Communicating with State Legislators
Conducting Face-to-Face Meetings
State legislators are very busy during session. As a result, it is essential that you develop a brief, simple and concise message about each issue that matters most to you. Below you will find information about conducting face-to-face meetings and drafting letters and e-mails.
Be prepared to meet with the state legislator or his or her staff for only five to ten minutes. Legislators and their staff often meet with advocacy groups throughout the day and can only devote a limited amount of time to each group.
Here are some tips for face-to-face meetings:
Know Who You Are Talking To
Hopefully you have built and maintained a relationship with the legislator by attending town hall meetings and other district events. If not, do some research. Find out if you and the legislator attended the same school or if they have a family member who is a dentist or dental hygienist. Perhaps in a prior legislative session the legislator filed a bill in support of dental education. Any of these could help you make a connection and open the door for the legislator to support your effort.
Know Your Issue
Be prepared for your meeting. Research how a bill will positively or negatively impact the legislator’s district and/or constituents. Perhaps building a new dental school in the district will add a certain number of jobs to the community. Be specific and use local data when possible. Find out what the exact economic impact will be in that legislator’s district. Perhaps the impact is not economic, but on the long-term health of the community. Provide those numbers. How many in the community will obtain oral care because of the new dental clinic or dental school? How many work hours or school hours are lost because of dental issues?
Legislators want accurate information regarding how proposed policies will impact their constituency. They use this type of data during debates with members who may be in opposition. Make their jobs easy and arm your state legislators with the tools they need to support your issue.
Have a Specific “Ask”
Advocates must have a specific request. What are you asking the state legislator to do? For example, do you want additional funding for your institution? If so, be specific about how much you are requesting. Perhaps you are asking the legislator to support a bill establishing a student loan repayment program. Have you researched programs in other states? Do you have copies of draft bill language you can offer?
Practice Your Presentation and Stay on Topic
Do not let your face-to-face time lapse without discussing your issue(s). Stick to the message you have crafted and practiced.
Leave behind a packet of information and offer to serve as a resource - Be sure to leave behind a packet of information with your contact information. The packet should also include state or local data as well as brief, high-level talking points in support of your position. Legislative staff will refer back to the information weeks after your meeting. This also allows staff to contact you directly if they later have questions about an issue related to dental education.
Make sure you offer to serve as a resource for the legislator and his or her staff. Most legislators are not dentists, dental hygienists or professors/educators. They need people in their district who can serve as subject matter experts.
Follow Up
It is the responsibility of the advocate to follow up with the legislator, generally within two weeks of the meeting. This ensures that your issue does not fall through the cracks. A follow-up e-mail or phone call can be a useful tool to prompt the legislator to make a decision on the issue, if he or she has not done so. A follow-up also re-introduces you and you can offer again to serve as a resource in any upcoming discussions on the issue.
Drafting Letters and E-mails
Whether drafting a letter or an e-mail, the best correspondence is concise and well written.
Here are some tips for written correspondence:
Identify Yourself As a Constituent or Tie the Issue to Their District (Constituents Are Given Priority By Legislators)
They want to know the issues impacting their districts and their constituents. If you are not a constituent, discuss the ways in which an issue could impact the legislator’s district.
Share a Personal Story
Family and personal stories can often have a significant impact on the legislator. Keep your story brief but tying a personal story to pending legislation is powerful. The legislator may re-tell the story during a committee hearing or floor debate to garner support for the bill.
Have a Specific “Ask”
Advocates must have a specific request. What are you asking the state legislator to do? For example, do you want additional funding for your institution? If so, be specific about how much you are requesting. Perhaps you are asking the legislator to support a bill establishing a student loan repayment program. Have you researched the benefits of programs in other states? Do you have copies of draft bill language you can offer?
Provide Local Data
Legislators want accurate information regarding how proposed policies will impact their constituency. They use this type of data during debates with members who may be in opposition. Make their jobs easy and arm your state legislators with the tools they need to support your issue.
Be Repetitive
Often, the more times a legislator hears about an issue or reads a letter from an advocacy group, the more apt he or she is to act. It is critical that advocates communicate on a consistent basis with their legislators and keep them updated and informed about an issue during each phase of the legislative process.
Follow Up
It is the responsibility of the advocate to follow up with the legislator, generally, within two weeks from the initial correspondence. This ensures that your issue does not fall through the cracks. A follow-up phone call can be a useful tool to prompt the legislator to make a decision on the issue, if he or she has not done so. A follow-up phone call also re-introduces you, and you can offer again to serve as a resource in any upcoming discussions on the issue.