Becoming a legislative advocate Created by Vice President of Legislation Michele Samuelson 2016-2017

POP QUIZ Who is your State Representative and what House District do you vote in? Who is your State Senator and what Senate District do you vote in? Who is your Congressman and what U.S. House District do you vote in? Who is your State Board of Education member? BONUS QUESTION 1: Who is your county commissioner? If you did not know the answers to one or more of Questions 1-4, bookmark http://www.fyi.state.tx.us

Why We Don’t Communicate “My {elected official} is a Democrat” “I don’t have time to pay attention to what’s going on.” “Every time I call, I only get to speak to a staffer/intern.” “I don’t really care about ________.” “We elected Jane Doe to do the work, and I shouldn’t have to tell her how to vote.”

Terminology (AKA “The Lingo”) Legislature – State Assembly – Congress Texas has a LEGISLATURE (often called “the Lege”), and the elected representatives are called LEGISLATORS Session – The time period in which the legislature meets to make laws (140 days every two years) The Interim – The time period during which the legislature studies issues and prepares for session Representatives Senators

Legislature Basics The Texas Legislature meets for 140 days every 2 years in odd-numbered years. In 2015, the start of the session is January 13 and it concludes on June 1. During the regular session, any bill may be considered by the Legislature. The Governor has the Constitutional authority to call a special session that lasts for no more than 30 days for a specific purpose. Only bills that relate to the called purpose may be considered by the Legislature in a special session. In 2013, there were approximately 7,200 bills filed, but only 1,350 passed. There are constitutional deadlines for filing legislation (usually in March) and for the final day to pass legislation on 3rd reading (differs depending on chamber)

Texas House Basics 150 Members Speaker of the House is chosen by the members on the first day of session. Speaker appoints committees that required within the House Rules. The House Rules are amended each session by the members, so the standing committees may change. There may be as many as 35 committees each session. Each House member typically serves on no more than 2 committees. Floor debate is scheduled through the Calendars Committee. All revenue increase bills are required to originate in the House.

Texas Senate Basics 31 Members Presiding Officer is the Lieutenant Governor, elected statewide Lt. Gov. appoints committees in accordance with the Senate Rules. There are typically no more than 16 committees. Each Senator typically serves on 4-5 committees. Floor debate is scheduled by the members themselves when they have a 3/5 (60%) consensus on their bill

Other Important Players Governor has constitutional veto power. This is the final step in the Legislative process: sign the bill or veto the bill. Texas Legislative Council drafts legislation for members and provides research, IT, and formal bill analysis support. The Legislative Budget Board develops fiscal notes on all bills. This shows the cost or revenue increase to the state for all bills. House and Senate Research Offices provide daily bill summaries for members.

Effective Communication with Elected Representatives Building personal relationships with members and staff improves success. Schedule an appointment with your Representative to talk about your issues. If possible, schedule meetings in pairs to show strength in numbers. Get to know staff members and open personal communications with them to follow up on issues. You should not expect to meet with any member other than your own Representative and Senator. Provide brief written materials and background research so the legislation can be more successful.

Three P’s of Grassroots Lobbying Professionalism Dress and act the part Promptness Schedule a meeting and show up on time. Be respectful of time and competing priorities of elected officials Preparation Have brief written materials prepared that enhance your position Know your talking points and be prepared to give a 30 second elevator speech

Less Effective Communications Faxes typically go unanswered or unchecked Mass emails or online petitions are frequently filtered out by the spam filters in the member’s email system and may go unread Political threats to a member are red flags to staff Offers of campaign assistance may be seen as bribes and will stop communication on legislation

Committee process The most effective time to speak on legislation is before or during the committee process. If you testify, be sure you can complete your testimony in under 3 minutes and that you make a persuasive argument. Members will listen to the feedback during the committee and take notes to make changes to the bill and gage overall public support and opposition. Simply registering a position without speaking for or against a bill makes a statement to the committee members. Once the bill passes the committee, it is much more likely to pass.

Committee testimony If you plan to testify at a committee meeting, you will have to fill out a witness card stating your name, contact info, the group you represent (if applicable), and your position (for, against, on). The House of Representatives now utilizes an electronic witness registration system to allow individuals to register on legislation within the Capitol building at kiosks. See next slide for a tutorial. The Senate is working on a similar electronic witness registration system.

Watching the Legislature Texas Legislature Online www. capitol. state Watching the Legislature Texas Legislature Online www.capitol.state.tx.us | www.legis.state.tx.us | www.txlegis.com

Tips for Club Legislative Chairs Subscribe to elected officials’ email lists Read NFRW and TFRW emails Check out city council, county commissioner court, and school board agendas Follow legislators on social media (search “#txlege” on Twitter) Follow the news (paper, television, talk radio) for what the hot topics are Encourage your members to take action, attend TFRW Legislative Day

TFRW – WE MAKE IT HAPPEN Contact Michele Samuelsson at Assembled with assistance from the Grassroots Volunteers of the Republican Party of Texas SREC Party Organization Committee December 2014 Contact Michele Samuelsson at vplegislation@tfrw.org 214-995-0413