1 Marj Plumb, Dr. PH Plumbline Coaching and Consulting, Inc. marj@marjplumb.com
2
§ How legislative policy happens § What you need to study § How to report on findings 3
Signed into law October 11, 2019! 4
5
Levels of Government Branches of Government Federal State Executive Legislative County Judicial City 6
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE California Assembly (AB) California Senate (SB) 80 members 40 members 55 Democrats, 25 Republicans 25 Democrats and 14 Republicans 80 districts, 2 year terms* 40 districts, 4 year terms* California Governor * In June 2012 voters approved Prop 28 Democrat which allows legislators to serve a maximum 4 year terms, 2 times of 12 years in either the Senate or Assembly. 7
8
t a h w t u B s i h t s ? e n o a d e m y l l a e r 9
§ Bill idea to legislative counsel by end of January § Need research, idea, an author § Bill introduced by end of February (wait 30 days) § Need to stay on top of the legislature’s lawyers § Bill heard in one or two policy committees in March and April § Hold the same morning or afternoon for 5-6 weeks until your bill is scheduled § Meet with Committee staff who will analyze the bill § Create Fact Sheet and other materials, get letters of support § Talk one on one with legislators § Deal with amendments § Attend hearing and wait, speak at hearing § Bill heard by fiscal committee by end of May § How much does fixing the problem cost? § Create/edit Fact Sheet and other materials, get letters of support § Deal with amendments § House (s) final actions in early June § Deal with amendments § Meet one on one with legislators 10
§ Bill heard in one or two policy committees in June and July § Hold the same morning or afternoon for 5-6 weeks until your bill is scheduled § Meet with Committee staff who will analyze the bill § Edit Fact Sheet and other materials, get letters of support § Talk one on one with legislators § Deal with amendments § Attend hearing and wait, speak at hearing § Legislative Recess : Mid July to Mid August § Good time to take a vacation § Bill heard by fiscal committee by end of August § How much does fixing the problem cost? § Edit Fact Sheet and other materials, get letters of support § Deal with amendments § House (s) final actions in early September § Deal with amendments § Meet one on one with legislators § Governors desk mid September to mid October § Meet with Governor’s staff § Deal with amendments 11
§ Two-year legislative cycle § First year begins in an odd number year § Bills not passed in the first year become “two-year bills” and must past the first house by the end of January in the second year. § Bills can be introduced each January/February of each year. § Bills are given an AB (Assembly Bill) or an SB (Senate Bill) § And a sequential number § In 2019 up to 1799 Assembly Bills and 777 Senate bills (not including constitutional amendments and resolutions) § About 22 bills per Assemblymember and 20 per Senator 12
§ Chief of Staff – runs entire office. § Legislative Director – manages entire legislative portfolio, plus each bill their member will vote on. § Legislative Aide(s) - usually has bills within an issue area or several issue areas (i.e., health, criminal justice reform, etc.) § Communications Manager – manages the member’s communications, speeches, floor/committee comments § Scheduler – well, this person handles the member’s schedule § Fellows (Senate or Assembly) – manages a smaller portfolio of bills § District Staff – mostly handle in-district questions or needs. 13
A. Introduce a Bill Double Referred 1. B. Assembly Bill Office of Legislative 2. Counsel C. Referred to two policy committees Across the Desk 3. D. To the Governor’s Desk Spot Bill 4. Replace Entire Content E. AB 5. of Bill Enrolled 6. An Empty Bill F. Chaptered 7. G. Signed Into Law Gut and Amend 8. H. Writes the Bill Language 14
A. Introduce a Bill Double Referred = C 1. B. Assembly Bill Office of Legislative 2. Counsel = H C. Referred to two policy committees Across the Desk = A 3. D. To the Governor’s Desk Spot Bill = F 4. Replace Entire Content E. AB = B 5. of Bill Enrolled = D 6. An Empty Bill F. Chaptered = G 7. G. Signed Into Law Gut and Amend = E 8. H. Writes the Bill Language 15
16
Meet with Committee staff who will analyze the bill. Get your data in the Bill Analyses! 17
18
§ “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics” popularized by Mark Twain § “Our press secretary, Sean Spicer, gave alternative facts to that [i.e., Donald Trump's inaugural crowd size], but the point remains that...” Kellyanne Conway § “We found no cases of lawmakers’ decisions on abortion being shifted by evidence.” Woodruff and Roberts 19
Problem Change Stream Open Enact Policy Policy Window Political Will, Change Politics Stream Policy Entrepreneur Policy Options Kingdon’s Multiple Streams Model adapted from John W. Kingdon in Felix HC. Progress in 20 Community Health Partnerships. 2007.
21
22 Howlett, McConnell and Perl
§ What do you know about the problem? § What do policy makers need to know about the problem? § What reports or statistics are available about this issue? § What do impacted people think about the problem and can they tell their story? § Who agrees/disagrees that this is a problem 23
n What are ALLLLLLL the options to fix the problem? n Which option do you think is best and why? n What is the existing law on this issue? n Are there “baby steps” that can be taken? n Are there potential negatives to your solution? n What decisions will be made in enacting the the policy option? 24
n What is the history of prior policy/advocacy efforts on this issue? n What is the likely position of key legislators? n What is the likely position of affected state agencies? n What is the likely position of interest and advocacy groups? n What are the fiscal implications? n Why might others oppose this policy option? 25
26
Typical Research Paper Policy Research Paper § Introduction § Summary § Methods § Methods § Results § Findings § Discussion 27
§ Focus on what’s important and don’t get buried in background or extraneous information. § Always be accurate. There are ways to summarize specific findings for all audiences that account for details and nuance, even if all the details are not presented. More detail is not necessarily better, particularly for lay audiences. § When preparing to share your work, think about how you’d explain your research to non-experts, and go from there. This helps you focus on core themes and take-away messages. § Stick to common, everyday words and define technical terms. § Use active voice. Avoid passive verbs. § Keep to short sentences as much as possible. Plain Language at NIH 28
SB 24: Community and Policy Informed Research Assessing Barriers Evaluating Capacity We estimate 1,038 abortions each month It would be feasible to provide MedAb at for students at the 33 UC/CSU campuses; all Student Health Services. up to 519 could seek medication Staffing, facility, and equipment required abortions. to provide MedAb are minimal. High rates of poverty among students. Additional investment would be needed to 65% of campuses are more than 2 hours support staff training, equipment, 24-hour round-trip (both visits) by public help line, security upgrade. transportation to the nearest provider. 29
§ Be flexible and available or build an interchangeable team who can cover/step in § Being called “Doctor” matters § Inform your government affairs people § Be willing to stand up to them § Study what needs to be studied § Ask policy makers what their questions are § Meet with Committee staff to get your data into bill analyses § Be community-informed/community-engaged § Don’t bury the lead § State your case clearly, without a lot of caveats 30
31
Recommend
More recommend