NAMI North Carolina Affiliate Tool Kit | Tips for Effective Legislative Interaction

Develop personal relationships. Legislators value the information and opinions they receive from constituents. Do not underestimate this. Begin to develop a personal relationship so that when the state office or your affiliate needs you, you can act quickly.

Be brief. Legislators receive information on many hundreds of subjects. Be brief and concise.

Be timely. Contact your legislators early. Even if they can’t commit on your issue, they will know that it will be coming up and can contact you. Once they do commit, it is very hard for them to change and still maintain credibility.

Be honest and don’t bluff. If you don’t know the answer to a question, say so. Then research the question and get the answer to the legislator promptly. If you conceal important facts or give legislators bad information, your case is dead.

Be clear. As generalists, legislators and staff are not up on the jargon of the mental health system. Don’t use acronyms that only some of us understand. At the same time, don’t be condescending or talk down to them. Be concise and straightforward.

Explain how the general public will benefit. Legislators know the majority of individuals who come to them have a personal interest in the legislation they are supporting. Besides explaining how the legislation affects your family or friends, explain how it will benefit the general public. For example, you may talk about how legislation to help your family member will also benefit our state and our society by reducing the costs of mental illness.

Avoid becoming defensive or angry. The majority of legislators are trying to do a good job under pressure. So give legislators the benefit of the doubt and do not become defensive or angry if a legislator disagrees with your position. Be polite and straightforward. Remember, in politics, today’s opponent can be tomorrow’s ally—unless you have made a permanent enemy.

Contacting Legislators

Telephone calls. Try to talk with the legislator directly. Most do not mind receiving calls at home, but only at reasonable hours. If you encounter a staff person, communicate the same information to him or her, but tactfully request a return call from the legislator.

Written communication. Address the letter properly. Confine your message to a single page. Do not use form letters. Ask for a response.

Face-to-face meetings. Set up the contact at a convenient time. Breakfast is a good time because legislators may be more available. Take a fellow member with you for support, but let the legislator know in advance. Explain NAMI’s goals, and be brief.

Follow-up. Follow up your contact with a thank you letter, whether or not the legislator supported your bill and whether not it passed.

Feedback. Share correspondence with the state office or your affiliate and send a note detailing the contact and the result.

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Insert Your State Government Information Here

Sample Text from NAMI North Carolina:

NAMI North Carolina advocates for the comprehensive, appropriate treatment of the mentally ill and the needs of their families. How and whether that level of treatment and support occurs is a function of the state budget, rules, and laws effecting mental health. As family members and friends of those with mental illness, we either can allow others to make these decisions or we can participate in the process of making and forming the laws, rules, and budgets themselves.

The General Assembly at a Glance

The North Carolina General Assembly, also referred to as the Legislature, sets policy and makes laws. It also adopts the State Budget and largely controls how funds are allocated. The Governor has veto power, but rarely uses it.

The General Assembly is composed of two chambers—the Senate and the House of Representatives—each of which has its own elected leaders and committee structure.

The North Carolina General Assembly consists of 50 members in the Senate elected from 72 districts and 120 members elected from 55 districts in the House of Representatives.

Each legislator is elected for a two-year term which begins in January of each odd-numbered year.

The General Assembly is required to meet for a long legislative session in odd numbered years. The long session typically lasts from January to July.

In even numbered years, the General Assembly meets for a short session from May to July, primarily to adjust the budget passed during the long session.

When in session, the Senate and House generally meet Monday evenings, early afternoons Tuesday through Thursday and Friday mornings. Committees generally meet in the mornings and late afternoons.

The Senate

The Lieutenant Governor serves as President of the Senate and is elected by the people in a statewide election to serve a four-year term.

A President Pro Tempore is elected by and from the Senate membership to serve in the absence of the Lieutenant Governor.

Senate committees are appointed by the President Pro Tempore. The Lieutenant Governor has no voting privilege except to break a tie.

The House of Representatives

The Speaker of the House of Representatives is elected by and from the membership of the House. A Speaker Pro Tempore is elected to serve in the Speaker’s absence. House committees are appointed by the Speaker of the House.

The Funding Process

Development of the budget for the state is a two-year process. It begins at least eight months prior to the convening of a General Assembly session when the Departments within government are asked to develop their budget recommendations. Here is an outline of the process with the approximate timeline:

Spring—Governor gives the Departments budget guidelines for developing the biennial budget.

Spring and Summer—Departments (e.g., the Deptartment of Health and Human Resources) request priorities from the Divisions (e.g., the Division of Mental Health) to develop budget priorities. The Divisions, in turn, request priorities from local programs.

Fall—Departments develop their priorities and submit them to the Governor.

The Governor develops his budget.

January—The General Assembly convenes and the Governor presents the budget package. The package is referred to the Appropriations Committees in the House and Senate.

Winter and Early Spring—The House and Senate Appropriations Committees break into subcommittees by topic to review the base (current) budget, plus the requests for increases (expansion budget). The House Speaker and Senate President Pro-Tempore appoint these committees which may meet jointly.

Late Spring—The appropriation sub-committees make recommendations to the full appropriations committee, and deliberations begin on a final budget proposal.

Any bills introduced which request funds in addition to the proposed budget are called special bills and are referred to the appropriations committee.

At the close of the session the final appropriations bill will be reported out of committee to the full House and Senate for approval.  After appropriations bill approval, the special bills which are being recommended for funding will be reported out and acted upon by the full House and Senate.The General Assembly will return to Raleigh for a short budget session, usually in May in even numbered years, to review the second year of its appropriations and make adjustments (e.g., adding raises for state employees).

If a bill is introduced which carries both policy changes and funding it must go through the general bill process as far as a committee giving it a favorable report. Then it becomes part of the appropriations process as a special bill.

How a Bill Becomes Law

1. Pre-filing of bill with the principal clerk of the House or Senate by a member

2. Introduction of a bill by a member or receipt of a bill from the House or Senate

Note: A legislator who introduces a bill is referred to as the bill’s sponsor.

3. First reading (by title only)

4. Referral to Committee by Speaker of the House or President Pro Tempore of the Senate

5. Committee consideration and report

Note: Once in committee, a bill may be amended or referred to additional committees and/or subcommittees. This is a crucial step in the legislative process because an unfavorable committee report can halt the progress or “kill” a bill.

6. Placed on House or Senate Calendar

7. Second reading (debate)

8. Third reading (debate)

Note: Both the House and Senate must approve the bill (repeating the process in the second chamber) before it can be passed into law. If a bill passes in a different form in the second chamber and there is to concurrence by the first chamber, the bill must be referred to Conference Committee in an attempt to make the bill acceptable to both the House and Senate.

9. Joint House and Senate Conference Committee Consideration (when necessary)

10. Enrollment (printing the legislation in its final form)

11. To Secretary of State for inclusion in Official Records and Printing