Legislative Advocacy: Tracking the Legislative Session

Legislative Process

This is a basic introduction to the legislative process (i.e., bill making) and advocacy. You will learn how to contact your legislator(s), track a bill, and lobby an issue. Links to important websites and sample searches are included. To begin your instruction, check out the Washington State Legislature Home Page.

1. Who represents you?
   • Find your legislative district
   • Find your Senator or Representative
2. Do you remember civics?

   The three branches of government operate on three different levels. Each branch of government performs different functions and publishes a variety of documents. See chart below for details.

   Publications of the Three Branches of Government

   Levels	Executive	Legislative	Judicial
   Federal	President	Congress	Federal Courts
   	Executive Orders Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Federal Register (FR)	US Code (USC) US Statutes Public Laws Bills & Resolutions	US Reports Federal Reporter
   State	Governor	State Legislature	State Courts
   	State Executive Orders Washington Administrative Code (WAC) Washington Register	Revised Code of Washington (RCW) Session Laws Bills & Resolutions	Washington State Court Opinions Other State Court Opinions
   Local	Mayor & County Executive	City & County Councils	Municipal & County Courts
   	City Executive Orders, Proclamations County Executive Orders, Executive & Administrative Policies	Seattle City Charter, Municipal Code, Ordinances King County Charter, County Code, Ordinances	Seattle Municipal Court King County Courts

3. How does a bill become a law?
   • Graphic version
   • Text version
4. Glossary of legislative terms

   Bill

   A proposed law presented to the Legislature for consideration

   Bill Report

   Summary of background and effect of bills prepared by committee staff

   Bill History

   A record of the action taken on bills, resolutions and memorials

   Journal

   Official record of action of legislative session

   Revised Code of Washington (RCW)

   A codification of current statutes as enacted and amended

   Washington Administrative Code (WAC)

   Rules and regulations adopted by state agencies

Tracking Bills

Bill tracking is an important step in learning about the progress of a bill. There are several quick ways for tracing current legislation. For more details, check the Washington State Legislature Bill Information Page.

1. Search by bill number: Simplest search for known bill
2. Search by keyword: Word search for bills, RCW, WAC, etc.
3. Search by topic: Topical index to bills
4. Track bill status
   • What's the daily status? Key to status report
   • What's been amended?
   • What's on the calendar?
   • Alert me: Receive email notifications of committee agendas & hearings, floor activities, meeting schedules

Advocating Issues

Advocacy means "to speak up, to plead the case of another, or to champion a cause." Legislative advocacy or lobbying specifically involves influencing public policy through the legislative process. Issues may vary among interest groups but lobbying methods are usually similar.

1. ABC's of Advocacy
   • Adopt a plan: Key questions for strategy development
   • Become acquainted with: Legislators or policy-makers, Media, Community
   • Communicate your message: Call, Write, Visit, Invite
   • Lobbying 101: How to lobby [requires Flash], How to testify, How to write a press release
2. Advocacy Links
   • American League of Lobbyists: National organization dedicated to advancement of the lobbying profession
   • Center for Responsive Politics: Non-partisan, non-profit research group based in Washington, D.C.
   • League of Women Voters: Nation's premier citizen organization promoting active participation in government
   • Public Agenda: Nonpartisan, nonprofit public opinion research and citizen education organization based in NY
   • Washington Citizen Action: State's largest grassroots public interest citizen group