Arnold Public Affairs is a lobby firm based in Austin Texas. Many of our clients are non-profit organizations. The Texas Legislature meets every other year, so we have 18 months between sessions. Because our sessions are so short and they come so far apart, the work we do during the interim is critical. But the same can be said for any state — the interim between sessions is the time for your non–profit organization to lay the groundwork for success during your next legislative session.
Here are four activities your organization should be doing in 2014 to get ready for your 2015 Legislative session
1. Thank legislators and staff who helped you in the last session.
Thank you cards are nice but what legislators really want is their pictures in local newspapers, on social media sites and in front of large audiences of your supporters with you talking about how great they are.
2. Identify which legislators will be champions next session.
Politicians come and go — your rock-solid champion may have decided she wanted to see more of her grandchildren and decided not to run again. You’ll need to spend time determining whether other incumbents can step in and fill the void or whether you’re going to have to start cultivating some of the new members.
3. Set your legislative priorities early and get bill authors as soon as possible.
You’ll never have a legislator throw you out of their office for coming to them too early for help with a bill. You might have them throw you out for coming to them asking for help once the session has started and the bill filing deadline is approaching.
4. Meet with legislators now to educate them about your issues.
Most legislatures are part-time and members go home to their families, jobs and communities during the interim. Most members are happy to meet with you when they are not in the chaos of a session and in fact, appreciate that you’ve made the effort to come to their district. Also you’re likely to get more time to explain your issue during the interim as opposed to catching them in the Capitol hallway and having to do your elevator speech.
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