Advocacy 101
Educate
Advocate
Act
Legislative Meetings
www.legis.ga.gov
Call Legislators to the Ropes!
1. Fill out a note card on the podium outside of each chamber
2.Hand the note to the staff at the desk along the red ropes
3.They will give the note to a page (student volunteer)
4.Wait along the ropes (you cannot go past the ropes)
5.The page will hand the card to the legislator inside
6.The legislator will come out to see you or the page will report that
the legislator is unavailable (remember what your legislator and your
page looks like!)
Pre-Meeting Activity
Research the Legislator: Know as much as you can about the
person you are trying to influence:
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Party affiliation
Committee assignments
Position on your issue, and voting history
Policy interests
Community interests
Find YOUR shared interests
Pre-Meeting Activity
• Prepare Talking Points: Know your issue and prepare a list of specific points
including the problem that you want to discuss during your visit.
• Understand GTA’s position.
• Be prepared to explain the arguments that the opposition may employ.
• Most elected officials want to understand all sides of an issue.
“My experience is you must think like an elected official – give
them bullet points and tell stories about constituents that make
the need real and be realistic.”
- Debra Furtado, Senior Connections
During Your Meeting
• Be sure to express appreciation for any support the legislator has given to GTA or transportation in the
past.
• Present a Positive Image: The manner in which you present yourself is extremely important in forming a
lasting impression and in developing a good rapport.
• Dress appropriately and be confident in your presentation, but not threatening.
• Stay on Topic: Confine your conversation as much as possible to the issue(s) you are discussing.
• Express only GTA’s point of view, not your own.
• Don’t let the elected official stray onto other issues otherwise the impact of the visit will be minimized.
• Ask For Advice: If you know the elected official favors your position, let him or her know that you are aware
of that fact and ask for advice on how to reach other legislators and or other elected officials with your
message.
Do’s and Don’ts
• Don’t Argue: Try to avoid any prolonged or controversial argument;
• otherwise it is likely to confirm the elected official in his or her opinion.
• Don’t try to pin the legislator down or into a corner – he or she may need room to change their
position later.
• If possible don’t allow the legislator to commit differently against
your position:
• It is better to leave the representative undecided than committed against you. Someone else
might be able to convince him or her.
• Don’t Take Notes During Your Meeting: Legislators will be more likely to
clam up if they know their opinions are being recorded.
• As soon as you finish, find a quiet place and make your notes – don’t depend on your memory.
Do’s and Don’ts
• Don’t Be Afraid to Admit Your Ignorance: Say you will find the answer
and report back, and be sure to do so. This is a great opportunity to follow
up with your elected official.
• Don’t Interrupt: Allow the legislator to present his or her viewpoint fully.
Be a good listener.
• Don’t Alienate Your Elected Official: Attempt to leave the legislator with
a friendly feeling, even though you may disagree. Say you are sorry that
you don’t agree and do not emphasize the difference of opinions. You will
need to talk to them in the future on other legislation.
What to Do:
• If they are supportive, help them to be a champion. Provide
information, resources, and expertise.
• If they are opposed, move on. Do think about ways to
neutralize their opposition.
• If they are undecided, figure out what they need to move
them to your side -- information, personal testimony, etc.
Follow-up
Meeting Legislators Recap
• Prepare a few talking points…You need to know what you will talk about
before the meeting!
• Remember, you have only a few minutes to meet with your legislator;
please use that time wisely!
• Introduce yourself…make a local connection
• Thank them for the meeting
• Talk about legislation with legislator
• Ask them about their position on the legislation
• Stay focus and don’t get off message
• Thank them again at the end of the meeting
• Follow-up and send personal thank you note
2016 Legislative Agenda
STATE FUNDING FOR TRANSIT
$75 million Bond Program: The FY 2016 state budget passed by the General Assembly for the first
time contained a line item for transit needs statewide: a $75 million bond program administered by
SRTA, through which transit systems may apply on a competitive basis for grants designed to
address specific capital needs. This amount began the 2015 session as a $100 million
commitment, and GTA believes the $25 million left out of the final budget is crucial to meet state
transit needs.
Need Remains for Additional Resources, Particularly for Operations: Georgia’s transit demands
continue to grow due to the lifestyle preferences of both the millennial and baby boomer
generations. The economic benefits of transit are significant: according to the American Public
Transportation Association (APTA), every $1 invested in public transportation generates
approximately $4 in economic returns.
New Potential Revenue Sources: The General Assembly did lay the groundwork to compete more
effectively on transit with the Transportation Funding Act of 2015 (HB 170). First, transit systems are
technically eligible for new revenues generated by both the new $5 per night hotel/motel fees and new
alternative vehicle fees earmarked for transportation purposes, as these revenues are not subject to the
state’s constitutional provision restricting motor fuel taxes to highways and bridges. In addition, HB 170
(with HB 106) opened the door for individual counties to hold voter referenda on new sales taxes that
could be used to fund transit services. These steps are positive.
Maximizing Transit Opportunities Under the New T-SPLOST Provision: The aforementioned HB 106
created a mechanism whereby individual counties could place before their voters a sales tax of up to one
cent, designated for transportation purposes that may include transit services (T-SPLOST). However,
the current statute does not allow multiple counties to join together to fund projects that may cross
county boundaries without being subject to individual county referendum approval. Such crossjurisdictional flexibility is needed to fund large-scale rail projects or regional bus services. Additionally,
such a tax if passed is limited to only five years, which is not sufficient to compete effectively for
discretionary federal grants to invest in major capital projects, such as rail projects in Atlanta or
Savannah that are of great interest to those communities. This shorter period also limits the
possibilities of public-private partnerships (P3s), which typically require 20-30 year commitments.
Permanent Motor Fuel Tax Exemption for Transit Systems: Until June 30, 2015, local transit systems
were exempt from paying state motor fuel taxes (MFT), but legislation continuing this exemption was not
passed in 2015. Not only are transit systems now subject to these taxes, the increase from 7.5 cents-pergallon in MFT to 26-cents-per-gallon has hit transit systems very hard, effectively increasing their state MFT
responsibility by 346% overnight. Local taxpayers in large part are already funding Georgia’s transit systems,
and now more of their tax dollars will be sent to the state in the form of MFT to be used for non-transit
purposes.
Regional Transportation Planning and Service Coordination:
Cost efficiencies and service
enhancements can be gained by developing models of comprehensive regional transportation planning and
service coordination. The current federal transportation law, MAP-21, provides the opportunity for GDOT to
designate regional transportation planning organizations, which would enhance planning, coordination and
implementation of statewide long-range transportation plans and transportation improvement programs, with
an emphasis on addressing the needs of nonmetropolitan/rural areas of the state, as well as coordinate local
planning, land use and economic development plans, and provide technical assistance. GDOT already
contracts with some Regional Commissions (RCs) to carry out a limited scope of regional and rural
transportation planning activities annually, including rural transit development plans, scenic byways planning,
bicycle and pedestrian plans, evaluations, maps, education and outreach, and Safe Route to Schools Plans.
Monitoring Legislation
Monitoring Legislation Log on to www.legis.ga.gov
Click the Legislation tab then click Advance Search on the left hand side of
the page.
Select the “bill type” (HB, HR, SB, SR) from drop down and enter the
bill/resolution number.
This will allow you to track the bill through both Chambers.
The House and Senate general calendar list committee meetings (date, time
and location).
The House and Senate debate calendar list bills being debated that
legislative day. Those bills will be voted on that day.
Questions
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