The
single most important tool in this position is
your personal commitment, to work in concert with
the “Aims and Purposes” of ABATE.
The
second most important tool is a computer, linked
to the internet. Used as a source of information,
its resources are limitless. Used as a means of
communication, it is instantaneous, inexpensive
and capable of reaching thousands of communicants
nationwide. Used as a word processor, it can
generate professional looking documents worthy of
a highly paid lobbyist’s office. (Spell Check
is essential here.)
Starting
Out As a Legislative Coordinator
1. Know
Your Duties You will be required to write a brief
report, once a month, to send to the District
Legislative Coordinators. You will need to write a
‘Legislative Report’ for the State newsletter
which is published 8 times a year. Included in
these reports, should be information on
legislation and regulations affecting
motorcyclists. Okay, how do I find out the stuff
that I need to report? I can’t imagine doing any
of this without an internet connection.
Note:
There are undoubtedly members who are eminently
qualified for the office of State Legislative
Coordinator, yet not possessing internet
capabilities. This circumstance can be overcome by
simply appointing an assistant who, working with
the Legislative Coordinator, will assume all
internet communications.
2. Learn the
best sources for legislative information on State
and Federal issues. The Motorcycle Riders
Foundation http://www.mrf.org/index.php, acting
as our
Additional
resources include:
For State Assembly information: http://www.assembly.state.ny.us/
For State Senate information: http://www.senate.state.ny.us/
For Federal Bills: http://thomas.loc.gov/
For all Congressional information: http://congress.org/congressorg/dbq/officials/?IvI=L
For Politics nationwide: http://www.politicsnationwide.com/
To learn how government works: http://www.vote-smart.org/resource_govt101_02.php
3. Develop a
plan of action. There are two ‘Houses’ in the NY
State Legislature; each house in the legislature
has a presiding officer. The Lieutenant Governor
presides over the Senate, but the majority leader
assumes most of the leadership roles. The house
elects a Speaker who serves as its leader. Leaders
of each house are responsible for recognizing
speakers in debate, referring bills to committee,
and presiding over deliberations. There are 62
Senate and 150 Assembly Districts. Senators and
Assembly Reps are elected every two years.
Legislation (bills) can be introduced in either
house. To be considered as a viable bill, there
must be a corresponding bill in the opposite
house, worded exactly the same.
Senate
bills are denoted by an S prefix to the bill
number and Assembly bill numbers are preceded by
an A. The legislative life of a bill is two years.
If after two years the bill has not ‘passed’ into
law, it is ‘dead’ and must start all over again.
Thousands of pieces of legislation are introduced
each year, a small number of which will become
law. For this reason, we need to lobby for the
bills we consider important.
Meet
with and develop a working relationship with
legislators. Working with our principal lobbyist
(Prospector), a Legislative Agenda for each two
year legislative session will be developed and
provided to each Chapter’s Legislative
Coordinator. Those Agendas will also be provided
to all 162
Fundraisers
can be costly. You are not expected to foot the
bill for them and ABATE can not contribute
directly to a political candidate. This is why we
have a PAC (Political Action Committee). Our PAC
is registered with the NY State Board of Elections
and empowered to make donations for us. We, in
turn fund the PAC with resources garnered through
Chapter events, 50/50s or ‘passing the hat’ at
meetings.
4. Coordinate:
As legislation is progressing through committees,
the State Legislative Coordinator should keep all
Chapter Legislative Coordinators informed of the
necessary steps to be undertaken by the
membership, to aid in the progression; e.g.
Personal visits, phone calls and/or letters to the
proper committees. A ‘phone tree’ can start out
with as few as 5 key members who will each contact
five others, potentially reaching 625 others in
only 4 steps.
5. Letter
Writing: Writing to a public official does make a
difference. They know that every person who writes
represents many others who feel the same but don't
write. Personal letters are much better than form
letters or petitions. Letters should be brief, to
the point and always respectful. Legislators
should be addressed as ‘The Honorable” as in
Assemblyman/woman, Senator or Congressman/woman.
