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Advocate for a Policy with State Legislators or Legislative Staff

Purposes

  • Advocate for a new policy or demonstrate your support for an existing one through an in-person meeting with your state legislators or legislative staff.

Ideal Outcomes

  • Establish concrete actions a state legislative office can take to support your issue.
  • Develop long-term connections with a state legislative office and identify ways to serve as a resource for them.
  • Gain a better understanding of their legislative priorities and how you can support or influence them in the future.

Step-by-step Guide

  1. Time your visit properly.
    • The time of year determines government priorities. For example, brainstorming new bill ideas, drafting legislation, and searching for expert witnesses all take place at different times. This timeline (California example) varies at the local, state, and federal level, so time your visit to optimize the impact of your message.
  2. Do your background research.
    • Find out what issues the office you’re visiting is focused on.
    • If possible, research the background of the staffer or legislator you will meet with and identify their role and key responsibilities.

Tip: Look at the legislative directory or the personal websites of the elected officials to see what bills they've introduced or supported

  1. Plan your meeting.
    • Send an email to set up the meeting. If you’re scheduling multiple meetings, make sure to leave yourself time to travel between offices.
    • Create your one-pager. Summarize your key points and contact information, preferably in an accessible, easy to read format with graphics.
    • Make sure to have plenty of business cards on-hand, so that you can easily leave your contact information. If you don’t have any, get them made.
    • If possible, include a clear “ask” that provides concrete actions the legislator could take to further the issue. This may include things like a recommendation for how to vote on pending legislation, a request to make a public statement on a topic, or a request to send a staff member to an informational event.

Tip: Even if someone isn't available to meet with you, they might be able to suggest other staffers or legislators who would be a good fit

  1. Holding an effective meeting.
    • Be prepared for change – your meeting may start late or be cut short, or you may end up meeting with a different person in the office.
    • Leave behind your one-pager and business card for easy reference.
    • If you meet with a legislator directly, ask for the contact information of their staff to follow up afterward.
    • When possible, determine next steps during your meeting.

Tip: Meeting with staff is sometimes more effective than meeting with legislators since they will likely do the hands-on work of pitching ideas, drafting legislation and finding supporters.

  1. Follow up after the meeting.
    • After your visit, send a thank you message reminding them what you talked about and any next steps. By staying engaged over time, you let staff know that you are committed to seeing this issue resolved. Legislators and their staff meet with hundreds of people per week and may not always take action. You need to show them that this is an issue they should care about.

Examples

Article - September 10, 2023
Professor connecting science to legislation and students and research to civic engagement
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Michael Hendricks, an assistant professor in the Department of Politics and Government at Illinois State University, is an advocate for civic engagement who particularly emphasizes integrating STEM into the legislative process. Learn about how he approaches research, teaching, and mentorship to center civic engagement.

Article - August 21, 2023
Connecting Science and Stakeholders in Georgia
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Amy Sharma, PhD is the executive director of Science for Georgia, an organization whose mission is to advocate for the responsible use of science in public policy, improve communication between scientists and the public, and increase public engagement with science. She chatted with ESAL about the value of factual scientific support to state legislators and interpersonal relationships between scientists and other community members.

Article - June 4, 2023
Protecting Wetlands for Healthy Communities and Ecosystems
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On May 8th, ESAL and the Ecological Society of America co-hosted a virtual event centered around the urgency of protecting wetlands and their significance in maintaining climate resilience in the future. Learn about the ways the event speakers encourage public engagement.

Article - May 13, 2023
Nuclear Sector Deep Dive: Revisiting a Source of Carbon-Free Energy
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Learn more about the recent history of nuclear energy usage in the United States and how both national and state-level policies are shaping its future.

Article - February 5, 2023
Acting Locally on Abortion
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The debate around abortion is informed by science, medicine, and public health, as well as ethics. Many people with STEM backgrounds feel compelled to get involved. One way to do this is to have critical conversations with your friends, family, and other members of your community. We hope that the information in this post can serve as a guide for anyone looking to engage in this important policy discussion.

Article - December 18, 2022
Energy Engineer Helps Reduce Transportation’s Climate Impact
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Learn about how Arpit Soni uses his background in energy engineering to support efforts towards climate action in California and beyond.

Article - December 23, 2018
Policy's Last Mile
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On October 25, five scientists and engineers shared their insights on community engagement at an ESAL happy hour in Oakland, California. The event brought together leaders from across the San Francisco Bay Area who apply their expertise toward pressing problems in their neighborhoods.

Article - December 17, 2018
Fish Passage in Alaska
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Frankie Barker talks about how she helped write an ordinance that would require anyone building roads in Alaska's Matanuska-Susitna Borough to adhere to US Fish and Wildlife Service standards for fish passage when installing culverts.

Article - November 24, 2018
Transforming Political Campaigns with Technology
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Computer scientist and physicist Dave Leichtman has been involved in political technology for over ten years. He helped build a tech volunteer group in his state to connect tech-savvy individuals with campaigns. Now, he is the vice chair for technology and communications of the Democratic Party of Virginia.

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Last Updated: Oct 15, 2019
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