How do I register to vote?
You can register to vote by calling the Election
Department of your County Auditor?s Office (listed under the Government
Pages in the phone book), calling the Voter Info Hotline at 1-800-448-4881,
or logging onto http://www.secstate.wa.gov/elections/register.aspx.
When is the legislative session?
In Washington State, legislative
session for the Year 2006 is January 9th through March 9th. To see a full calendar of the 2006 session, go to http://www1.leg.wa.gov/legislature/calendar/.
How do I find my legislative district?
You can easily find your legislative district from
the Washington State Legislature homepage. Simply log onto http://www1.leg.wa.gov/legislature/,
click "Legislative District Lookup," and enter your zip
code.
How can I look up a bill?
The legislature homepage has a link to "Bill
Info" where you can look up any information regarding bills.
http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/
How does a bill become a law?
A bill may be introduced in either the Senate or
House of Representatives.
A committee studies the bill and holds public hearings
on it.
A committee report is read in open session of the
House or Senate, and the bill is then referred to the Rules Committee.
The Rules Committee can either place the bill on
the second reading of the calendar for debate before the entire
body, or take no action.
At the second reading a bill is subject to debate
and amendment before being placed on the third reading calendar
for final passage.
After passing one house, the bill goes through
the same procedure in the other house.
If amendments are made, the other house must concur.
When the bill is accepted in both houses, it is
signed by the respective leaders and sent to the Governor.
The Governor signs the bill into law or may veto
all or part of it. If the Governor fails to act on the bill, it
may become law without a signature.
What must happen for a bill to become enacted?
To be enacted, a bill must:
Be cleared from Committee
Be cleared from Ways and Means (if of a financial nature)
Be pulled from Rules
Be approved by a majority of all legislators in the House in Question
Then the same process must be completed in the opposite House
Having cleared both houses, the bill must then be signed by the
Governor
Do you have any tips on communicating with my legislators?
Here are some simple tips to communicating with your
elected officials.
Introduce yourself and the organization you represent.
Define your key points.
Let them know what the issue is.
Keep it simple; don?t talk jargon.
Tell stories about what works.
Don't get defensive or argumentative.
Find out what their interests are.
If you do not know the answer to a specific question,
say so.
Follow up.
Write a thank you note.
If you have any other questions regarding advocacy,
please contact our Director of Public Policy, Laurie Lippold, LaurieL@chs-wa.org.
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