Introduction to State Lobbying

2. The following is excerpted from the 12-hour
seminar. More at www.lobbyschool.com.

3. The Campaign Method
Theme – organization, planning, discipline
and execution lead to greater success
“Tool Box” – methods, checklists, how-to
skills, and strategies
Works in all states
Results - improved probabilities of getting
what you need from state government

4. Campaign Method Overview – Legislative
Lobbying: what, why, who, where, when
Effective lobbying
Assessing and increasing political strength
Building lobbying campaign infrastructure
Crafting bills and supporting materials

5. Campaign Method Overview (cont’d)
Working with legislative staff
Using legislative procedure
Committees and caucuses
Committee testimony
Complying with state ethics law and rules

6. Campaign Method Overview – (cont’d)
Making campaign contributions
Gaining special interest support
Negotiating for consensus
Hiring and working with contract lobbyists
Motivating lawmakers

7. Campaign Method Overview – (cont’d)
Getting and keeping lawmakers’ votes
Actions after committee of 1st reference
Lobbying your bill into law

8. Campaign Method Overview – (cont’d)
Next step:
Give “feet” to your statute, structure how your
law will actually affect your daily life, make
law into reality through agency rulemaking.

9. Campaign Method Overview – Executive
Constitutional and political foundations
of US executive agencies and law
Agency ideal and structure
Agency legal powers and limits
Planning for agency advocacy
Face-to-face with agency decision makers

10. Campaign Method Overview – (cont’d)
Rule development and adoption
Responding to promulgated agency rule
• administrative appeal
• judicial appeal
• legislative appeal
Similarities and differences between
legislative and executive agency lobbying

11. Campaign Method Overview – (cont’d)
Similarities between legislative and
executive agency lobbying, for example
− drafting supporting materials
− coalitions
− inter-interest group negotiations
Differences between legislative and
executive agency lobbying, for example
agency lobbying
− technically driven
− importance of experts
− less politics

12. Lobbying
What, Why, Who, Where and When

13. Lobbying is
A logical process requiring
• Planning
• Organization
• Execution
• Campaign Method for More Effective
State Government Affairs
• Guide to State Legislative Lobbying
• Governed by a body of law and etiquette

14. “I can say that the Guide
and the seminar
experience are essential
tools for both beginning
and experienced
government relations pro-
fessionals.”
Vito G. Gallo
Assist. V.P., State Relations
Lehigh University (PA)

15. “Mr. Guyer's clear structure
and methodology for an
effective lobbying campaign
added to my own effective-
ness with the legislature
contributing to me being
ranked one of the five best
lobbyists in the state of
Florida.”
Desinda Wood Carper
Senior Legislative Advocate
Florida League of Cities

16. Lobbying is not
A rational process. It can be:
• Petty
• Arbitrary and capricious
• Designed for political solutions
• Bad laws are passed all the time

17. The system is to be political
The framers designed a system to implement
the will of the majority, while protecting the
rights of the minority.

18. The system is to be political
Parliament has an
office...to be at once the
nation's Committee of
Grievances, and its
Congress of Opinions.
John Stuart Mill

19. The system is to be political
Publius rejects as merely
visionary any plan for civil
government that depends
upon reforming human
nature for the purpose of
eliminating factions and
making all citizens devoted
to the common good.
Scott R. Stripling, The Founders' View of
Character and the Presidency
http://www.leaderu.com/humanities/foun
dersview.html
James Madison

20. Typically “Lobbying” means…
(a) Appear[ing] in person in the legislative
building or any other building in which the
Legislature or any of its standing committees hold
meetings; and
(b) Communicat[ing] directly with a member of
the Legislative Branch on behalf of someone
other than himself to influence legislative action
whether or not any compensation is received for
the communication.
Derived from NRS 218.912 “Lobbyist” defined

21. Typically “Lobbying” means…
• … attempting to influence the passage
or defeat of any legislation by directly
communicating with any legislator…
AZ 41-1231. Definitions
• communicate … with any elective state
official, agency official, or legislative
official for the purpose of influencing
legislative or administrative action.
Derived from CA Government Code Section 82039

22. Lobbying is a fundamental US right
“Congress shall make no law… abridging
the right of the people to… petition the
government for a redress of grievances.”
First amendment US Bill of Rights

23. What if citizens don’t lobby?
If once (the People)
become inattentive to
the public affairs... I,
and Congress, and
Assemblies, Judges
and Governors shall all
become wolves.
Thomas Jefferson

24. Why lobby legislatures?
Neither liberty nor
property is safe when
the legislature is in
session.
Edmund Burke (1729-1797)
British statesman and orator
Note: similar statements are
attributed to Mark Twain and
H. L. Mencken

25. Why lobby executive agencies?
The execution of laws is more important
than the making of them.
Thomas Jefferson

26. Why lobby executive agencies?
In other words:
What the legislature giveth an executive agency
can taketh away and what the legislature
wouldn’t give an executive agency might.

27. Why lobby?
For most practical purposes, the General
Assembly can do anything it wants, to
you or for you!
Agencies can do almost anything they
want to you.

