The Massage Therapist and Effective Lobbying

The Massage Therapist And Effective Lobbying Marilyn Allen American Massage Council [email protected] 800-838-0383 Page 1 of 10

What is Legislative Lobbying? Legislative Lobbying is a process in which there is an attempt made to influence a legislator’s opinion and to enlist his or her assistance in supporting legislation that is helpful to you and your profession or in defeating a piece of legislation that will affect you or your profession in a negative manner. In general, a lobbyist provides factual and anecdotal information intended to defend or support a specific position. Lobbyists are also expected to anticipate opposition to their individual positions and to provide factual and anecdotal information that refutes the opposition. Lobbying is based on strong interpersonal relationships. The legislator may support not support a certain issue this week but could support you later on in future legislation. Focusing on issues, rather than just personalities, will help you develop strong positive relationships for future action. Lobbying is a year-round process. Lobbyists continually stay in touch with legislators to maintain good interpersonal relationships and to inform them of emerging issues related to the profession. Lobbyists are paid professionals who work on behalf of the profession to accomplish the legislative goals of the profession or to prevent adverse legislation from becoming law. Lobbyists can and do help to build alliances between professions so when issues arise groups of professions can collaborate together. Lobbyists know each other and work together on many issues. They work to elevate the status of bills of interest to the profession or to amend such bills onto other pieces of legislation that are making better progress through the legislature. Lobbyists are usually good strategists and can give advice on weaknesses of bills going through the legislative process. Page 2 of 10

Professional Lobbyists create an effective way for a profession to help introduce a specific piece of legislation. This is done through their contacts and relationships. Lobbyists are an expense that every profession must budget and use. The cost of a lobbyist is paid through a Political Action Committee (PAC). These PAC’s are formed through a state association and have specific reporting requirements. Contributions to the PAC are a tax deduction for the professional, up to a certain amount. It is important for everyone to be involved financially. Along with the paid lobbyist there needs to be an individual effort and involvement with legislators. Your state has been divided into districts. These districts have an assembly or house, and a state senate. The districts may be different for the federal congressional representatives as well as federal senators. Each of these elected officials depend on your vote to be victorious in their respective election races. Your responsibility is to know each of your representative’s names, addresses, phone numbers and E-mails. In addition to this you should know them and/or their administrative assistant that deals with health care. Guidelines for effective visits to your legislator: 1. Both before and after an election find out who is running for office in your area. 2. Meet and interview them. Decide who you will support. Make you decision on who does and will support your medicine. 3. If it is during a campaign, go work in their campaign. Make “Get out the VOTE phone calls”, enter data into computer lists, put together yard signs, stuff and address campaign literature. These types of volunteer work do not cost money and helps the candidate to get to know you and your profession. 4. You are a constituent, this means you can vote for this candidate, and you live in their district. 5. If you are going to visit the elected official, call in advance and make a specific appointment for a visit. If the legislature is in session and you want to visit the legislator you have to make the appointment when they are at home in their district and in their local office. This type of visit is very effective because you are their constituent and they are concerned about you, your issue and your vote. 6. When you meet your elected official contact your lobbyist and your state association and let them know of your meeting and connection. 7. Arrive on time for any meeting with your legislator. Page 3 of 10

8. Be prepared. Know your message. Be brief, concise and organized. Leave a position paper or a fact sheet with the legislator and the office. Leave a business card for identification and future communication. 9. Be attentive, look around, meet the staff and listen for the GAP. This is area where you have the opportunity to support, correct, and provide any additional information. 10. Educate. Talk with the legislator about specific legislation and the issues it seeks to address. Let the legislator know how many constituents the legislation will affect and how it will affect them. 11. If you are advocating for the professional association you may represent that this position is held by the members of the Association. 12. If you are asked a question for which you do not know the answer, make a note of the question and promise to provide follow-up information. (Then provide the follow-up as soon as you get home, if not sooner.) 13. Ask for a legislator’s commitment to something specific – a favorable vote on a specific bill, sponsorship of an amendment or a negative vote on a bill. If the legislator cannot make an immediate commitment, ask for a response in writing, by phone, or by E-mail. 14. If the legislator indicates support for your issue, express your gratitude and willingness to be a continuing resource for him or her. Then leave. 15. Be positive. Do not engage in angry retorts or personal remarks. Focus on solving the problem together. 16. Briefly summarize the meeting for the legislative assistant and provide print materials and a business card in a file folder. (People are less likely to toss folders than an individual piece of paper or papers.) 17. If a group is meeting with the legislator, designate one person to lead the meeting and decide in advance the role each member of the group will play. Plan ahead and be prepared. 18. Thank everyone who has assisted with your meeting – the legislator and the legislative assistants. Writing an effective letter to a legislator: 1. Know the correct address for both the state and federal legislators. 2. Be absolutely certain you spell your legislator’s name correctly and use the correct address. If you don’t you could lose your audience. 3. Type or print legibly. Sign you name neatly and give your return address correctly so they can respond to your letter. Page 4 of 10

