2. Overview of Presentation
• Is advocacy changing? For the better or worse
• Where is the power held in Texas
• Texas Legislative Cycle
• Traditional vs. Nontraditional partnerships
• “Detractors Report cards & Missmessaging” change the
game
• Community Organizing – Shrink the State
• Critical mass & Electoral politics
3. Texas Power Structure
Texas has a total of 181 legislators, with 150 members of the
House and 31 members of the Senate.
6. Texas Legislative Cycle
• Texas has what's called a part-time legislature
• Meets in January of odd number years
• Session runs for 140 days
• Special 30 day sessions may be called by the
Governor
• Constitutionally only the budget bill must be
passed
• Over 5,868 bills filed, 1,437 bills passed last
session
7. Traditional & Non Traditional
Partners
How should the disability community move forward?
9. Non-Traditional Partnerships
These partnerships are where we find growth, money, influence,
opportunity, change, access, information, etc.
• Lobbyists
• Providers
• Economists
• Industry
• Think Tanks
• Trade Associations
• Opposition
• Philosophical Differences
• Corporations
• Media
4,089 special interest
groups hired lobbyist in
2013. Lobbyist in Texas
are required to detail who
hires them to influence
legislation & public policy.
10. Lobbyist
A lobbyist is an activist who seeks to persuade members of the government
(like members of Congress) to enact legislation that would benefit their
group. The lobbying profession is a legitimate and integral part of our
democratic political process that is not very well understood by the general
population.
• Influence
• Access
• Opportunity
• Information
There are a limited number of projects and issues that can be funded or legislated and non-profit organizations
need be able to compete to be heard above the noise.
11. Providers
A health care providers are individuals or businesses that provides
preventive, curative, promotional or rehabilitative health care services
in a systematic way to individuals, families or communities.
• Opportunity
• Change
• Access
• Information
• Money
12. Opposition/Alliance
The day is ever changing – consistently reexamine your oppositions:
stance, beliefs and willingness to compromise.
• Growth
• Opportunity
• Influence
• Change Access
com . pro . mise
: a way of reaching agreement in which each
person or group gives up something that was
wanted in order to end an argument or dispute
: something that combines the qualities of two
different things
13. Detractors & Advocacy
As the world has discovered through the grass-roots revolutions in
Egypt and Tunisia —driven in part by messages on Twitter and
Facebook—online social media can be powerful tools for spurring social
change. And increasingly, both fledgling nonprofits and long-established
charities are taking up those tools in issue advocacy.
- Maureen West
• Missmessaging
• Lies
• Detractor
17. Killer Words
• Mandate, Increased funding, Medicaid, Fiscal note
EX. Of Mandate
Chapter 1352 (Brain Injury), Insurance Code, extends medically necessary
post-acute brain injury health care coverage to certain eligible policyholders.
Most insurance carriers adhere to the intent of this statute, with one major
exception. In this instance, this carrier has a huge market in this state. And its
market now includes State of Texas employees and retirees.
H.B. 2929 clarifies current provisions within the statute that have hindered a
policyholder or enrollee from being admitted and otherwise would not be
covered if a policyholder or enrollee within these groups sustain a brain
injury.
HB 2929 Hearing Video
18. How Do We Make A Difference
• Work to develop relationships with the opposition & their legislative
allies
• Work to build our Non-Traditional partners and gain their numbers
• Community Organizing – Shrink the state
• Communications– E-news, social media, web, live stream, blog and
develop media relationships
• Regional Reps.
• Give support and cover to legislators who work to better the
disability community
• Unified message– general unified disability message (EX. Tea Party
messaging at their beginning)
• Collaborations: disability + education + health +labor + faith, etc.
• Electoral politics
19. Connect with Us
316 W. 12th Street, Ste.405
Austin, TX 78701
PH: (512) 478-3366
http://www.TXDisabilities.org
Facebook.com/TXDisabilities
@TXDisabilities
Editor's Notes
Are changing the way legislators vote on everythingAdvocates on both sides track every vote from committee hearings, amendment votes, to floor votesEffectively being used by a small fraction to control a majority vote of the Texas legislatureLimits legislators from voting outside of their party’s priorities Limits and punishes compromise
http://www.senate.state.tx.us/avarchive/ramav.php?ram=00006135 scroll clock to 1:42
