I had an opportunty to talk briefly with Frank Luntz in preparation for his post-Legislative Reception appearance before an Indiana Chamber audience of business and legislative leaders on February 16. He promises new polling data on just what the public thinks of the business community and updated language for companies to utilize to emphasize their contribution to community well-being.

Outside of that conversation, Luntz is being credited (or disparaged, depending on your view) for his role in fighting financial regulatory reform. A recent report included the following:

Republican message guru Frank Luntz has put together a playbook to help derail financial regulatory reform.

In a 17-page memo titled, "The Language of Financial Reform," Luntz urged opponents of reform to frame the final product as filled with bank bailouts, lobbyist loopholes, and additional layers of complicated government bureaucracy.

"If there is one thing we can all agree on, it’s that the bad decisions and harmful policies by Washington bureaucrats that in many ways led to the economic crash must never be repeated," Luntz wrote. "This is your critical advantage. Washington’s incompetence is the common ground on which you can build support."

Luntz continued: "Ordinarily, calling for a new government program ‘to protect consumers’ would be extraordinary popular. But these are not ordinary times. The American people are not just saying ‘no.’ They are saying ‘hell no’ to more government agencies, more bureaucrats, and more legislation crafted by special interests."

On the specific issue of a Consumer Financial Protection Agency, Luntz argued that opponents should stress the high-cost of creating an additional regulatory body in addition to the damaging effects it will supposedly have on "small business owners" (as opposed to, merely, small businesses).

"Owning a small business is part of the American Dream and Congress should make it easier to be an entrepreneur," wrote Luntz. "But the Financial Reform bill and the creation of the CFPA makes it harder to be a small business owner because it will choke off credit options to small business owners."

More than 300 Hoosiers have purchased their tickets to hear Luntz in person. It will be most interesting.

A recent Haiti-related mix up in the Twittersphere left American Airlines scrambling — and it appears it wasn’t even their fault, but misinformation spread by a third party. Let this be a lesson to all businesses about being prepared in case of a PR calamity. The Dallas Morning News writes:

For all the upsides to social media, its viral nature can be difficult to handle. American Airlines learned that in the wake of the Haitian earthquake.

Soon after the Jan. 12 quake hit, the Fort Worth-based airline was deluged with inquiries from people who had heard that it was offering free flights to Haiti for doctors and nurses.

The culprit was an erroneous post on Twitter that mentioned the free flights and gave a phone number for the Haitian consulate in New York.

The mistaken post originated from a person on the ground in Haiti who misconstrued some information, said Christopher Vary, a spokesman who helps lead the airline’s social-media efforts.

But the false message took on a life of its own late Jan. 13, when film critic Roger Ebert reposted the information to his nearly 50,000 Twitter followers.

Scores of retweets ensued, including from actor Rainn Wilson, who has some 1.8 million Twitter followers. The damage was done.

American acted quickly, directing tweets to major news outlets warning them that the free flights rumor was not true, Vary said. The airline also used its own Twitter feed, AAirwaves, to combat the buzz.

Not long after Ebert’s post, reporters for The New York Times began cautioning their Twitter followers about the free flight rumor. A day later, CNN posted a Web story about the mistaken tweet.

"We got the message within an hour and hit the social space," Vary said. "When things pop up like that, you have to act."

(Here’s a sequel to the morning blog.) From BusinessWeek:

Earlier (this week) Treasury officials announced a new initiative that will use up to $1 billion from the Troubled Asset Relief Program to provide lower-cost capital to banks, credit unions, and thrifts that have been certified as Community Development Financial Institutions. The intention, officials say, is to boost the small business lending ability of CDFIs serving low- and moderate-income communities around the country that are struggling because of the recession.

Officials say term sheets will be available by the end of the week and certified institutions will be able to apply by the end of the month.

The CDFI program is separate from the legislative proposal Obama made yesterday to create a $30 billion fund to help community banks provide loans that will spur hiring by small businesses.

President Obama has called for a $30 billion loan initiative for American small businesses, a plan he announced this week at a town hall in New Hampshire. Other initiatives he’s proposing to aid businesses include providing a $5,000 tax credit to employers for each new worker they add to their payrolls this year, cutting capital gains taxes on investments in small businesses to zero and expanding loan guarantees provided by the Small Business Administration. The Christian Science Monitor has more:

President Obama has proposed a small-business lending initiative designed to help shift America’s job-creation engines out of reverse gear.