28. Lobby the legislature to
1. Gain better laws
2. Protect favorable laws
3. Repeal unfavorable laws
4. Stop adverse proposals for laws (bills)
5. Instruct courts and the executive as to
public policy in the state

29. Abrogation of Case Law
It is the intent of the Legislature to reject
and abrogate earlier case law
interpretations on the meaning of or
definition of "accident", "occupational
disease", "arising out of", and "in the
course of the employment". It is also the
intent of the legislature to reject and
abrogate earlier case law interpretations
on the meaning of or definition of "owner".
MO SB1 2005

30. Lobby legislature to (cont’d)
6. Affect state executive agencies
7. Build momentum among states
8. Build momentum to affect Congress

31. Who can lobby legislatures?
1. Organizations for religious worship and
private foundations banned
2. 501(c)(3) IRC limited to budget per cent
3. 501(c)(4-12) IRC unlimited when
advancing organization’s tax-exempt
purpose
4. Individual (corporate/natural)

32. Who do we lobby?
1. Special interest groups
2. Legislative staff
3. Executive agencies
4. Legislators
5. Governor

33. Who do we lobby (cont’d)
6. Electronic media
7. Press
8. General public

34. Where do we lobby?
• Capital
• Capitol
• Lawmakers’ districts
• Social context
• Business context
• Wherever we find opportunity

35. When do we lobby?
• Pre-regular session
• Regular session
–early
–late
• Special session
• Interim

36. When is the best time to lobby?
The best time to lobby is when you don’t
need anything !!

37. Effective Lobbying

38. Effective lobbying defined
Effective lobbying v. tr., the act or process of getting
a lawmaker to vote your way;
as contrasted with slaps on the back, handshakes,
encouraging words, smiles, and other similar
common forms of political smoke and inaction.

39. Effective state lobbying
Requires knowing
1. Lawmakers are not there for you
2. You are there for them
3. Lawmakers are your “customers”
4. Each customer’s unique set of needs
5. How to meet those needs
6. Customers buy to meet their needs,
not your needs

40. 4 keys to effective lobbying
1. Campaign based
2. Established on trust
3. Education centered
4. Constituent driven

41. 1. Campaign based
1. Series
2. Aggressive planned activities
3. Maximize chances of “making the sale”

42. 2. Established on trust
Trust is supported by 3 legs
1. Honesty
2. Accuracy
3. Credibility
• know what influences targeted lawmaker
• familiar with formal processes
• abide by the rules

43. Rules
Legislatures work on 3 sets of rules
1. Written
2. Unwritten
3. Unwritten and unspoken

44. 3. Education centered
Educate lawmakers about
1. Yourself
2. Your association
3. Your issues
4. Need for your bill
5. Technical foundations

45. Education centered (cont’d)
6. Legal foundations
7. Politics surrounding your issue
8. How your idea is good for
• lawmaker
• district
• state

46. 4. Constituent Driven
1. Lawmaker’s first concern
2. Elect legislators to serve
3. “Un-elect” those who don’t serve
4. Have relationships with legislators
5. Have relationships with others who
have relationships with lawmakers
6. In-district first, then out-of-district

47. Constituency
“Getting a lawmaker's vote is
10% access and 90% heat.”
Col. Gayle Gardner
HI State President
Eagle Forum

48. Using the power of constituency –
grassroots - is the foundation of the
Campaign Method.
“The voter is always right.”
Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey to TN Lobbyists Association
September 14, 2009

49. Ranking of lobbying influences
1. Spontaneous constituent letters
2. Telephone calls from constituents
6. Visits from constituents
7. Articles in district dailies
11. Orchestrated constituent mail
19. Visits from lobbyists
28. Visits from D.C. representatives
American University, 1981

50. Percent of Congressional offices stating that
e-mail from outside the district is of ________
importance compared to e-mail from district
60
40
20
0
less no same more
Bonner and Associates/American University (1999)

51. When citizens attempt to contact other
Members than their own, these
messages are usually forwarded to the
appropriate Member or are ignored
because offices do not have the
resources to answer non-constituents.
Communicating with Congress
Recommendations for Improving the Democratic Dialogue
Congressional Management Foundation (2008) at 18

52. Congressional e-mail contact model
• 82% of those contacting Congress did so at
request of 3rd party interest group
• Email often suspect as fraudulent or “spam”
• Emails are “batched” into summaries on
basis of senders’ contact information
• More than one email per topic is wasted
• Faxes are least influential form of contact
due to labor to enter into batch format
Id.

53. Model email template page 19

54. Constituents
The mode of communication to lawmakers
is less important than the constituency of
the communicator.

55. Constituents
Non-constituents “need not apply.”

56. Guyer’s influence rankings
1. Individuals close to the lawmaker
2. Affected constituent supporters
3. Unaffected constituent supporters
4. Constituents, potential supporters
5. Persons who employ constituents

57. Influence rankings (cont’d)
6. Friendly fellow lawmakers
7. Legislative aides and staff
8. Friendly special interests
9. Chamber party leadership
10.Governor

58. Influence rankings (cont’d)
11.Executive agencies
12.Media – print and electronic
13.Non contributing constituents
14.Contributing non constituents
15.Affected non constituents

59. Influence rankings (cont’d)
16.Contract lobbyists
17.Unfriendly lawmakers
18.Non contributing non-constituents
19.Regularly unfriendly groups
20.Unaffected non-contributing
non-constituents

60. Move up the rankings
Examine your rankings and ask yourself
• Where do I rank?
• What can I do to improve my own ranking?
• Who with a higher ranking can I ally for
greater influence with lawmaker?

61. Assessing
and
Increasing
Political
Strength
“Charity” Illinois Statehouse

62. Why assess political strength?
1. Gain credibility with special interests
2. Build credibility with legislature
3. Keep legislature’s short attention span
4. Conserve political capital
5. Maximize + increase member motivation
6. Husband resources – money, time, etc.
7. Defend against unfavorable amendment

63. What if I don’t assess strength?
You may end up worse off than
if you never went to the legislature at all!