ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, January 7, 1996 TAG: 9601050007
SECTION: HORIZON PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
Here's what legislators say are the best ways for citizens to influence the General Assembly:
CALL YOUR LEGISLATOR.
There's universal agreement among legislators: The best way for constituents to register their views is to pick up the phone and call. It's not only the quickest way to communicate, it offers legislators a chance to find out just why citizens feel a certain way on an issue.
"My preference is to talk to the person," says House Majority Leader Richard Cranwell, D-Roanoke County. "A lot of people will get some information from a lobbyist and when you ask them why they feel that way, they don't even know." A phone call gives both legislator and constituent a chance to share information. "I don't think there's any substitute for direct contact," Cranwell says.
Also, legislators tend to respond to citizens the same way citizens contact them: If a citizen calls, the legislator will usually call back. If a citizen writes a letter, then legislator will probably respond with a letter of his own.
If you call:
1. Beware the limitations of the 800 line.
During the session, the General Assembly operates a toll-free line from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. It's 1-800-889-0229. But many legislators warn citizens away from using it. State Sen. Malfourd "Bo Trumbo, R-Fincastle, points out that citizens calling the 800 line simply wind up voicing their views to an operator, who forwards a message to the legislator - it doesn't put callers in contact with the legislator's office.
Del. Morgan Griffith, R-Salem, notes that messages to the 800 line are distributed to legislators only once or twice a day. Sometimes, he says, that's too late. "If you're just calling to pass along some general comments - 'don't raise my taxes' -the 800 line is fine," he says. But don't use it if the message is urgent, he says.
Griffith says he had several cases last year where constituents called the 800 line to urge him to vote a certain way on a piece of legislation coming up for a vote that day - but the messages didn't get to him until after he had cast his vote. That's why he and many other legislators advise citizens to ...
2. Call the legislator's Richmond office direct, even if it is a long-distance call.
For one thing, callers can often speak directly to the legislator's aide, if not the legislator himself. Often, legislative aides can answer questions citizens may have about a particular bill. They also can help their bosses get a feel for what the political temperature may be back home.
Sometimes - and some legislators will privately admit this - the aides know more about what's going on than the legislators do. That's because the legislator may be locked up in committee hearings all day, but aides - who can monitor the proceedings via closed-circuit television and the Capitol Square grapevine - may have a better sense of what's happening elsewhere around the Assembly.
And then there's the matter of urgency. "The staff in my office can get someone to send me a quick note on the floor," Griffith says.
Finally, there's the matter of making an impression. "If somebody spends their money to call my office," Trumbo says, that stands out.
3. Don't expect to reach your legislator right away.
They're hardly ever in their offices during the day. But most make a concerted effort to return phone calls. "I try every day at the end of the day to return calls," Cranwell says. "It's sometimes 7, 8 or 9 o'clock before I get around to doing it, though."
WRITE OR FAX YOUR LEGISLATOR
Legislators say letters from constituents are sometimes as effective as a phone call, provided they're the right kind of letters. Here are some pointers:
1. Hand-written letters are best.
"A hand-written letter is absolutely not a form letter," says Del. Clifton "Chip" Woodrum, D-Roanoke. Form letters have little impact in Richmond. They got an especially bad rap after an incident several years ago when a lobbying group besieged legislators with form letters ostensibly signed by constituents back home; but when legislators contacted some of those citizens, they said they never gave permission to have their names inked onto the letters - and some even disagreed with the position they were supposedly taking. Griffith says now if he receives a form letter, he'll simply send a form letter in reply.
What legislators want is some indication that there's a real, live constituent who took the time to contact them. Some say a typed letter is OK, but Trumbo is skeptical even of some of those. "When you read a typed letter, you tend to think it's a form letter," he says. "Especially with some of letters from a dot matrix letter. You wonder whose hard drive it really came off of." For maximum impact, he says, "I'd want a personally hand-written letter."
2. Avoid petitions.
Petitions are essentially a giant form letter. "Petitions don't do it," Woodrum says. "A petition usually says 'we the undersigned oppose House Bill 222' but nothing in it tells you what House Bill 222 is or why you oppose it." Legislators want to hear reasons, not just positions. And they want to hear from citizens individually, not in groups.
3. Don't just state a position; explain why you support or oppose a particular bill.
That way, legislators know what's really at issue: Maybe the problem can be fixed simply by amending a particular bill, rather than killing the whole thing.
3. Keep it short.
Try to keep your letter to one page. Don't try to bury the legislator in details; just hit the main points. "Don't try to make 'em an expert," Woodrum says.
4. One letter, one issue.
A letter that addresses a laundry list of issues loses its impact, Woodrum says.
DO YOU HAVE A LOBBYIST AND DON'T REALIZE IT?
Belong to a trade group? Or a professional association? If you do, the odds are that group has a lobbyist in Richmond. If a bill comes up that addresses a business or professional concern, Woodrum advises citizens to contact their professional association's state headquarters. They can put their lobbyist on the case.
