tax credits for movie productions in the state.

Say’s letter to the commission, dated yesterday, was emailed to all legislators and House office managers with the suggestion that it might help shape their own responses to the commission’s inquiry. “Please feel free to use the responses as guidance,” the email said. It directed further questions to Say’s Chief of Staff, Calvin Azama.

Say acknowledged attending a meeting with representatives of Relativity Media on February 1, 2011.

• The Speaker said he did not recall the names of any other company representatives present at the meeting other than CEO Ryan Kavanaugh.

• He declined to name any other House members present, saying he does “not have a definitive recollection of who was or was not present at the meeting or who stayed for a few minutes only or longer.”

Consequently, I do not feel comfortable responding to this question because of the possibility of misidentification or misrepresentation.

• He does not recall any legislative staff members who were present.

• No one from the Speaker’s office staff attended the meeting or received gift DVDs.

• Say told the commission he does not know what movies were in the boxed set of 24 DVD or Blu-Ray discs he received from the company because he did not look in the box. Further, Say wrote: “My staff member who counted the DVDs for valuation purpose does not recall any of the titles.”

Say’s carefully written letter strikes me as an invitation for legislators to sidestep the commission’s investigation into potential ethics violations through equally guarded replies, and a veiled challenge to the commission’s inquiry.

On the other hand, a more “balanced” analysis would note that the Speaker is trying to shield his members from what many see as one of a series of recent moves by the ethics commission that together are unreasonably restrictive. In some ways, trying to slow the process works in favor of the commission by removing it from the crosshairs of prospective anti-ethics legislation.

Just a thought.

An investigation by the State Ethics Commission is asking legislators to step forward and report if they or their staff accepted boxed sets of DVDs from a Hollywood-based film company that was lobbying for bills that would have boosted tax credits to movie productions in the state.

Relativity Media, a major Hollywood-based production company, reported distributing 25 sets of DVDs, each containing about 16 discs, during meetings with legislators and staff during February. However, only eleven legislators reported receipt of those gifts on their annual gift disclosure forms filed with the commission.

Relatively initially said the DVDs cost about $290 per set. However, in an amended lobbyist report, the company says the actual cost of each set was just $6.30, which was the cost of the box itself and a printed label. The company now says the cost of the DVDs was $0 because “contractually we are allotted DVD’s of each film we are credited on.”

The company has reported spending $218,220.50 lobbying for the measure between January 1 and April 30, 2011. See its amended lobbyist expenditure reports for January-February and March-April.

In a letter first emailed to all lawmakers on Friday, commission director Les Kondo said the commission is now “investigating to determine who else may have received the DVDs.”

The letter said the commission has not yet ruled whether accepting the DVDs violated state ethics laws, but the continuing investigation clearly reflects its concerns.

State law prohibits a legislator or employee from accepting a gift “under circumstances in which it can reasonably be inferred that the gift is intended to influence the performance of official duties or is intended as a reward for official action.”

Relativity Media held two meetings with legislators on February 1, according to Kondo’s letter. One meeting was attended by “approximately fifteen to twenty members of the House of Representatives an legislative staff, while the second was with four senators and staff.

The company also hosted an event on February 14 attended by about 100 people, including 30-50 legislators. The company reported spending $15,000 on the event, which was disclosed to the ethics commission last month.

Kondo’s letter asks legislators whether they attended any meeting with Relativity Media representatives and, if so, the date and time of the meeting, and the names of those present. It also asks whether any staff member attended such a meeting, along with their positions. Finally, it asks directly whether the legislator or any staff members had received the DVD sets.

“We are requesting information from all members of the legislature,” the letter said. A response was requested by Monday, October 17.

The increased tax credit proposal was the idea of Relativity CEO, Ryan Kavanaugh, CEO of Relativity, according to the Hollywood Reporter.