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‘Speaking the same language’ is a powerful communicator
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eveloping ongoing relationships with your state elected officials — especially your state representative(s) and state senator(s) — is an essential part of being an effective advocate for county government because in policymaking, it’s not who you know, but who knows you. So while you should be able to recognize your legislators and address them by name, in order to have an impact, they should be able to do the same. The 2017 regular session of the Arkansas Legislature starts in January. I hope you have already established a good working relationship with your legislators. If you haven’t, start right now. Of course, I know there were several new legislators elected in November. Work now on establishing an ongoing relationship with them. To lawmakers, what “the folks back home” think about legislative issues is often far more important than positions taken by groups like the Association of Arkansas Counties, even though our position is the position taken by our members — the elected county officials from around the state. The AAC staff talks with your legislators about bills of interest to our membership, and we advance AAC positions in committee meetings. We provide information as requested and help lawmakers prepare information for debate. We are the facilitators. YOU as county officials are the key lobbyists in the legislative process. The work of lobbying the legislature continues throughout the year. While the work at the Capitol during session is the most visible, the “off season” is busy as well. Currently, the AAC process for developing legislative objectives and priorities for the 2017 regular session is well underway and, in fact, practically ready to go. The AAC staff works hard all year, along with members of its affiliate organizations, to ensure that county issues get a fair hearing by state legislators. But the best tool in our tool kit is YOU — the county officials who can lobby and explain how the specifics of policy decisions made by state government will impact county government. Lobby — it’s a term that has negative connotations among many, but it shouldn’t. To lobby is simply “to try to influence public officials on behalf of or against proposed legislation.” As one story goes, the term “lobbying” originated during the early 19th century, when influence peddlers commonly milled around the lobbies of local government offices, statehouses or the U.S. Capitol waiting to buttonhole a particular politician. It is indeed noble for county officials to provide facts, documentation and expert information to legislators for or against legislation that affects county government — the level of government closest and most responsive to the people. I, in fact, believe it is the responsibility of county officials to do so. The U.S. Supreme Court has recognized that government will necessarily commit itself to certain positions in the course of fulfilling its function. As one commentator noted: “Courts consider government communication to be a function of the state that is not contained by the limitation of the First Amend22
Seems To Me...
ment.” [F. Schauer, Is Government Speech a Problem?, 35 Stan. Law Rev. 373, 376 (1983)] The Supreme Court has analyzed this issue as follows: “Government officials are expected as a part of the democratic process to represent and to espouse the views of a majority of their constituents. With countless Eddie A. Jones advocates outside of the governCounty Consultant ment seeking to influence its policy, it would be ironic if those charged with making governmental decisions were not free to speak themselves in the process.” As a county constitutional officer you may speak on behalf of or against proposed legislation as protected “government speech” — and you should do so. Former President John F. Kennedy described the work of lobbyists in a positive light, saying they are “expert technicians capable of examining complex and difficult subjects in clear, understandable fashion. Lobbyists serve a useful purpose and have assumed an important role in the legislative process.” Most legislators are not experts in the field of county government. They need to hear from those who are experts in county government operations in order to make informed decisions on bills that affect county government. Here are a few tips when communicating with your legislators — starting with the most important. Get to know your legislators: Every time you see a legislator, introduce yourself and tell him or her you live in his or her district. Do this until they recognize you and greet you by name. It is important to become well acquainted with your legislators before you actually need something from them. Help them to gain confidence with who you are and what you have to say. From the end of one session to the beginning of the next, you should be looking for opportunities to interact with your legislators. Invite them to visit with you at the courthouse. Show them county government in action and explain the challenges that counties face. Meet with your legislators regularly before, during and after the session. Bottom line, establish a rapport with the representatives and senators that represent your county so they will be more accepting of your message when the time comes for requesting a vote for or against an important issue. Find out more about your legislator’s background so that you can find a common ground and build a relationship based on shared interests. Here is an example. Several years ago, when I was director of AAC, there was one senator that would not give me the time of day. He simply would not listen to me. He was rude, and as far as I knew, I had never done anything to this man. I really studied to figure out a way to gain some COUNTY LINES, FALL 2016