For instance, he says: "If there's a bill that has to do with the grocery store business, the grocer should call the Food Dealers Association and say 'I'm a friend of Chip Woodrum. Would you go by to see him.' So he comes by and says 'Sam the grocer asked me to come by and see you.' That's a two-fer."
That lobbyist can also contact other legislators, something a citizen might not have time to do.
VISIT YOUR LEGISLATOR
Most legislators come home for the weekends, and many are willing to schedule appointments on Saturdays.
If you want to go to Richmond, though, keep this in mind:
1. Make sure you have an appointment.
Legislators are rarely in their offices. Citizens who simply show up unannounced are almost certain to be disappointed.
2. Think twice about going as part of a group.
Some legislators say large delegations aren't effective. One legislator, willing to speak only with the cloak of anonymity, says the problem with big groups is it's usually clear there's one or two organizers while the rest of the visitors "are just along for the ride." Some legislators wonder if the big delegations aren't simply designed to make the organizers look important.
Trumbo, meanwhile, says he doesn't mind big groups, but he makes a point of directing his questions to the citizens who don't have much to say. "I talk to the people who don't talk much," he says. "That gives me an idea if this is just a photo op" for the organizer, or if all the members really feel as strongly about the issue as the organizer does.
3. One visit, one issue.
Citizens who show up with a long list of concerns aren't effective. "If they've got a laundry list, I can pick and choose," says the anonymous legislator. "If they have just one issue, there's not much picking and choosing you can do."
4. Don't demonstrate.
Some groups like to stage big rallies outside the Capitol. Legislators say such techniques often backfire.
"Last year, some groups came in that did not exactly use the decorum they should," Trumbo says. "It's like running the gauntlet. They're lined up outside the General Assembly Building, with ropes holding them back and loudspeakers. It kind of turned me off."
A single, soft-spoken visitor has more impact than a noisy group, he says.
ABOUT LEGISLATORS' SCHEDULES
Legislators work at an inhuman pace that usually astonishes visitors.
The General Assembly casts more votes in 60 days than Congress does in an entire year. A legislator's day may begin with a subcommittee meeting as early as 7:30. Then there are full committee meetings at 10 a.m., with the House and Senate going into floor sessions at noon.
When they adjourn, legislators usually have more committee meetings, which may run well into the night.
And that doesn't count the party caucuses, the informal meetings to hash out legislation, the meetings with lobbyists who come by to pitch the merits of a particular bill, and the simple housekeeping work of replying to constituents' phone calls and letters.
Keep in mind, too, most legislators go to Richmond with just a single legislative aide.
Griffith says he's happy to meet with constituents who come visit. However, he warns, "it may be in the hallway."
YOU GO ...
Keep in mind how the legislature's business ebbs and flows.
1. The best times to visit:
Legislators are least busy during the first two weeks of the session and after the midsession frenzy called "crossover," when each house must finish work on its own bills before they "cross over" to the other chamber - or die.
2. The worst times to visit:
The weekend before "crossover" and the final week of the session.
But if you just want to watch:
"If you want to come down and see the operation, come during the crossover period, because we're usually meeting on weekends and the gallery is virtually empty and you'll actually see debate."
- Del. Morgan Griffith, R-Salem
HOW TO KEEP TRACK
Wondering about the status of a particular bill? Here are some ways to find out:
1. CALL YOUR LEGISLATOR
Legislative staffers will probably just call the number below to check on a bill's status, but sometimes it helps staffers to know which legislation the folks back home are most curious about.
2. CALL LEGISLATIVE INFORMATION AT 804-786-6530
The phone line is open daily from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. It's useful, but not necessary, to know the bill number. Legislative information staffers are adept at searching for bills by subject matter and by sponsor.
3. ON THE INTERNET at http://www.state.va.us/dlas/welcome.htm
This will be the first session the General Assembly has a database on line. Staffers say it will be updated daily, usually in the early morning hours. Through the database, computer users with a modem can search for bills by bill number, sponsor or subject matter, as well as find out other information about the legislature.
KEY DATES
Jan. 10: General Assembly convenes.
Jan. 22: Last day for legislators to file bills and resolutions.
Feb. 13: "Crossover day." Each house must finish work on its bills by midnight so that the ones which pass can "cross over" to the other chamber. The budget, meanwhile, moves on a separate timetable.
Feb. 18: Committees in each chamber must finish work on the budget by midnight.
Feb. 22: Last day for each house to finish work on its version of the budget.
Feb. 27: Last day for each house to finish work on the other chamber's budget bill. Each chamber then appoints the budget conferees who will meet to iron out differences between each chamber's budget bill.
March 7: Budget conferees must report by noon.
March 9: Adjournment.
April 17: General Assembly re-convenes for "veto session" to deal with legislation vetoed or amended by the governor.
Source: Division of Legislative Services
LENGTH: Long : 251 lines ILLUSTRATION: GRAPHIC: color chart and illustrations. KEYWORDS: GENERAL ASSEMBLY 1996by CNB