Health Education Homework

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Health Policy
&
Legislative Advocacy
Chapter 13

Health Educators

As Effective Public Health Policy Advocates

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Advocacy, Lobbying and Grassroots Activities

  • Legislative Advocacy
  • Contact with a policymaker or legislator
  • Lobbying
  • Grassroots
  • Legal strategies utilized by for-profit and non-profit organizations to support or change policy

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Legislative Advocacy: Contact made with a policymaker or legislator to discuss a social or economic problem on behalf of a particular interest group or population as long as no specific bill number is mentioned.

Lobbying: communication about a specific position on legislation. A very effective way to ensure an issue becomes a law.

(1) Direct lobbying: Communication about specific legislation with a legislator.

(2) Grassroots lobbying: When a group or organization appeals to the general public and ask them to take action to influence specific legislation.

Not lobbying:

(1) Providing a policymaker with factual, nonpartisan information on an issue.

(2) Sharing information with the public without asking them to urge their legislator to vote in a certain way.

Grassroots Lobbying: a group/organization appeals to the general public and asks them to take action or influence specific legislation

Steps for Advocating Legislation

  • Identifying the issue
  • Understanding how policy issues become legislation
  • Identifying potential partners
  • Motivating grassroots support
  • Identifying and working with policymakers
  • Use the Internet for advocacy

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Cover individually in next 5 slides

Levels of Legislation

  • Voluntary policies
  • Policies implemented without government direction
  • Local ordinances
  • Ordinances or regulations enacted by townships or counties governmental entities
  • State laws
  • Bills enacted by the vote of state legislators and the governor
  • Federal laws
  • Bills passed at the federal level by senators and representatives and then signed by the president

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Choosing The Issue

  • What is gained or lost by supporting or opposing the issue?
  • What is the experience or level of commitment of the advocacy group?
  • Are there sufficient staff and volunteers to implement a legislative campaign?
  • What funding is available?
  • What community resources?
  • Who are the advocacy group’s allies and adversaries?
  • Who else shares this problem? Can we utilize them?
  • What laws already exists to deal with the issue?
  • What are the rules and regulations that govern involvement in legislative advocacy?

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Health Educators Can:

  • Educate legislators about an issue
  • Persuading a legislator to sponsor (author) a bill developed to address the issue
  • Identify bipartisan sponsors (sponsors from each major political party) so the bill will win broad support
  • Identify a legislator who sponsor the bill and would be an effective champion for the issue

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In most states only 10% of bills introduced each year become law.

Advocating for action at each step of the process increases probability of success.

How Policy Issues Become Legislation
At The Local Level

  • Local Policy Issues / County Regulation
  • Advocacy group brings issue to county health department
  • Health officer introduces issue to Board of Health
  • Regulation language is researched (how should it be written)
  • Language is drafted and reviewed by county attorney
  • Regulation language and data is presented to Board of Health
  • Board of Health holds meetings to discuss proposal
  • Once passed by the Board of Health, the regulation is presented to the county Board of Commissioners for approval
  • A task force may be appointed to research, table or pass to another committee for recommendation
  • Public hearing is set (normally three dates) with notification published in local newspaper
  • Public hearings are held for the community to present arguments for or against regulation
  • Commissioners vote on regulation
  • If passed, the local health department has authority to adopt the regulation

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How Policy Issues Become Legislation
At The State Level

  • The policy issue must be introduced to a legislator by a member of the advocacy group or lobbyist, who then introduces it to the legislature (either House of Representatives, Senate or both)
  • The bill receives first reading (which means it is recognized as an issue and given a title and number)
  • The Majority leader of the Senate or Speaker of the House refers the bill to a appropriate committee
  • The committee will then report the bill, add amendments, take no action, refuse the bill
  • A bill can have three readings at which time the bill is either passed or defeated or delayed
  • If the bill passes, it goes to the other legislative branch where the same procedure is followed
  • If the bill passes both branches it goes to the governor to sign, veto or neither
  • If the governor does neither in 14 days it will become law as long as the legislative branches stay in session

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Identifying Potential Partners

  • Strength in numbers
  • Find common ground in uncommon groups
  • Understand values, needs, & concerns of perceived opponents, while identifying agreeing thoughts

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Motivating Grassroots Support

  • Policy-makers will more likely listen to alliances of local people
  • Health educators can empower the public to become their own advocates
  • Define the issue and articulate needs
  • Have facts available, knowledge is power
  • Experiences of others will help new advocates feel more comfortable
  • Encourage advocates to share their experiences and provide a guide that will help them know what to share

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Identifying And Working With Policymakers

  • Policymaker / What do they do?
  • Constituents / Who are they?
  • Health Educator / What can they do?
  • Establishing a relationship with policymakers

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Elected officers who enact policy, laws and ordinances at the local, state and federal levels and are responsible for creating and enacting policies that guide and influence the activities and actions of individuals and organizations within the level they serve.