4. Keep your letters, E-mail, and faxes brief. Never write more than one page. Concise written correspondence is more likely to grab and keep the reader’s attention. 5. Identify your issue or opinion at the beginning of the letter and don’t bury your main point. Be clear about whether you are supporting or opposing an issue and identify the bill number(s) associated with that issue. 6. Ask for something specific-support, a vote for or against, sponsorship of an amendment, etc. and indicate that you expect a response by phone, mail or E-mail. 7. Cover only one issue per letter. If you have another issue to address, write another letter. 8. Back up your opinion with supporting facts. Your letter should inform the reader. 9. Avoid abbreviations or acronyms, and don’t use technical jargon. Rather than impressing your reader, such terms will only frustrate him or her. 10. Don’t send the same letter to more than one legislator. Personalized letters have more impact. Sending effective E-mails: 1. The timing is critical. The message should arrive as soon as practical before a committee or chamber vote. It is better to reach a legislator early in the process to help shape his or her opinion. 2. Follow the same tips as used when writing a letter. 3. Include the bill number and position in the subject line (for example, “Support House Bill 265”) Even if they don’t read the message, they will understand your request. 4. Include your snail mail address in the body of the message so that the legislator knows that you are one of their constituents. 5. Send the message with a “reply receipt.” This way you will know whether or not the message has been opened so that you can plan a subsequent strategy. Making an effective phone call: 1. Plan your call very carefully. Keep to the point and discuss only one issue. Organize your thoughts ahead of time and make notes to help you stay on the subject. 2. Ask for a specific response and a timeframe in which to expect the response. Page 5 of 10

Meeting with a Legislator (face to face) These meetings are usually held in either the district or state office of the legislator. The visit with legislator is important to both of you. As a constituent, your legislator wants you to believe that he or she is working on your behalf. It is equally important to you that your view be heard by someone in a position to help effect your goals. In most cases, you will have to compete with many other interests for the legislator’s time. In addition, a meeting with legislator “back home” in the local office establishes you not only as a member of a profession with the legislator, but also as an all-important constituent. It further gives you the ability to establish yourself as a resident expert in the eyes of the legislator. To have an expert to whom they may call or ask for input is important for the legislator and the staffers. It is also easier to get an appointment, in their Capitol office with your local legislator, whether for you or the lobbyist, when they know you from back home. The legislative assistant is an integral part in the office of the legislator. Whether it is in the district office or the office in Capitol, these people play a very important role. They are the ones who do all of the background fact finding work. They are the people who answer the phone calls and check the E-mails. The assistants maintain the legislator’s calendar, and keep the flow of information going to the legislator. Be pleasant. Be Brief. Be organized. Be polite. Focus on one point. If something is not clear or the legislator needs more information, follow up. Do that quickly and clearly. If someone does not agree with your position, try to focus on the issue not the person. Give as much information in a concise manner and then leave. Never argue or make it uncomfortable for any of the parties. There is always another day and another meeting. Always thank the legislator and the assistant for their time and interest. Leave a business card with each of them so that they may contact you with any additional questions or with a response to your request. Your legislators receive a large number of phone calls and mail from their constituents. Their agendas are full and this limits their ability to read and respond to it all. How can you be sure that your idea and input is heard? The following are some general tips to help you get the most impact from your communications with your legislators. General Tips: 1. Know who your legislators are and how to connect with them. If you don’t know who represents you, here’s how you find out. The legislative website www.leg.state.North Page 6 of 10

Carolina.us or www.ncleg.net You type in your mailing address, phone number and E- mail. 2. Make sure that you understand the legislative process. (How a bill becomes a law)Even the most basic understanding of the process will help you express your ideas more effectively. 3. It is best to contact your legislator about a particular issue before the Legislation takes action on it. Most matters that come before the Legislature are well publicized before the session and/or before the vote. 4. It is advisable to use a variety of communication methods. You might choose to telephone, write, E-mail, fax or visit your legislator. You might also choose to give testimony at public hearings held by the Legislature. In order to give testimony, you would need to contact the appropriate committee secretary before the hearing to sign up. 5. One of the points to tell your legislator is what effect you think a particular bill, if it becomes law, will have on you, your children, your business or your community. Be both concise and specific. 6. Be polite, even if you disagree strongly with the legislator you are addressing. Do not get into an argument. Lawmakers cannot please everyone. Your communication will be more effective if you are reasonable in your approach. 7. You can suggest a course of action and offer assistance. Do not make promises or threats. What is Next and Follow-up? It is essential that you write thank you letters to the legislators with whom you have met for two reasons. First, your written expression of genuine gratitude is like a breath of fresh air to people who are overloaded and underappreciated. Second, the letter gives you another opportunity to remind the legislator of commitments made during the meeting or to prompt a response to commitments that were given at the meeting. If the legislator has not supported your opinion, simply write a thank you note for his or her time. This kind of letter leaves the door open for you to interact with the legislator in the future on issues that may be mutually beneficial. If the legislator has agreed to research an issue before committing to an opinion, the thank you letter is a good way to remind the legislator of the issue, by the bill number, and your expectation of a response. If a legislator has committed to you outright, the thank you letter should also serve to confirm the commitment you understood when you talked at the meeting. If the staff treated you kindly, it is Page 7 of 10

