Hey CT! Legislative Session starts Wednesday and YOU can crack the code to have your voice heard about any and all legislation. I do this for a living. It's a little dense, but here's some tricks and shortcuts: (Thread)
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Everything you'll ever need is on the CT General Assembly's website: http://cga.ct.gov . There will likely be well over 3,000 bills filed and it's like drinking from a fire hose. (all these links might look the same in the preview but they're different)
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So, first rule of thumb: Find an advocacy group who cares about what you care about and sign up for their emails. It's the easiest way to get all this info because their lobbyists are doing all of what follows. But if you want to do it yourself:
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Every day there are 3 documents to read: - The House List of Bills https://www.cga.ct.gov/asp/menu/clerkdoclist.asp?house=H&doc_type=lob … - The Senate List of Bills: https://www.cga.ct.gov/asp/menu/clerkdoclist.asp?house=S&doc_type=lob … - The Bulletin https://www.cga.ct.gov/asp/menu/Clerkdoclist.asp?house=X&doc_type=bul … They're all also on the homepage:http://cga.ct.gov
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The lists of bills are all the bills filed that day. The bulletin is everything going on every day, and (!!!), it's where the notice and agendas of public hearings are filed five CALENDAR days in advance. That means Friday 5pm notice for a Tuesday morning hearing is in bounds.
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That seems like a lot of information. And it is! You can also peruse the bills referred to a single committee, if you care about one broad. Each Committee has a Bill Record Book on their website. For example, here is Environment's: https://www.cga.ct.gov/2019/envdata/cbr/env.asp …
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(Important side note: none of these links will have any info in them until Wednesday)
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When you FIND bills you care about, you can sign up to receive email and/or text alerts on them. It's the best kept secret of the CT General Assembly. Make an account here: https://www.cga.ct.gov/asp/menu/cgabilltracking.asp …
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Now, how can your voice be heard? Public Hearings! Each and every bill passed gets one. And you get 3 minutes and/or unlimited written words to weigh in. And the input really does matter.
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Find out if the bill you care about is being heard 5 days in advance in the bulletin, which also contains instructions for how to submit testimony and how to sign up to speak at the hearing.
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All committees accept testimony by email, and any email you send in will be filed on the record. It can be as long and detailed or as short and sweet as you want. For example, here's my favorite "less is more" testimony: https://www.cga.ct.gov/2017/FINdata/Tmy/2017SB-01011-R000317-Rutledge,%20Franklin-TMY.PDF …
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You can also show up and testify in person. You'll need to dedicate a day to this (unless one of those advocacy groups is helping you sign up). Show up in the morning per instructions and put your name down, then when your turn is called, speak for 3 minutes.
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Legislators will often ask you questions, and you are not time limited on your responses. (Pro tip: Know a legislator on the committee? Ask them to ask you a question beforehand so you can answer with more info than you can fit in 3 minutes)
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Another tip: Tell your home legislator you are coming to testify in advance. Often, they will offer to send staff to sign you up in the morning so you don't need to show up early and wait in line.
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Then, when the hearing is over, you can follow the bill's progress and advocate. Sign up for those alerts in the tracker and get a text when it's passed a committee, called for debate in the full chamber, etc.
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Some final thoughts: - Again, find a group working on the same cause as you. The process is logical but it's confusing if you don't do it fulltime. It will make it easier. - If you're in the building and need help, ask. Lobbyists and staff will steer you in the right direction
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Finally, state legislators in CT are accessible. Most read their email themselves. Most read public hearing testimony (all of it). And they want to help their constituents. So get to know them, and you can make change!
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End. Also, come hang out in the cafeteria with all of us advocates. The tuna melt by Melissa is especially delicious. They serve tacos on Thursday instead of Tuesday.
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