I swear I've seen Schoolhouse Rock.
April 4, 2012 8:48 PM Subscribe
How might I, as a layperson, get a bill/law introduced and passed in my state?
I live in Idaho, one of the four(-ish) states without a clear law protecting women's right to breastfeed in public. I think Idaho needs such a law, especially given its comparatively high breastfeeding rates, but I don't have the faintest idea how to get that ball rolling.
I have:
- free time
- website development skills
I do not have:
- any sort of law background whatsoever
- money
How do I make this happen? Who do I need to talk to, and what information do I need to have? If this is not something I have any power to mess around with, please let me down gently and, if you can, please suggest some alternative ways to help this cause.
Thank you!
I live in Idaho, one of the four(-ish) states without a clear law protecting women's right to breastfeed in public. I think Idaho needs such a law, especially given its comparatively high breastfeeding rates, but I don't have the faintest idea how to get that ball rolling.
I have:
- free time
- website development skills
I do not have:
- any sort of law background whatsoever
- money
How do I make this happen? Who do I need to talk to, and what information do I need to have? If this is not something I have any power to mess around with, please let me down gently and, if you can, please suggest some alternative ways to help this cause.
Thank you!
Contact organizations that are interested in this issue, like the Le Leche League. Ask them how to go about it. There may already be a lobbyist working on this in Idaho.
Go to your legislature and ask the staff how to go about it. Go to your legislative library and do some research as to whether any similar legislation has been proposed. The legislator(s) that proposed the bill might still be interested in the issue. Find out which of your legislators is interested in women's rights and family stuff and approach them about sponsoring a bill.
posted by samsaunt at 9:04 PM on April 4, 2012 [4 favorites]
Go to your legislature and ask the staff how to go about it. Go to your legislative library and do some research as to whether any similar legislation has been proposed. The legislator(s) that proposed the bill might still be interested in the issue. Find out which of your legislators is interested in women's rights and family stuff and approach them about sponsoring a bill.
posted by samsaunt at 9:04 PM on April 4, 2012 [4 favorites]
This chapter, "Legislative Process and Politics" in Governing Idaho: Politics, People and Power (2005) by James B. Weatherby and Randy Stapilus seems to have quite a bit of information.
How to find a paper copy if that link doesn't work or stops working.
posted by XMLicious at 9:11 PM on April 4, 2012
How to find a paper copy if that link doesn't work or stops working.
posted by XMLicious at 9:11 PM on April 4, 2012
There are 105 state legislators for a state with a population of 1.5 million. That works out to about 11,000 constituents per legislator (or about 35K per district).
This really isn't very big. Twenty of them are women; eight of those are Democrats.
Call one of them (there are three of them in your district -- two reps and a senator) and ask for an appointment, or a public appearance calendar. Introduce yourself. Can't reach the rep? The rep has a small staff. Talk to them.
Seriously, it will be that easy to get started.
One per 11,000. The Costco in Boise will have more customers than that over the course of a month, and they can all speak to the manager if they want.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 9:18 PM on April 4, 2012 [2 favorites]
This really isn't very big. Twenty of them are women; eight of those are Democrats.
Call one of them (there are three of them in your district -- two reps and a senator) and ask for an appointment, or a public appearance calendar. Introduce yourself. Can't reach the rep? The rep has a small staff. Talk to them.
Seriously, it will be that easy to get started.
One per 11,000. The Costco in Boise will have more customers than that over the course of a month, and they can all speak to the manager if they want.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 9:18 PM on April 4, 2012 [2 favorites]
Best answer: I don't know anything about the Idaho legislature, but legislatures work approximately the same in every state, so I'll advise you as if you were in my state.