recommended that you commend them to the legislator for their kindness and effort on your behalf. It is also recommended that you write a separate thank letter to the legislator’s staff or staffer to thank him or her for their assistance. The staffers are the front-line people with whom you must work to get information to and meetings with the legislator. They are the keepers of the calendars for the elected official. They remember these acts of kindness and are more prone to go out of their way to assist you in future dealing with their office. E-Mail There are times when you will need to E-mail a timely message to your legislator. This is when and important issue is in a committee on which the legislator serves. This is when a bill is being heard by the sub-committee or in the full chamber. This could also be important when amendments are proposed for which you solicit support or opposition in all of these cases E- mail will be timelier than snail mail. In addition, E-mail allows you to communicate your message without playing telephone tag. You can refer back to the section on E-mail earlier in this information packet. Follow-Through It is important to meet legislator in your own district, again before the session begins, then again during the session and then again on special occasions. Timeliness is crucial to effectiveness. The thank you letter should be mailed immediately after the discussion of the issue. If you have not received a written response within two weeks, a follow-up phone call or E-mail is necessary. Gently remind them of the issue, associated bill number, and request the legislator’s support again, if no communication has been given. Thank the legislator for their support again as a gentle reminder as these issues are in key places. How Will I Know When To Act? It is important that the State Association keep its membership informed and up to date about legislation, both positive and negative. It is also important for the individual members to contact the association if they become aware in their own districts about and issue. This is important so that all of the membership becomes aware of what is happening. It is important so that a member can contact their legislator on specific issues in a timely manner. Sometimes it takes more than one member and more than one contact with the legislator. Activities That Can be Done After the Session is Concluded Page 8 of 10

Maintaining positive communication with each legislator and the legislative delegations during the times that the legislature is not in session is very important. These communications help to develop strong and productive relationships with the local legislators. These legislators then become your best allies during the sessions of the legislature. It will establish you as an expert, someone to be consulted when a bill is going through the legislative process is related to your profession. It also enables you to interact with legislators in a more meaningful way and in a more relaxed setting than is typically possible during Legislative Session. Recognition of Outstanding legislators If there is a legislator that has provided major assistance during a Legislative Session, you and your association may wish to recognize him or her. 1. Host a reception 2. Buy a table at their next fundraiser 3. A presentation during a public meeting 4. Host a meet and greet How to Maintain Visibility during the Time between Legislative Sessions 1. Invite a legislator to breakfast. This can be you and /or a group from the association. Usually better when the group who attends the breakfast be from the district. This is a good time to thank the legislator for their help and to begin a discussion about the upcoming session and issues of on-going concern. 2. For most associations, one or two such breakfasts a month will allow you to talk with each of the legislative delegation at least once before the next Legislative Session. 3. Also another good way is to meet the legislator in their district office in the interim. 4. If you have no issues to discuss, you might offer to help with other education information. Key Contacts One of the goals in maintaining legislative communications outside the Legislative Session is to establish or reinforce your credibility as an expert. A person that the legislator can call on when they have questions or looking for another opinion about issues in relation to your profession. Page 9 of 10

Your goal is to become the professional on who the legislator relies for background in your profession’s issues before the legislator. Campaign Assistance The best way to guarantee that your voice will be heard is to help a candidate run for office. Politicians tend to best remember the people who helped them get elected. Volunteer assistance in a campaign is priceless to candidates. Ways you can work for the candidate 1. Putting lawn signs together 2. Putting out signs 3. Waving signs on street corners 4. Door-to-door campaigning 5. Covering phone banks 6. Inputting names into computers 7. Stuffing envelopes 8. Sending out mailers 9. Walking the precincts 10. General office work at campaign headquarters 11. Host a small reception in your home or office Your association can form a Political Action Committee (this is referred to as a PAC). PAC’s serve not only to assist in the financing of political campaigns but also to help identify candidates who can be counted on for assistance after the election. The PAC can also provide people to assist a campaign when a group of people is required for a specific task. Protecting your professional interests through political activity is in your best interest in the long term Lobbying a specific issue is like a snapshot. This process provides a context and a friendly familiar environment for future issues for those who develop and maintain relationship with their legislators. GOOD LUCK AND HAVE FUN! It is all worth the effort! Page 10 of 10