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Move Into Action
So, you’re done with just gritting your teeth and boring your cats and co-workers with your armchair political rants. When you are finally ready to hit the Hill and do the real thing, you’d best review the basics of citizen lobbying.
Basic Training:
For a comprehensive how-to guide on raging against the sausage-grinding machine, check out City Weekly’s 2010 citizen lobbying issue, "Storm the Hill." Here’s a quick refresher.
Lobby your Legislator: You can bend the ear of any lawmaker, but you’ll have more buy-in if the legislator actually represents you. Find your legislator through your county clerks (Elections.Utah.Gov/CountyClerks.html).
Make it Short & Sweet: Look for the sergeants-at-arms—elderly folks in green and navy sport coats—who will give you a slip to request an audience with a representative. Know what your legislator looks like so you can find him or her (probably him) when they come out. Remember, you only have a few minutes. So, introduce yourself, explain your concern with a specific bill and ask the legislator’s opinion. Be nice and be concise! Hear them out and give them any materials you might have, thank them for their time and move on to the next target.
Testify at Committee: Check the Legislature’s Website Le.Utah.Gov to verify when a committee is meeting. Check 24 hours before, in case it gets cancelled. Arrive early to ask staff about getting your name on the docket to comment. When commenting, again keep it short and sweet (you’re likely only allowed a few minutes to speak) and keep it nice and concise. Introduce yourself and who you represent, give specific concerns about specific bills, address legislators by their title and thank them for their time.
Long-Distance Lobbying
In this digital age, citizens don’t need to go to the Capitol itself to follow legislation and/or speak to their legislators.
To follow a bill you’re interested in, the Legislature’s Website has some convenient tools: Under the “bills” tab on the main page, click on the “tracking service” link. You’ll find a page where you can create your own master list of up to 150 bills you want to follow. You can then scan the page and check the status of your bills as they move through the system. By checking the links under the “Quick Links” heading on the Legislature’s home page, you can look at calendars to see when a bill is set to be debated and listen to live House and Senate floor debates.
Scroll over the “Legislators” menu on the main page and click on the House or Senate roster to get legislators’ contact information. E-mail or phone them to voice your praise, criticism or angry tirades. See%uFFFD video about how to navigate the Legislature Website at the beginning of this article.
Look Big
If you’re passionate enough to lobby your representative, consider the value in acting as a representative yourself. Speaking on behalf of your neighbors or co-workers, for example, lets lawmakers know your concerns aren’t isolated.
“Getting people to stand together is really powerful,” says Glenna Tibbetts, a founder of new grass-roots group Utah Condo Owners Coalition of Utah. In the fall of 2010, Tibbetts rallied condo owners across the city to meet in support of legislation that would help condo owners better mediate disputes with their condo boards. “The more people we add to our group from outside our complex is what is giving our group strength,” she says.
Tibbetts put flyers on street signs and in coffee shops near condos in the city until she had generated interest, and then she set up meetings in public libraries since the rooms could be reserved for free. Once her Website was set up, her group had a base of operations to lobby in the 2011 legislature and beyond for better regulation of condo boards.
“The Website really developed the structure of [the coalition].” Tibbetts says. “So that regardless of what happens [this session], the organization will continue until we feel like government has a functioning oversight. And then, we’ll go beyond that to oversee the oversight.”
