Effective Advocacy: Legislative Committees & Hearings

The following is a guest blog by Vicky Selkowe.

As bills are being rushed through the Wisconsin Legislature’s “special” session, I’m fielding a lot of questions about how to best advocate on a bill that is before a legislative committee, especially if you are opposed to that bill. Below is some general information and tips that I hope is helpful – feel free to share this note, and let me know if I’ve missed anything or misstated anything. Go forth and advocate EFFECTIVELY.

– Vicky Selkowe, Chief of Staff, State Rep. Cory Mason (D-Racine)

 

First, you need to know a little about Legislative Committees: 

You should be familiar with the Wisconsin Legislature’s home page. If not, it’s here: http://legis.wisconsin.gov/   

On that home page you’ll find several helpful items related to bills and committees: 

* One is a “notification service” where you can sign up to receive updates on any bill you want to follow.

* The other is a link to the Committee Schedule: http://committeeschedule.legis.wisconsin.gov/

 

Committees have two types of meetings: 1) Hearings: This is the public’s chance to register in support or opposition to a bill, and to speak to the committee about the bill; and 2) Executive Session: This is when the Committee votes on bills and either recommends passage (by the full body) or not. The Committee also considers amendments to the bill at Executive Session. This is where the Committee members will engage in debate & discussion about the bill.

 

Senate Committees are listed here: http://legis.wisconsin.gov/w3asp/commpages/Committees.aspx?house=senate

Assembly Committees are listed here: http://legis.wisconsin.gov/W3asp/commpages/Committees.aspx?house=assembly

Clicking on each Committee will let you see who the members are and you can click on each one to get his/her contact information.  The members are generally listed in terms of seniority or influence on the committee – so the first name listed is the name of the (Republican) Committee Chair. The first Democrat listed is the “Ranking Democratic Member.” The Chair and the Ranking Member are generally who helps coordinate and inform the other members of their party who serve on that committee.

 

Second, some tips for effective advocacy if a bill you’re following is moving through the committee process:

If a bill you’re following has a hearing in a Committee, that’s a key opportunity to weigh in on the bill’s benefits or harms.

 

If you can attend the hearing: 

  1. Prepare written remarks ahead of time.
  2. Keep your remarks to one page! One format for your comments that is clear & helpful is as follows:

To: Members, Assembly Committee on Truth, Justice, and the American Way

From: Amanda Advocate, 1234 Speaking Out Street, Madison, WI 53704

Re: Opposition to Assembly Bill 500, The Kicking Puppies Bill

Date: Today’s Date

Your brilliant & insightful comments.

 

3. Bring enough copies of your remarks to distribute them to all committee members and media.

 

4. When you get to the hearing, you’ll be asked to “register” by filling out a hearing slip. Print LEGIBLY on the form your name and other requested information and indicate whether you are registering in support or in opposition and if you wish to speak.

 

5. If you’re going to speak at the hearing, you will be called up to sit at a table in front of the legislators on the committee. You will have to wait to speak until after the bill’s author(s) have testified, if they’re there, and there may also be other ‘big wig’ speakers who will get to go before members of the public. Be prepared to wait.

 

6. Don’t just read your testimony! No one likes to be read to. Use the few minutes you have to speak to supplement your written remarks and highlight why the bill is good or bad. Tell a story. Why is this bill important or detrimental? Who will it impact and how? Are there amendments that you can suggest that would improve the bill? Have other states done what this bill is doing? With what results? Are there questions you’d urge committee members to consider or look into before they take action on this bill?

 

7. Be prepared to answer questions from committee members. Sometimes they have them, sometimes they don’t.

 

8. Hearings are a great time for you or your organization to get press coverage on the issues raised by the bill. Make sure to introduce yourself to the members of the media (if any) covering the hearing, give them copies of your remarks, and consider turning your written comments to a letter to the editor or guest column for your local paper after the hearing.

    If you can’t attend the hearing but still want to weigh in:

    1. Prepare written comments – one page!
    2. One format for your comments that is clear & helpful is as follows:

    To: Members, Assembly Committee on Truth, Justice, and the American Way

    From: Amanda Advocate, 1234 Speaking Out Street, Madison, WI 53704

    Re: Opposition to Assembly Bill 500, The Kicking Puppies Bill

    Date: Today’s Date

    Your brilliant & insightful comments.

    3. Email the comments to all members of the committee before the hearing. You can find committee members and their email addresses here: Senate Committees are listed here: http://legis.wisconsin.gov/w3asp/commpages/Committees.aspx?house=senate Assembly Committees are listed here: http://legis.wisconsin.gov/W3asp/commpages/Committees.aspx?house=assembly

     

    4. Make sure your comments include your full name, complete address, and whether you support or oppose the bill.

      Whether or not you can attend the hearing, you might want to consider requesting a meeting with the bill’s authors or with other committee members to educate them about the bill. This is particularly helpful to do before a hearing. For example, if you’re opposed to a bill, you might have pointed questions you’d like asked of the bill’s authors or supporters during the committee, or you might have data or information that would be helpful to legislators on the committee.

       

      Don’t ever assume that legislators and their staff already know everything they need to know about a bill. Meeting with the Ranking Democrat on the Committee (and/or with all Dems on the Committee) to educate them about why the bill is bad and even suggesting questions to ask during the hearing or points to be brought up by the opposing legislators is very helpful – and helps you build a relationship with the legislator and his/her staff. If you have amendment suggestions for the bill, it is also helpful to raise those ideas at the hearing stage or in your meetings with committee members.

       

      Committee Executive Session

       

      After a bill has had a hearing, it gets scheduled for ‘Executive Action’ (a vote) in that same committee. Right now, some committees are moving so fast that it is not uncommon to have a hearing on a bill on a Tuesday and a vote in committee that Thursday. Most committees have a 24-hour rule for amendments, meaning amendments have to be introduced 24 hours prior to the Executive Session. This makes timing very tricky and means, again, that if you have amendment suggestions, you should bring them up as early as possible with allies or with the bill’s authors.

      The public is not allowed to speak at a Committee’s Executive Session. The legislators on the Committee, and the Committee staff from the Legislative Council, are the only ones speaking. They debate and discuss a bill, vote on amendments, and then vote on final passage of the bill, as amended. Then the bill moves out of committee to the Joint Committee on Finance (if necessary, if it has an appropriation) or becomes available for scheduling before the full Assembly or Senate.

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