Steps for tracking bills of interest:
1. Go to the lrc.ky.gov website https://legislature.ky.gov/Pages/index.aspx
2. Click on the “Bills” tab on the homepage
3. Click on “2020 Regular Session”
4. Choose the chamber:
· HB for House Bills
· SB for Senate Bills
5. Once you have located the bill of interest:
· Look in the “Last Action” section to see the latest events related to the bill
· If the bill is in a committee, use the “Committees” tab at the top of the page to find the specific committee. The bill above is in the Senate State and Local Government Committee so locate this committee in the “Senate Standing Committees” page.
· Click on the committee to view its members.
· From here, click on individual legislators to see their party affiliation and sponsored bills. This is how you can decide which legislators to ask to support your bill. For example, for this bill it would be important to ask Senator Nemes, Humphries, McDaniel, Alvarado and Thayer to “please hear HB27 and have it favorably reported out of committee” because they are Republican members of this committee.
· Call the LRC Message Line at 1-800-372-7181 to leave a message in support or opposition to a bill.
Tips for Effective Advocacy:
1. When speaking with legislators, keep these tips in mind:
Allow extra time to get through the security line, to not put legislators behind.
Know your bill number! (https://legislature.ky.gov/Legislation/Pages/default.aspx)
Use the LRC website to find the committee in which your bills reside (https://legislature.ky.gov/Committees/Pages/default.aspx) by following the steps above.
Locate committee chairs by clicking on the relevant committee on the “Committees” page. Committee chairs are listed first, these are the key gatekeepers of your bill. Your “ask” of committee chairs is to “please hear HB__ and have it favorably reported out of committee”. Find members who are not co-sponsoring your bill to speak with. Set up meetings with these legislators and ask them to “please hear HB__ and have it favorably reported out of committee”.
Come prepared with key bullet points of support reasons and keep your “ask” short.
2. Be able to fit your organization’s name, mission, and your “ask” on the front and back of a business card that you can hand to legislators
o Include a contact name
o Email address
o Phone number
o Small pieces of tangible information to leave behind are most effective during the session.
3. Best times to visit legislators is
When they’re not in session and at home in their district
When they are in session:
- Early and often
- Call and email your message
- Ask your supporters to do the same
- Use social media to support you