In a nutshell: you need to find a member of your legislature who is willing to introduce the bill (and willing to put in the work to shepherd it through the process). If 46 other states already have this legislation in place, it makes it an easier sell and gives you a source for model legislation. You don't need to worry about writing the legislation just yet; if you can find someone to sponsor it, they will have access to staffers who can research the statute in other states and help draft a bill. Some things that make getting a bill through easier are: having it sponsored by the majority party; get several members to sponsor the bill; get a member to sponsor the bill who holds an important committee assignment or leadership position. If there is an organization pushing for this legislation that can afford a lobbyist, that would go a very long way towards getting this done. A good lobbyist will know who would support the bill, who would oppose it, and who wouldn't care. A lobbyist would also have access to key legislators on committees to educate them about the bill and maybe sway their opinion.
Piling onto Cool Papa Bell's advice, I would start with the representative(s) and senator that represent you. Except in a few large states, legislatures are part time positions, so all of these people have day jobs and generally answer their own phone. I would just call them up, identify that you are a voter in their district, and ask for either an appointment or at least a few minutes of time on the phone to discuss your issue (and proposed legislation). You don't stay elected by ignoring constituents, so I would expect that they are all willing to give you at least 15 minutes if you sound like a reasonable person. There are a variety of reasons why they may not be interested in sponsoring it for you; if you get the sense they aren't interested, you might ask who they would recommend that you talk to. Once you get beyond your rep or senator, it gets harder because you'll need to find someone who really cares about this issue (vs. helping out their constituent). If you have a group or organization working on this issue where members of your group are spread across the state, it will be much easier to find a sponsor who cares about the issue *and* has one or more voting constituents who care about the issue.
Be prepared for the possibility of a multi-year effort. Bills fail to get passed for all kinds of reasons, some good, some bad and often take several incarnations to make it through the process. However, I see bills that originated with average citizens with a specific issue get through our legislature every year, so this is absolutely possible and a reasonable thing to take on. Good luck!
posted by kovacs at 9:54 PM on April 4, 2012 [4 favorites]
In a nutshell: you need to find a member of your legislature who is willing to introduce the bill (and willing to put in the work to shepherd it through the process). If 46 other states already have this legislation in place, it makes it an easier sell and gives you a source for model legislation. You don't need to worry about writing the legislation just yet; if you can find someone to sponsor it, they will have access to staffers who can research the statute in other states and help draft a bill. Some things that make getting a bill through easier are: having it sponsored by the majority party; get several members to sponsor the bill; get a member to sponsor the bill who holds an important committee assignment or leadership position. If there is an organization pushing for this legislation that can afford a lobbyist, that would go a very long way towards getting this done. A good lobbyist will know who would support the bill, who would oppose it, and who wouldn't care. A lobbyist would also have access to key legislators on committees to educate them about the bill and maybe sway their opinion.
Piling onto Cool Papa Bell's advice, I would start with the representative(s) and senator that represent you. Except in a few large states, legislatures are part time positions, so all of these people have day jobs and generally answer their own phone. I would just call them up, identify that you are a voter in their district, and ask for either an appointment or at least a few minutes of time on the phone to discuss your issue (and proposed legislation). You don't stay elected by ignoring constituents, so I would expect that they are all willing to give you at least 15 minutes if you sound like a reasonable person. There are a variety of reasons why they may not be interested in sponsoring it for you; if you get the sense they aren't interested, you might ask who they would recommend that you talk to. Once you get beyond your rep or senator, it gets harder because you'll need to find someone who really cares about this issue (vs. helping out their constituent). If you have a group or organization working on this issue where members of your group are spread across the state, it will be much easier to find a sponsor who cares about the issue *and* has one or more voting constituents who care about the issue.
