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Meet Channon Hanna!
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Channon Hanna
Senior Legislative Representative
Government Affairs Department
What are your primary responsibilities--the job elements you focus on the most?
 Everyone in the Government Affairs Department works on promoting the passage of surface transportation reauthorization legislation. I also focus on funding, finance and tax issues, which include taxes going into the federal Highway Trust Fund and Mass Transit Account, as well as municipal bonds, public-private partnerships and federal loan programs like TIFIA and RRIF.
Some of APTA’s larger public transit agency members issue municipal bonds to finance their budgets. A lot of federal tax laws surround the municipal bond process; interest from bonds are exempt from federal taxes but some proposals would eliminate that, which would significantly affect the cost of issuing a bond. | I meet with Hill staff as part of the Government Affairs staff. We’re very active with members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, House Ways and Means, the Senate Commerce, Banking and Finance committees and the appropriations committees in both the House and Senate. That’s a lot of people. Also, earlier this year, we made contact with all new members of Congress, regardless of what committee they serve on.
Do you have direct contact with APTA members? If so, please talk about recent times you’ve helped out a member. Sure. Some APTA members call because they need more information about particular pieces of legislation and some have questions about the legislative process. On the other hand, I’ve found that our members are a very valuable resource to me. I’ve called several of them on my own to find out how certain legislation could impact them specifically. Conversations with our members give me an “on-the-ground” view of things, which is incredibly helpful for me to relay back to Hill staff. That includes business members as well as public transit agencies.
I try to answer any question posed to me by any APTA member. If someone has a question or needs help, I’m happy to help in any way I can. If I can’t help them, I’ll figure out who can and refer the member to that person.
What initiatives, projects or programs have you worked on at APTA that you have taken particular pride in completing? APTA held its annual Legislative Conference within my first few weeks as a member of the staff. I was in charge of finding a speaker for the business members’ breakfast session and members of the congressional staff panel. I feel happy that I completed these duties without a hitch.
The speaker for the business members’ session was Roger Dow, president and chief executive officer, U.S. Travel Association (USTA). When Government Affairs staffers brainstormed on ideas for speakers, I suggested we reach out to USTA; the organization had begun getting involved in transportation issues and had partnered with APTA in 2013 on a report regarding the travel industry and rail connections. I thought it would be good to follow up with USTA after the release of the report, concerning its new interest in the larger transportation industry and its issues.
How long have you worked at APTA? Have you held other jobs in the public transportation industry and how did you “land” here? I joined APTA about six months ago. I had no public transportation background at that time but I have worked in other transportation modes. I had a brief stint in South Carolina and, earlier, worked more than five years as director of government and political affairs with Airports Council International North America (ACI), a trade association that represents U.S. and Canadian airport authorities. I only lobbied on U.S. air issues; we had another staffer who worked on the Canadian issues.
Before my tenure at ACI, I was on the staff of the Senate Commerce Committee, where I worked primarily on maritime and aviation issues with a little bit of rail. I always wanted experience in the public transportation sector; it is just as important a mode as the others and I’m really passionate about transportation policy broadly. When I saw the position opening at APTA, I jumped on it.
What professional affiliations do you have?
I’m a member of Women in Government Relations and the Association for Government Relations Professionals.
Could you tell us something about yourself that might surprise us? I graduated from Auburn University and am an avid college football fan. I’ve had season tickets to Auburn games for more than a decade, traveling down for as many games as I can during the season. When I’m not watching news, I’m usually watching ESPN.
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