Constituents / Voters and residents of their districts

Health educators can provide well-documented information that will help policymakers develop or support good public health laws and regulations.

Developing a relationship requires an ongoing exchange of information, such as letters or phone call congratulating legislators when they support important issues. Local policy-makers are more available than state or federal. Civic groups such as lions club or rotary club can be an opportunity to know who is pro or against certain issues. Hearing for local boards of health, town-hall meetings etc. can help to become familiar with community issues. Invite legislators to events or to your place of work. Legislative sessions can be attended also.

State legislators are usually in their districts two days a week and at the capital 3 days a week.

Contacting Policy Makers

  • Staff members are key
  • Develop a plan for the visit
  • State issues / Assembly or House Representative from that district
  • Go to the proper committee for the issue (if your representative is not on that committee, have him/her write a letter of support)
  • If funding is required / Appropriations Committee will be needed
  • Get to know all members of the coalition or organization who are constituents of the issue

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The level at which the policy change is desired determines which policymaker to contact

Staff members can shape the policy-makers position on a topic

If a state issue, get the endorsement from the state health department, if a local issue get the local health department to endorse the policy.

(Talk about supplement)

Successful Legislative Advocacy
Getting the Public Involved

  • Legislative alerts
  • Letter-writing – Initiate Campaign
  • Telephone campaigns
  • Meeting with legislators
  • Testifying at hearings
  • Media advocacy

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Cover individually in the next 6 slides

Legislative Alerts

  • Notices to groups members
  • Upcoming votes, needed actions, committee meetings or hearings

  • What does the alert contains?
  • Summary of the issue, the position of the group, background information and the action needed by the group or individual receiving the alert
  • Mail, fax or email, etc.

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Notices to groups members about upcoming votes, needed actions, committee meetings or hearings

Contains summary of the issue, the position of the group, background information and the action needed by the group or individual receiving the alert

Letter-writing

  • Used to educate policy-makers and urge them to take action
  • More detailed than a legislative alert
  • Find out how a legislator prefers to be contacted
  • The letter can contain:
  • Do not use a form letter (unless time dictates)
  • Written neatly or typed
  • Personalize the letter with your own thoughts

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Telephone campaigns follow the same as letter writing.

Meeting With Legislators

  • Makes legislator aware that someone is concerned and watching their actions
  • Determine members who have personal contacts with policymakers
  • Know the facts
  • Know when and how to contact legislator
  • Send letter or phone to request appointment
  • Be an expert
  • Arrive on time
  • Have a primary spokesperson
  • Keep it simple
  • Remain calm
  • Be patient
  • Follow-up with a letter

Media Advocacy

  • Good promotional tool
  • Media can educate policymakers, other member of the media and the general public
  • Develop an effective message
  • Create a media list
  • Select a spokesperson
  • Write editorials
  • Write news release
  • Involve members of the media in training advocates about effective media communications

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Develop an effective message that identifies the problem, the solution and who can make the solution happen. The message should be simple and clear, it should state why people should be concerned with the problem in persuasive and compelling terms.

Create a media lists, including local newspaper and television and radio stations. Identify the audience a station or paper reaches. Create a list of media contacts and find out how reporters like to receive information.

Select a spokesperson who is comfortable with speaking to the media and answering questions and who is knowledgeable on the issue.

Write editorials stating the issue and the solution. Meet with the newspaper editors to ask for advice on editorials.

Write news releases about the issue

Involve members of the media in training advocates about effective media communication. This strategy informs advocates how to utilize the media and it provides an opportunity to educate the media about issues.

Challenges

  • Prepare for opposition
  • Motivating community support
  • Prevent volunteer burnout
  • Deal with internal politics
  • Keeping the bill moving through the legislative process

Expected Outcomes

  • Legislative process moves slowly (2-3 yrs)
  • Celebrate interim goals
  • Monitor new legislation for its effectiveness
  • Legislation can be watered down by other policies (this can make it difficult to change in the future)
  • Increase legislative advocacy skills

Expected Outcomes

  • If policy is not adopted:
  • Reevaluate the efforts
  • Review the challenges encountered
  • Seek area for improvement
  • Realize lessons learned
  • Identify supportive legislators
  • Move forward with alternative/additional strategies