Description:
LWVNAZ Advocacy Team
This position generally works on statewide issues. It is a great way to learn more about the Arizona legislative process, help monitor bills moving through the system and encourage members to respond using the AZ request-to-speak system(RTS) or by contacting their legislators.
Absolutely no prior knowledge is required. There is plenty of help and training. The AZ Legislature maintains a great set of website tools that makes it very easy to follow bill progress from anywhere in the state using your computer.
There are a number of ways to contribute, depending on your interest. At the beginning of each legislature season the Advocacy team polls members to determine which issues are most important to them and to solicit volunteers to work in these areas. Each issue is one that the League has an existing policy position for, which you can rely upon in your analysis. Past issues have included – Voting rights, criminal justice, education, women’s rights and climate.
Once the issues are chosen for the year, teams are formed to monitor bills moving through the Legislature. A shared spreadsheet on Google Drive is used to track important points and timelines for the bill and a Checklist is prepared to cover the key issues. Again, training is provided. Teams with a lot of activity often meet via Zoom once a week, but it is not necessary to attend every meeting. People have personal schedules outside of League work. The most important part of the effort is to alert and prepare people for committee hearings on bills. Before the hearing, calls to action are made to our League members to use the RTS system. Volunteers also prepare written testimony for our lobbyists to give at hearings.
There are also opportunities to work more actively on particular issues, such as the recent passage of Prop 139.
This is a great way to feel that you are making a difference, and can be done from anywhere in the state. If you would like to explore this effort contact Maryann Kenney (mckenney007@gmail.com) or lwvadvocacy@gmail.com