Ten FAQs About Legislative Advocacy

As a new legislative advocate, you’re probably wondering what to expect when you sign up and how to get started. As a legislative advocate, you will be “speaking” to your elected officials on behalf of constituents with the purpose of convincing them to support or oppose specific bills or themes.

You will work closely with staff and other advocates on this front, working in partnership with them to maximize impact.In this blog post, I will try to answer some of the most frequently asked questions that can help set your legislative advocacy in motion.

What is legislative advocacy? Legislative advocacy is any effort made by an individual or group to influence a person or entity with the power of law. You may even be doing it now without realizing it!

Are laws ever drafted by the government? No. Legislation is never written by the government. It must be passed by the people via a democratically elected legislative body.

How do bills become law? Generally, legislation begins in committee or subcommittee where it is introduced and discussed at length, and often amended, to determine if it should be reported out of committee and to a full vote on the floor of the legislative body. The bill then passes and is signed by the legislative body, or it may be vetoed by the legislative body, sent back to committee, and amended before being voted on again. If the bill passes a second time it is then sent to the executive branch. The executive branch has the power to sign it (thus making it law) or veto it (where vetoes must be overridden by a 2/3 majority vote of both houses of congress).

How can I get more information on the bills? Check out your local legis scan, where you’ll find all of the most recent bills and news stories about them. Also, members of your state or national legislators’ staff may be able to provide you with additional materials, or even go over what is in each bill directly with you.

Why does an advocate need to know about legislation? Because only by understanding a bill and its potential impact will you be able to discuss the issue intelligently with legislators, the media and your peers.

What is lobbying? Lobbying is defined as “any attempt to influence the actions of a legislator in relation to his public duties.” That definition can take many forms: it can include writing letters or emails, sending faxes, making phone calls or presenting in-person arguments.

What is a lobbyist? Lobbying is almost universally construed as those who engage in a “traditional” form of lobbying, the “hard” form that seeks to influence public policy. However, there are many other types of lobbyists including law firms, public relations firms and advocacy organizations.

What is public policy? Public policy refers to the ideas, opinions or beliefs about issues that are disseminated by pundits, academics and others. These ideas have been codified in laws enacted by legislatures and courts.

What is the legislative process?

The legislative process is a series of steps that works like a house of cards; if one step fails, the entire process collapses.

These steps include:

1. Introduction of a bill into a legislator’s (or legislator’s staff member’s) office;
2. The bill is assigned to committee for review and for amendment, where it must be moved to the full committee;
3. At the full committee level, the bill is discussed, amended and voted on by committee members;
4. If a bill passes through committee, it may be reported out of committee to go before other committees as well as the full legislature;
5. If a bill passes through committee and is reported out of committee, it goes before the full legislature for a vote, which is subject to the 2/3 majority requirement;
6. The bill is signed by the legislative body or vetoed by the legislative body, returned to committee and amended before being voted on again;
7. If a bill passes through committee and is reported out of committee and is signed by any executive branch official (including the governor), it becomes law.

What are some tips to get started on my advocacy journey?

There’s no better resource than www.BuildingPowerToWin.org to help formulate ideas and determine how talented you are as an advocate.