Created by Vice President of Legislation Michele Samuelson 20162017 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 ID: 547641
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Slide1
Becoming a legislative advocate
Created by Vice President of Legislation
Michele Samuelson
2016-2017Slide2
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.usSlide3
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.”Slide4
Terminology (AKA “The Lingo”)
Legislature – State Assembly – Congress
Texas has a LEGISLA
TURE (often called “the
Lege
”)
, and the elected representatives are called LEGISLA
TORS
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
SenatorsSlide5
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 3
rd
reading (differs depending on chamber)Slide6
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.Slide7
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 billSlide8
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.Slide9Slide10
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.Slide11
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 speechSlide12
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 legislationSlide13
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.Slide14
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.Slide15
Watching the Legislature
Texas Legislature Online
www.capitol.state.tx.us | www.legis.state.tx.us | www.txlegis.comSlide16
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 DaySlide17
TFRW – WE MAKE IT HAPPEN
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