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Lobbying 101
In my most recent column, I discussed my 16 Rules for Effective Lobbying.
This week, I asked senior legislative staff to each submit their single most
important piece of advice for lobbyists. Future columns similarly will
reflect advice from legislators and lobbyists. The following collective
wisdom is a great supplement to the 16 rules:
you want something. And when you come, please bring facts and information,
not anecdotes. –Senate senior staffer
talk to staff or a member. Are you in the right house, the right committee?
Did you send us a fax when the bill is still sitting in the other house?
–chief of staff to Senator
the ball just pisses me off. I’ll figure it out eventually. Remember,
there’s always next time. –Senate committee consultant
effective frequently don’t know what they are talking about. Don’t waste a
legislative staff member’s time. Get information to them quickly and
efficiently. Don’t ask for meetings that aren’t absolutely necessary.
Impressing a client by getting face time with a staff member doesn’t
necessarily help. –Assembly senior staffer
All committees have deadlines to complete their analyses, which are commonly
several days before the hearing. If you want your arguments to be included
in the analysis, provide the consultant with your letter and supporting
information at least a week before the hearing, and preferably longer. You
should avoid winding up on the list of “late support and opposition.”
There’s no reason not to contact the consultant even before the bill is
officially referred if it’s obviously coming to the committee but has a
procedural hurdle or two in its path. –Assembly committee consultant
caught, your bill will die about as fast as your reputation. Get your
materials to us early, at least two weeks prior to the hearing date, and
then follow up to see if anything else if needed. If your bill has problems,
this process improves the chances of the bill being fixed (amended). If the
materials are late and, as a consequence, late problems are identified, that
could cause the hearing of the measure to be delayed until the problems are
worked out. Count your votes before the hearing. If you don’t have the
number you need, find out why and if possible, resolve the issue before the
hearing. –Senate committee consultant
parties. Most authors will try to work through an issue. You may win the war
going around the author on that particular bill but you will lose the
ability to work with their office in the future. –chief of staff to Senator
–Assembly committee consultant
policy. No serious legislative staff is interested in your good looks or
Kings’ tickets. 2. Throw away the Blackberry. –Senate committee consultant
and honesty. A key tool to good lobbying is building strong relationships
with consultants. Beyond staff, it is necessary to maintain communication
with consultants, as they play a pivotal role in the delivery and
malleability of legislation. Lastly, and most importantly, a lobbyist should
know that a good reputation is vital to achieving success. To do so, it is
necessary for a lobbyist to be forthright and honest about the pros and cons
of relevant legislation. When a lobbyist is able to be clear-cut with staff,
consultants, and Legislators, this straightforwardness will provide a solid
platform upon which open discussion, compromise, and better public policy
can occur. –chief of staff to Assembly member
make it relevant to the member’s constituency. Remember that most of you
will be speaking with a legislative assistant who has been here less than
three years and while you can pull the wool over their eyes, the committee
consultants will be far less persuaded by your charms and the analysis will
reflect it. Nothing more troubling than a member who gets different stories
from the committee analysis and their personal legislative staff. –Assembly
committee consultant
To avoid misunderstandings, touch base with our consultants and key players
before your measure moves forward. Surprises are as uncomfortable for us as
they are for you and your clients, especially when problems can be fixed
with a simple amendment. Also, if you’ve got some grand master strategy,
fill us in on it. We usually find out eventually anyway. The sin of
omission: When pitching a bill, be honest about the upsides and downsides of
the proposal, doing so builds trust and relationships. –chief of staff to
senator.
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