How to Testify for Public Government Meetings Constance J. Brooks, Ph.D. Vice Chancellor, NSHE

Where? Board of Regents State Legislature School Board NSHE Campuses and System Offices North and South State Legislature Las Vegas: Grant Sawyer Building Carson City: State Legislative Building School Board County Commission City Council Campus Improvement Authority UNLV Campus Public Utilities Commission Gaming Control Board

In What Form? Public Comment Testimony During Committee Meeting Before and after the meeting Only 2-3 minutes Testimony During Committee Meeting Specific bill / legislative measure Specific agenda item

Why? Your voice is important as a concerned citizen / student, taxpayer, consumer You, the people, elect officials to these committees, they would rather hear from you than lobbyists You have the power to influence critical policy decisions You bring life to the impact of their pending decisions

Prepare Study the issue and its impact Research the elected officials Call the offices of the public entity ahead of time with questions If possible, view a meeting online before actually attending one

What to Say? Address chairperson and committee members Full name and spell last name Organization you represent or district, city, county, ward or NSHE institution if testifying as a concerned citizen or student State subject Support or oppose the measure / topic Why? very succinctly, try not to ramble End with: "I urge this (board / council / commission / committee) to (support / oppose) this measure."

What to Say? (Cont’d) Ok to use notes -Avoid reading the entire testimony if possible -Always end with “thank you”.

Written Testimony Avoid reading it in its entirety if possible Submit written testimony to the staff so it is permanently added to the record You may turn in supplemental materials (i.e data, reports, etc.) to be submitted to the committee and for the record