The idea addresses the problem, in effect, by going back to Square 1 – the financial crisis and the health of banks.

At a town-hall meeting Tuesday in New Hampshire, Mr. Obama called for congressional approval to invest up to $30 billion in small banks – the ones most likely to make loans to small employers. The money, to be taken by banks that voluntarily opt in, would provide capital as seed money for new loans.

A shortage of capital is just one of the obstacles for the economy’s flow of credit. The weak economy means that many banks are wary of lending, and many businesses don’t even want to borrow. But more capital could help to revive lending, at least to a modest degree, economists say.

"Jobs will be our No. 1 focus in 2010. And we’re going to start where most new jobs do – with small businesses," Obama said at the event in Nashua, N.H. "Bank lending standards have tightened, and many small businesses are struggling to get loans."

To give banks an incentive to make loans with the money, the Treasury would ask for smaller dividends on the capital from the banks that make the most loans. Dividends would start at a 5 percent annual rate but fall to as low as 1 percent if a participating bank were to expand its lending by 10 percent this year.

UPDATE: The Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council contends the President’s agenda may sound like a boon for small businesses, but it’s more about rhetoric than truly aiding commerce. What do you think?

As southern Indiana continues to work toward enhancing its economy, one critical component is the Ohio River Bridges Project. The governors of Indiana and Kentucky announced Tuesday they are eager to continue the endeavor:

Governor Mitch Daniels, Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear and Louisville Mayor Jerry Abramson today convened the first meeting of the 14-member Indiana-Kentucky Bi-State Authority.

“It’s time to move, and in a way that creates a model on how two states can act together for the good of all,” said Daniels.

The Bi-State Authority was created to spearhead the project to construct two bridges over the Ohio River and to rebuild the Kennedy Interchange, where Interstates 64, 65 and 71 come together in downtown Louisville.

The authority’s mandate includes devising a financial plan for the project. The initial plan set the estimated cost at $4.1 billion. Indiana’s share is 30 percent.

“We’re taking a historic step today,” Gov. Beshear said. “The task before this authority is challenging but critically important. The work done here will benefit both of our states for generations to come.”

“It has taken many years, and lots of hard work, but we are now ready to move this important project forward,” Mayor Abramson said. “This authority will lay the groundwork for a vastly improved transportation system in Louisville and Southern Indiana.”

Beshear proposed the creation of special authorities to oversee development and financing of “mega” projects – those costing more than $500 million – between Kentucky and Indiana. The Kentucky General Assembly enacted the proposal in 2009. It created the statewide Kentucky Public Transportation Infrastructure Authority, which voted in October 2009 to recommend that Beshear, in cooperation with Daniels, create a bi-state authority for the Ohio River bridges project.

Working in communications at the Indiana Chamber and as editor of our BizVoice magazine offers the opportunity to meet, interview, get to know and sometimes just be around some pretty amazing leaders. One of those people is Niel Ellerbrook, whose upcoming retirement as CEO of Evansville-based Vectren Corp. was announced Wednesday.

Niel was the Chamber’s 2007 Business Leader of the Year; you can read his story in BizVoice. A few of the highlights: born in Rensselaer, grew up in Franklin and earned an accounting degree from Ball State University. His career was divided into equal segments – 10 years with Arthur Andersen, 20 with Indiana Energy and another 10 with Vectren, the product of a major utility company merger. All stops were marked by organization and individual success.

Service to the Chamber for Niel included, among other roles, heading the tax and fiscal policy committee and active involvement on the board of directors and executive committee (including time as treasurer). His community involvements have been significant in both the volume of activities and the prominence of his accomplishments. Several are featured in the BizVoice article.

The Vectren press release has more on the company transition.

House Speaker Pat Bauer and former Speaker Pro Tempore Chet Dobis have served together as Indiana legislators since 1970. That’s a lot of collaboration, and undoubtedly a little conflict, over 40 years.

Conflict is center stage now as Dobis has been removed from his second in command leadership position. The reason: he didn’t support his Democrat colleagues on a committee report that would have likely killed the Illiana Expressway, a project heavily supported in Dobis’ Northwest Indiana district.

Frugal Hoosiers has the latest, with an assist from the Northwest Indiana Times. The impact on the remainder of the legislative session, and beyond, remains to be seen.