Tracking Bills: What the heck does this mean?? By: Richmond NOW Chapter President, Vicki Yeroian

Where do we begin? The golden beacon of the Virginia General Assembly:

Step 1: Click on Bills and Resolutions

Step 2: Finding Your Bills There are many ways to look up bills. Once you know the bills that pertain to your lobby issue, write down the bill # HB_ _ _ _ or SB _ _ _ _ What’s the easiest way to search for bills? Look for bills according to either the subject or committee you think your issue would be placed under

An Example Women’s Rights

Step 3: Tracking Your Bills Tracking is another way of saying: watching whether or not the bill you are concerned with dies or passes through the chambers Where do you look to see the progress of your bills in question??

An Example Women’s Rights Keep a note of where the bill’s status under its History section

Step 4: Follow the Committee Bills will be placed in committees, completely dependent on the opinions of those in charge Ex: The Speaker of the House assigns bills to committees Luckily, bills are placed mostly in a logical fashion (eg: education bills in the education committee)

Step 5: Use the Committee page It is useless to work hard on a bill if it has already been killed in committee; click on committees to find your bill(s), see which delegates/senators are on those committees, and make sure to talk with those people!

An Example Use the section on Committee Legislation to determine when your bill will be voted on in committee. If possible, try to attend and put yourself on the speaking docket to show your support or quarrels with the bill.

What if I get lost? If you lose your place on the website and have trouble finding your bills, you can always click on: and it will bring you back to the home page you are familiar with.

Can it get easier?? Why yes, yes it can Try looking up national or state-wide grassroots organizations to gain literature, information, support, and help tracking bills Ex: For HB1 Unborn children; construing the word "person" under Virginia law to include.  I would contact The Coalition to Protect Women’s Health, NARAL VA, or the ACLU to see what their plans of action are.

Click to edit the outline text format  Second Outline Level Third Outline Level  Fourth Outline Level Fifth Outline Level Sixth Outline Level Seventh Outline Level Eighth Outline Level Ninth Outline LevelClick to edit Master text styles Second level Third level Fourth level Fifth level Richmond Sunlight Tracking Virginia’s General Assembly Since 2007 You can either click on a topic or click on “bills” to look up a piece of legislation Just like in LIS, Richmond Sunlight will update you as to when bills are on the committee docket, on the floor, etc.