LEGISLATIVE MONITORING
One of TOWMA’S roles is to monitor wildlife and landowner issues being discussed in Austin and keep our members informed about those issues.  Once informed, members have the option of acting on the items of interest to them.  The following article is intended to provide an understanding of the political process so your voice will be heard.

Legislative Monitoring 101

by Linda McMurry, TPWD

How to Find and Keep Up With Legislation of Interest

For regular Texans, the legislative process basically consists of two things:  A) getting favorable legislation passed, and B) making sure unfavorable legislation doesn’t pass.  Everything else relates to one of these two outcomes.  If the world belongs to those who show up, then the internet is a must for people without easy access to Austin. This guide is not an exhaustive treatise on the process a bill follows in becoming law. That information is readily available online to anyone interested and those details are not critical to monitoring issues one finds of interest. This guide provides landowners with the guidance necessary to become more involved in the Texas legislative process.

The Basics: Where to Start

Bookmark the following three websites to stay on top of legislation, or use links section of the TOWMA website at http://www.towma.org.

1)     The Texas Legislature Online:  www.capitol.state.tx.us. 
              All filed bills can be accessed here. 
2)     The Texas House of Representatives:  www.house.state.tx.us. 
              View House Floor proceedings and select hearings in live.  Use the “Schedules” feature to plan your monitoring activities.
3)     The Texas Senate:  www.senate.state.tx.us.
              View Senate floor proceedings and selected hearings live.

Getting Set Up

The House and Senate are composed of committees.  Each committee has oversight of specific state agencies. These committees hear testimony pertaining to the bills they have been assigned. Bills that do not get out of committee automatically die because they are not heard on the House or Senate floors. 

 Step 1:  Find the committee(s) with oversight of the agencies and legislation that interests you.  If you’re not sure, look at legislation assigned to that committee in the previous session.

 Step 2:  Sign up to receive email notification of your selected House and Senate Committee hearings.  Do this by establishing a free account on either the Texas House of Representatives website, the Texas Senate website, or   the Texas Legislature Online website.

 Step 3:  Customize your watch list.  You may do this in any number of ways.  It’s generally a good idea to start by adding your chosen committees to your notification list.  You will probably also want to add the option of being notified of any meetings, and which bills will have testimony heard on them.  Finally, start adding any bills you think you might need to keep an eye on.

 Step 4:  No system of notification is fool-proof.  Set up a routine so that at least once a week you set aside time to check all the new bills filed since the previous time you checked.  Invariably a bill will “sneak through” by way of a committee you don’t have on your notification list.

 Step 5:  Finally, check your system!  Nothing is more frustrating than having everything ready to go and then find out you need to update your software at a critical moment.  The best way to check is to go to the archives of either the House or the Senate and view an archived broadcast.

Analyzing a Bill

Reading a bill and determining its impact is challenging since they don’t always say what you think they do.  With practice it gets easier.  Initially it may be easiest to print a hard copy.

First, what is the bill supposed to do, and does it do it?  Look for key words.  Is the bill permissive?  If it is, then it will use the words “can”, “may”, “if”, “or.”  If it imposes no choice about the topic then it will use the words “shall” and “will.”

Who does the bill apply to, and under what circumstances?  The key words to look for are “all”, “if”, “or”, “and”, “but”, “unless.”

Next, look at the bill section by section.  What does each section do?  If the bill says it is amending or adding an additional section to a code, go and read that particular code.  Doing so is tedious, but is frequently how things “slip through”—because no one else wants to go to the trouble to actually cross-reference the bill either!

Finally, is there a fiscal impact?  Will an agency have to spend money to comply with the bill?  Fiscal impact could include new employees, record-keeping, travel costs, buying computers, vehicles, fuel, and so forth.  Does the bill consider these expenses?  The Legislature is generally reluctant to pass bills that impose a financial burden on an agency, or to appropriate additional funds for that agency to comply with the bill.

As the session progresses, the pace picks up.  A spreadsheet helps keep track of a bill’s progress.  Information you’ll want to have will probably include the following:
Bill #  - Author - Subject Analysis -  In Committee - Out of Committee -  Floor Pass - House Pass - Senate - Date - Room
                                                      
Making Your Opinion Count

You now receive notifications of hearings and bills, you are able to watch and listen by computer to live hearings, and you are alerted when a bill you care about is on the calendar to be heard.  What’s next?

If you’ve been watching and listening over your computer, you already know that any interested person is able to attend a hearing and testify “for” “against” or “on” a bill being considered by the committee. So the next step is to go to Austin and actually testify.

Austin parking is always a challenge, particularly when the Legislature is in session, arrive early.  Locating hearing rooms can be a daunting task as most rooms look alike.  Take your map, and don’t hesitate to ask for directions.  You will find everyone courteous and helpful.

The Legislature is a formal place, you should dress accordingly.  You will not be turned away if you show up in jeans and T-shirt, but you won't project the professionalism you need nor will your testimony capture the attention you intended when you traveled to Austin.  Gentlemen are usually expected to wear a coat and tie, or at least a coat.  Ladies should dress in business attire.

The Moment of Truth

At the hearing room turn off your pager, cell phone, PDA, or any other electronic device before entering. Normally someone is in the back of the room with cards you must fill out if you want to testify.  Fill it in and return it.  These cards are used to call people when it is their turn to testify.  If you have hand-outs, give them to the clerk when it is your turn to speak. Don’t pass them out yourself.  Begin your testimony by stating your name, and who, if anyone you are representing. Close your testimony by thanking the Committee for the opportunity to address them. Almost without exception, people who come in to testify are treated with the utmost courtesy by the committee members.  Nonetheless, there are a few things to keep in mind in preparation for your testimony.

Know what you want to say. Prepare note cards to assist you in remembering the key points you want to mention.  While you are allowed to read your statement if you prefer, you will be better received if you don’t. Be concise and limit your testimony to between 3 and 5 minutes. Avoid rambling on and on. Unless there are a lot of people who want to testify on a bill you will not have a time limit. Remember though, that the committee members are human and whether or not there is a limit to the amount of time you have, there is a time limit to their attention span!  Try not to exceed it!

If you are supporting a bill, tell the committee why you are in favor of it.  Tell them specifically what good things will happen if it is passed.  If you are not in favor of the bill, tell them why.  Again, be specific. The committee is genuinely interested in getting public input, so expect some questions from them. Usually you will be asked what they could do to make the bill effective, so have some constructive suggestions ready on how to fix the bill.  After all, if you don’t know how to fix it, how can you expect the committee to know how to fix it?

The best preparation for testifying on a bill is to watch the process, either first-hand in Austin, or over your computer.  You’ll quickly see what styles of testimony send members out of the room to the bathroom, and what styles keep committee member attention.  Take notes and learn!

In the Meantime

Know who your representatives are and make a point of getting to know them.   Legislators are generally happy to meet with their constituents, but they are also very busy. Plan in advance what you will say, and be concise.  Although issues are usually complex, you will be better received if you can “keep it on a postage stamp.” In the world of legislation, “less is more.”  Establish yourself as a person whose information is accurate, and will not waste the Representative’s time.  The better you are at that, the more time the Representative’s will spend with you.

Conclusion

The purpose of Texas government is to serve the People of Texas.  Everyone can participate in the process.  Just as it is important to be informed and to exercise your right to vote, so too is it important to participate in the legislative process. Technology has now made it easier to participate, but it’s still up to each of us to exercise that right.