Christmas
cards to all members of the Legislature have
brought responses from a good percentage and have
served to get us on the mail ing lists of many
members. The cost to the ABATE state treasury has
been minuscule, (under $300.00) compared to the
recognition we have gained. Birthday cards are
also well received. Birthdays are listed for most
legislators at Congress.org http://www.congress.org/congressorg/dbq/officials/directory/statedel.dbq?state=NY&submit.x=9&submit.y=11 click
on the member, click GO and scroll down the page
to background information.
6. Learn the
Basics of Lobbying :
Establish Your Agenda and
Goals
Know what subject you are going to address. Don't
overload with issues; stick to one or two.
Decide what you would like to get out of the
visit, i.e., a commitment to vote for your issue,
leadership on the issue, or you may decide the
visit is simply informational.
Allow time for small talk at the outset, but not
too much. Remember, it's your visit.
If it is a group visit, keep it small. Decide who
will start the discussion and put your agenda on
the table.
Listen
Much of lobbying is listening, looking for
indications of the elected official's views, and
finding opportunities to provide good information.
If you are meeting with a "silent type," draw
her/him out by asking questions. If you are
confronted with a "long-winded type," look for
openings to bring her/him back to the point.
Be Prepared, But Don't Feel
That You Need To Be An Expert
Most elected officials are generalists, like many
of us. They rely on aides to know the ‘nuts and
bolts’ of the legislation. Don’t feel miffed if
you are relegated to an aide. Do your homework,
but don't feel that you need to know every little
detail of an issue. Use personal experiences as
examples where appropriate. Relate the concerns of
members of the community. Know when to admit "I
don't know," and offer to follow up with the
information. Be open to counter-arguments, but
don't get stuck on them. Don't be
argumentative or confrontational.
Don't Stay Too Long
Try to get closure on your issue. If you hear what
you had hoped for, express your thanks and leave.
If you reach an impasse, thank her/him, even if
disappointed, and say so. Leave room to continue
the discussion at another time.
Remember You Are There To
Build a Relationship
If the elected official is good on an issue you've
been involved in or has supported your position in
the past, be sure to acknowledge your appreciation
during the course of the visit. If the opposite is
true, think of the phrase, "No permanent friends,
no permanent enemies." Some day, on some issue of
importance to you, s/he may come through. (A prime
example is Senator Patricia Magee, who was won
over to the helmet ‘choice’ issue through in depth
conversation with Prospector, or Assembly member
RoAnn Destito who will never agree on helmet
‘choice’ but cosponsored YROW and other bills for
us.) In the meantime, your visit may prevent the
official from being an active opponent. In other
words, you may help to turn down the heat on the
other side.
Follow-up Is Important
Be sure to send a thank-you note after the visit.
If commitments were made in the meeting, repeat
your understanding of them. If staff members were
present, write to them too. They can often be
important allies.
Working At The Federal Level
There
are 435 seats (Districts) in the US House. 29 of
those seats are held by New York State
Representatives, the number being determined by
equal apportionment of the state’s population to
the districts. House terms of office are 2 years
and concurrent.
There
are 100 Senatorial seats in the US Senate, 2 for
each state. Senators are elected to rotating 6
year terms.
House
bills use a prefix of H.R. and Senate bills use S.
These bills will go through a progression much the
same as state bills. Federal bills concerning
motorcycling and motorcyclists rights are equally
as important as those in our home state and must
be dealt with in the same manner.
Visits
to Federal Representatives can be made in the home
office or in
Learn
the history of previous legislation and
regulations (e.g. TEA-LU, the latest
reauthorization of ISTEA – The Intermodal Surface
Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 and HIPAA –
The Health Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act of 1996, which should have
taken care of health insurance discrimination
against motorcyclists, but didn’t). You can’t know
where you’re going if you don’t know where you’ve
been. All of this information is available to you
by visiting the MRF web site.
