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Lobbying
Manual *
Government as Process
Making Your Case
Government as Process
The
Medical freedom applies this principle to tolerate and respect a minority perspective on health and illness, regardless of its popularity. To put this principle into law is not strictly a numbers game or a shouting match just to be heard. Minority voices such as those for health freedom must be forceful, persistent, and compelling at the right time and place. In order to better position our forces we must understand how government works.
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Florida's Legislature
Florida has a bicameral legislative body, which is to say it has an upper chamber, the Senate, and a lower chamber, the House of Representatives. This bicameral body is called "The Legislature."
Florida's Constitution requires the Legislature to meet for 60 days each year, generally between early March and early May. The Governor independently or the Legislature's presiding officers (Senate President and Speaker of the House) collectively may extend this 60 day period or may call a new legislative session referred to as a "Special Session".
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How an Idea Becomes Law
Either house (The House of Representatives or the Senate) may originate any type of legislation. However, the processes differ slightly between those chambers.
A legislator (a Representative or a Senator) sponsors a bill, which is referred to one or more committees related to the bill's subject. The committee studies the bill and decides if it should be amended, passed (approved), or fail. If passed, the bill moves to other committees of reference or to the full chamber. The full chamber then votes on the bill.
If the bill passes in one chamber, it is then sent to the other for review in the form of a "message". A bill goes through the same process in the second chamber as it did in the first. When one chamber makes changes or amends the legislation, the bill then "bounces" back to other chamber. This process allows for all legislation to be viewed and voted on by every member of the legislature. A bill must travel back and forth between chambers until a consensus is reached. In addition, the measure could fail at any point in the process.
Follow a bill through the process:
A. For Bills originating in the House of Representatives (.pdf)
B. For Bills originating in the Senate (.pdf)
Once a bill has been approved by both chambers and is delivered from the Legislature, the Governor has 14 days to decide whether he/she will veto it (thus killing the bill, unless the Legislature overrides his veto) or approve it. If no action is taken on the bill within 14 days it becomes law without any action on his/her part. Generally, a vetoed bill dies unless it is quickly reconsidered by the Legislature.
The business of the legislature can be influenced greatly by staff members. Their job is to make sense of all the babble that comes at their bosses from all directions. It's important to respect and work closely with staff: the lawmaker's staff, the committee staff, the leadership staff, and the governor's staff.
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A Bill's Life
The life of a bill begins with its sponsors. Medical freedom pits under-funded patients and a few professionals against big business PACs (Political Action Committees, through which the financial contributions of many are amassed and distributed). The fight is tough, and not for the faint-of-heart. So, we have to find real champions for sponsors, who will care, and fight, and who have some leverage to bring to bear.
The majority party rules the chamber (either the House or the Senate). Traditionally, majority members chair the committees of jurisdiction (Health Care, Education, Rules, etc.). When one seeks sponsors and co-sponsors, it is wise to keep an eye on the majority party in each chamber, and find sponsors who are favored by, or members of, the leadership. But, also keep in mind that most legislative bodies have some mechanism where the minority party can stall and kill a bill. For this reason, one must pay attention to the minority party, and secure support amongst members who are favorably positioned with the minority leadership.
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Jurisdiction
Determine which committees have jurisdiction over the bill. Generally, the fewer the better. Upon introduction, a bill is assigned to standing committees related to the bill's purpose. Florida's Consumer Health Freedom Act has been previously assigned to the House Health Care Committee and to the Senate Health, Aging and Long-Term Care Committee, as well as some subcommittees in each chamber. In addition, the Rules or Calendar committee is commonly used to decide which bills will go to the floor for the final vote in that chamber. It’s important that you urge these committees’ members to vote in support of health freedom legislation. We will send you a Call to Action when the time is right for you to contact these members.
Some committees are notorious for killing bills because they have too much work to do or because they deliberately act as breakers against the tide. All committee members (majority and minority) must be properly approached at the right time, when your bill is about to be voted on. Again, we will let you know when that time has come.
