OK-SAFE Training Sessions – OKC and Tulsa

The Oklahoma Legislative Session begins on Monday, February 7, 2011,  runs for 16 weeks, and ends on May 27, 2011.

Building on last year’s citizen training, OK-SAFE will be conducting 2 training sessions entitled Citizen Involvement in the Legislative Process.
These meetings are subject-specific, and graduated by level of ability and interest.

Attendees are encouraged to bring their own computers, note-taking material, and refreshments as these are working meetings.

• Date: Saturday, January 15, 2011
• Time: 9:00 am – 12:30 pm
• Location: The Village Library, 10307 N. Penn Ave., The Village, OK (North Oklahoma City).

• Date: Saturday, January 22, 2011
• Time: 9:00 am – 12:30 pm
• Location: The HQ Building, 1008-B N. Hickory Ave., Broken Arrow, OK.

Preliminary Agenda is detailed below.

1st Hour –

• Introductory – The Basics. 1) Overview of the OK Legislative Process; 2) Identifying your legislator; 3) Contact information and lists; 4) Writing emails; 5) Making the OK Legislature and OSCN websites your home pages.

2nd Hour –

• Intermediate -Building on Hour 1. 1) The legislative process, including interim studies, bills introduced, bill committee assignments; 2) The committee process; when to advocate for a bill; 3) Creating group email lists for House and Senate; 4) Understanding the role of Speaker/ Pro-Temp, Floor Leader, and Whips.

3rd Hour –

• Advanced – Taking off the Rose-Colored Glasses. 1) Understanding political doublespeak, i.e, smaller, smarter government, small business, advanced, quality job, knowledge-based economy; 2) How to read a bill with understanding; which OK titles of law to examine; 3) The Quality Jobs Program Act; PrimeWIN; OSU-UML, the ‘contract verifier’ for OK; 4) Tax incentives; who is benefiting from the passage of legislation.

These meetings are free and open to the public; we are suggesting, however, a small donation to cover cost of printed material.

GRASSROOTS INFLUENCE

What is a Grassroots Advocacy (Lobbying)?

Grassroots Lobbing is simply the application of pressure on lawmakers or those holding public office that have the power to deliver what it is you want.  The corporate or paid lobbyists are definitely the pros.  Fortunately we have a few bargaining chips that they don’t have.

GRASSROOTS INFLUENCE

There are five main reasons that your elected representative cares about your priorities: voting, contributing, volunteering, visibility, and communication.

Voting Let your legislator know if a particular piece of legislation is a priority to you! If you are a constituent your priority is their priority. Nothing trumps the power you have as a voter to when it comes to establishing legislative priorities for your district.

Contributing Money-They have to have it. Even small donations are noticed and they raise the possibility of future support

Volunteering A third way to get the ear of a current or potential legislator is to volunteer for a candidate’s campaign. Volunteers are seldom forgotten.

Visibility People who are highly visible may represent and can influence a legislator’s constituency and contributors by virtue of being opinion leaders in their communities.

Communication. If you are a voter, a campaign contributor, a volunteer, or a community leader, then your elected officials want to make you happy, but they cannot read your mind. They depend on you to communicate your issues. Providing substantive information about specific legislation is a very valuable and influential way that constituents can interact with their legislators.

We sometimes assume that legislators simply count letters or phone calls related to an issue and don’t really care to about our individual experiences or arguments. Elected officials need and usually appreciate anecdotal, local stories to make the numbers related to a particular initiative come alive.

*Adapted from The One Hour Activist by Christopher Kush

How to be an Advocate

1.     Pick your issue

2.     Identify legislation

3.     Support or oppose it actively

What do Grassroots Advocates do?

•          Take action on alerts

•          Make calls

•          Visit with lawmakers

•          Provide testimony

•          Attend events

•          Recruit friends

•          Be a media liaison

Policy is changed one vote — one politician — at a time

House Bill 2814 Quashed R.O.P.E Calls for REVIVAL!

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