Be prepared for the possibility of a multi-year effort. Bills fail to get passed for all kinds of reasons, some good, some bad and often take several incarnations to make it through the process. However, I see bills that originated with average citizens with a specific issue get through our legislature every year, so this is absolutely possible and a reasonable thing to take on. Good luck!
posted by kovacs at 9:54 PM on April 4, 2012 [4 favorites]
You might contact Gary Moncrief at Boise State. He'd know where, practically speaking, the best way to start would be, and could give you a straight answer as to whether trying to do this alone-ish would be a useful way to spend your time.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 10:20 PM on April 4, 2012
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 10:20 PM on April 4, 2012
The comments above are all really good. One additional thing you can do is start writing Letters to the Editors of various Idaho papers. It can connect you with more people interested in the issue.
posted by drezdn at 6:16 AM on April 5, 2012
posted by drezdn at 6:16 AM on April 5, 2012
You need to ask around and find a connection to a legislator who is sympathetic, and also meet with your own legislators, then make them personally care. Letters are good, but you need one of the state reps to push it through. (or a lobbyist, but they cost money unless they care enough to do pro bono) Also see if any local women's organizations wants to work on this. You either need to find or build a team.
If there are local midwives groups, feminist groups on campuses, moms groups, that would be a good place to start building a team. You will need many many calls, emails and faxes to legislators' offices, so having help is essential.
I think there is a national group called La Leche League. They will probably have advice! Look in the news to see states that recently passed similar laws. Google stalk the spokespeople uoted in the news stories and ask them for advice.
But the most important thing is getting others on board and getting in front of your legislators. Timing is also an issue. Idaho's legislative session may be over soon for the year, many states end in spring/early summer. So don't expect anything this year, or maybe even next. Laws take time! But don't let that discourage you. It is an awesome cause!
posted by manicure12 at 9:35 PM on April 6, 2012
If there are local midwives groups, feminist groups on campuses, moms groups, that would be a good place to start building a team. You will need many many calls, emails and faxes to legislators' offices, so having help is essential.
I think there is a national group called La Leche League. They will probably have advice! Look in the news to see states that recently passed similar laws. Google stalk the spokespeople uoted in the news stories and ask them for advice.
But the most important thing is getting others on board and getting in front of your legislators. Timing is also an issue. Idaho's legislative session may be over soon for the year, many states end in spring/early summer. So don't expect anything this year, or maybe even next. Laws take time! But don't let that discourage you. It is an awesome cause!
posted by manicure12 at 9:35 PM on April 6, 2012
Response by poster: Quick update on what's happened since I asked this question:
I was talking to my mom about this (she's a lactation consultant) and she told me she was just talking to someone who was a member of the Idaho Breastfeeding Law Coalition, and mentioned to her that I'd be interested in participating. I had no idea the group existed before this, so bonus points to those of you who suggested looking to see if a group was already out there - it was!
The lady ended up calling me and we had a nice talk about the Coalition, their objective, and their current needs, and I'm now their official mother representative!
It looks like they've got some great women helping organize senator/representative letter-writing and all that, so I'm really happy I asked this question and know more about the process we'll be going through. I also wanted to mention that I'm already a member of LLL, but I hadn't thought of asking them about political stuff, so I will keep that in mind too.
Thanks for your help, everyone!
posted by meggan at 12:44 PM on May 24, 2012
I was talking to my mom about this (she's a lactation consultant) and she told me she was just talking to someone who was a member of the Idaho Breastfeeding Law Coalition, and mentioned to her that I'd be interested in participating. I had no idea the group existed before this, so bonus points to those of you who suggested looking to see if a group was already out there - it was!
The lady ended up calling me and we had a nice talk about the Coalition, their objective, and their current needs, and I'm now their official mother representative!
It looks like they've got some great women helping organize senator/representative letter-writing and all that, so I'm really happy I asked this question and know more about the process we'll be going through. I also wanted to mention that I'm already a member of LLL, but I hadn't thought of asking them about political stuff, so I will keep that in mind too.
Thanks for your help, everyone!
posted by meggan at 12:44 PM on May 24, 2012
This thread is closed to new comments.
You could also make an activist site. Spin up a forum and let moms discuss their difficulties in the state, etc. Calls to actions, coordinate feed-in, etc.
You could look around and see if there is already a group out there and join them. Volunteer your time and skills.
That's what I would do (and do). You'll be amazed at the responses you get and how you can actually feel like you accomplished something.
posted by cjorgensen at 9:00 PM on April 4, 2012