These are your first make-or-break votes. You will find most lawmakers are approachable, open and ready to listen. However it's important to distinguish between cordiality and real support for your bill. Members of the legislature are asked to absorb volumes of information on hundreds of subjects and issues that affect Floridians. You may want a lawmaker to decide on and announce to you their position while sitting in their office. However, they may be unfamiliar with the issue. Practice patience when awaiting their response.
Remember, polite persistence is the greatest attribute an issue advocate can have in Tallahassee. When you speak with a legislator who is opposed to health freedom legislation, ask the reasons for their position. Ask what you can do to earn their support. Ask supporters to do specific things in support of your bill such as urging colleagues to vote for it and urging the chairs of the Committees to which it is assigned to calendar it for a hearing, so that it can be voted on by the Legislature.
Before a committee hears the bill it is imperative that you count your votes before they are cast. If the votes needed to pass the bill are clearly not there, focus on a strategy of working with lawmakers to postpone the bill's hearing or work to convince possible dissenting votes to support the bill. Once a bill has been killed by a committee or chamber, its subject matter may not be up for review again .
There may be public hearings. The bill may be - and is often is - amended, but the eventual course of the committee system leads to the floor of the chamber. Rules for debate, consent, and voting, vary all over and you must learn them to use them. Again, count your votes before they are cast. Once you have passed one chamber, you must pass the other, and then start all over again with the Governor.
In the meantime, the licensed health care professions will be a force to be reckoned with. Those professions are regulated by the Florida Department of Health (DOH), which is within the administrative branch of government. The licensed health care professions will likely oppose Health Freedom legislation. This legislation threatens their monopoly on health care practices. Finally, make every attempt to address the legitimate concerns of both the executive and the legislative branches to show lawmakers that your cause is constructive for government as a whole.
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Mobilizing Grassroots Supporters
At some point every voting lawmaker must hear from their constituents. Mobilize the grass roots in stages: begin with the committees in relevant order, and then move outward to the rank-and-file. Finally, return the focus on the Governor. This is where the campaign organizations really work hard. Mailing lists must be ready to go. Computer systems must be set up to merge constituents with their lawmakers, so that the campaign will know which constituents to contact for a call or letter to their legislator when a key vote is scheduled to happen.
While the organizations will act as go-between the legislators on the one hand, and the grass roots supporters on the other, the grass roots must be organized so that they can be quickly mobilized into action when calls, letters or appearances at Committee hearings are needed. The lobbyist must cue the organizations on which constituents to mobilize and when.
Grassroots organizations must often connect with and press their cause to legislators in other settings. Let your professional lobbyists lead all this stuff - it's their job. At the same time, make sure that the campaign organizations are respected and keep the grassroots plugged in and feeling like they own the campaign, because in fact, they do.
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Making Your Case
Often, the health freedom campaign is out-spent, out-numbered and out-leveraged by its opponents. However, two valuable tools remain, which, if properly used, can turn the tide in the underdog's favor.
These are: grassroots' passion and the historical/legal record. In this section we will focus on bringing these forces to bear through spreading the news, testimony, letter writing, and meetings with lawmakers.
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Spreading the news
Speaking with passion and a little bit of technical information can arouse other grassroots supporters like you and gain legislative sponsors for the Consumer Health Freedom Act. Grassroots supporters needn't have intimate knowledge of the studies around the use of Natural Health Therapies. However, it's helpful for you to point out that:
- Over 2/3 of the
- What Natural Health Therapies care you use and how it has helped you or a loved one.
- That the Consumer Health Freedom Act will give you important information about your Natural Health Therapies practitioners and their therapies, while protecting the public.
- That the Act will protect your Constitutional right to make your own health care decisions without unnecessary governmental interference.
The grassroots power lies in their personal story told from the heart, impassioned but not belabored by the details of law.
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Hearings
Often, a forum is needed to educate the full legislature and to allow opposing sides the opportunity to debate the issue and to be questioned by lawmakers in a public setting. In Florida, such a procedure is called a legislative hearing. It is very formal and should be prepared for as if it were your day in court.
If grassroots funding and volunteer efforts make it possible for Florida Health Freedom Action to file a bill in 2007:
- Florida Health Freedom will arrange for some supporters to testify at hearings during the legislative session. Others will be asked to attend hearing(s) as a silent, yet critical, show of support. Because hearings are brief, the silent supporters will not testify.
- Because we may have only 24 to 48 hours' notice of a legislative hearing, those scheduled to testify and/or attend legislative hearings must be on "standby" to travel to Tallahassee on brief notice. Volunteers are needed to man "phone trees," to get the word out quickly to those on standby when we learn that a hearing on our bill has been scheduled.
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Writing Letters
In our opinion, your personal letters to legislators far outweigh the value of petitions and form-letters.
Why are letters better than petitions? To put it simply, petitions and form letters are counted, but personal letters are read, and often answered. Personal letters are the extra effort that can turn sympathies into sponsorship, and change opposition into support. Because a form letter message is not personal, it's only slightly better than signing a petition.
Remember, it's always easier to defeat legislation than to pass legislation. A lawmaker need only vote "nay" to defeat a bill. To pass a bill, however, a lawmaker must become convinced that the issue is sound, that the reform is needed and is he/she is willing to go on record to support it.
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What to Say
In the beginning say why you are writing this lawmaker, such as:
-
because I'm a voter in your district and care deeply about this issue. . .
- because I have respected many positions you have taken in the past. . .
- to thank you for your support. . .
- because you have stated your position as being opposed to, or neutral on the Consumer Health Freedom Act and I want to change your mind. . .
In the middle say why this is important to you, for example:
-
I was ill, and not getting better until I used such-and-such kind of Natural Health Therapies . . .
- I have used this for so many years and have enjoyed excellent health. . .
- This is part of my family heritage. . .
- I want to make personal health care choices without unnecessary governmental interference. . .
- The State is creating a monopoly for licensed practitioners for low and no risk health care services, which drives up their cost. . .
At the end ask for what you want:
- Please co-sponsor/ vote for the Consumer Health Freedom Act.
- Please protect my Constitutional right to choose the natural health therapies and practitioners that I decide are right for me. . .
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Calls and Visits
As for the telephone, there are two times when grassroots phone calls are good: (1) When bills are going to a vote in a committee or on the floor. In this case, call only the offices of the lawmakers actually voting. (2) To make an appointment for a visit to a lawmaker's office. Otherwise, remember that the staff has other work to do. Unless your bill is pending for a vote, a zillion calls will only annoy the staff and work against you.
Grassroots office visits are important. FHF activists will help coordinate supporters' visits to legislator's home district offices and arrange for groups to visit the capitol to lobby legislators. Even if you only meet with staff, your message will get to the lawmaker. The key is to tell your personal story and to ask for what you want.
Some simple office visit protocol, based on generalizations from lots of visits:
- Introduce everyone in your party with a one line tie-in for each person.
- Quickly introduce the subject of your visit then move one to the background information. (it will make more sense being placed in context this way)
- Acknowledge and address your remarks to any staff present as well, for they will be doing the actual follow-up.
- Avoid getting drawn into discussing details with which you are not familiar. It's O.K. to say "I don't know about that, but what's important to me is. . ."
- If the lawmaker starts to accept phone calls, your visit is probably over and you should politely leave.
- Prepare for only a 15 minute meeting and only go longer at the prompting of the lawmaker. Better to have been short and sweet than be causing inconvenience.
- Find the positive note on which to end your meeting and be sure to shake hands.
- Send a letter to thank the lawmaker for taking their time etc.
FHF's lobbyists will be having their own meetings and may wish to bring CATH practitioners and their clients to some of them. This is another way in which to reinforce that this cause is not a special interest or simple trade issue, but rather a social movement arising from the needs and desires of the people which also happen to make a lot of sense.
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* This explanation, which has been modified to describe Florida's process, is based on the work of health freedom lobbyist Monica Miller.
Florida Health Freedom Action
P.O. Box 430871, South Miami, FL 33243-0871
Phone: 305 668 2800
Contact us: info@floridahealthfreedom.org