Environmental Lobbying: Short on Pay, Long on Rewards
So you want to get involved? There’s no better time than the present, and no better place than the Capitol.
In this issue we preview only a small fraction of the several hundred environmental bills that the Legislature will be considering this year. Still, that should be enough to give readers an inkling of the vast range of opportunities for action.
Equally vast is the diversity of levels of engagement. At the low end, people pressed for time can make themselves available to call certain legislators when bills they are concerned with arrive at do-or-die junctions. At the middling level, people can follow one or another bill from introduction through to passage (or whatever), submitting testimony as appropriate. At the high end, one can give testimony on a whole raft of issues, volunteer to read testimony for those who cannot be at committee meetings, and “track” the progress of bills for one or another interested group — the Sierra Club, the Hawai`i Audubon Society, the Natural Resources Defense Council, Hawai`i’s Thousand Friends, Life of the Land, the Recycling Association of Hawai`i, and dozens of other organizations.
First, Do No Harm
But before doing anything, no matter how well intentioned, do a little homework. Remember that many environmental bills will draw opposition from parties that have the money to afford professional lobbyists. There’s nothing illegal or immoral (usually) about that, but it does make it imperative that anyone planning to testify prepare for tough and informed debate. That means, at a minimum, some knowledge of the bill you are speaking to (of course); a passing acquaintance with committee protocol, which can vary according to the chair; and an ability to anticipate and deflect (if need be) possible objections to your own position.
The easiest way for most people to address the first of these tasks is to hook up with a group that has been following one or another environmental area for years. And the easiest way, in general, to find out which groups have been following what issues is to attend the weekly meetings of the Environmental Legislative Network. This informal group gathers at noon every Tuesday in the second-floor conference room in the Arcade Building (212 Merchant Street in downtown Honolulu).
To learn appropriate behavior, attend and observe a meeting of the committee or committees you might testify before.
The third task — to anticipate opponents’ argument — may be one of the most important in preparing effective testimony. Speaking in favor of a bill — especially an environmental bill — is usually easy; answering all possible objections to it is the tough part. If you can figure out what opponents will be saying, you will be in a far better position to think on your feet during the give and take of committee deliberations.
It goes without saying that you should treat legislators with respect. It is utterly irrelevant whether you deem them deserving; it is simply a matter of common courtesy. If you are not willing to go along on this point, then please, avoid all contact with the Legislature. You’ll end up doing your cause more harm than good.
Keep It Brief
When you testify, make it short. In most cases, testimony should not be longer than a single-spaced typed page. Sometimes you may want to provide line-by-line or page-by-page commentary on a bill. When that occurs, submit your concordance as an appendix to your testimony. Don’t include it (other than by referring to it) in the substance of your remarks to the committee, however.
Into the Breach
As much as networking can be useful, it has its limits. If you want to pursue an issue and find no one else is doing exactly the thing you think should be done, well, go to it. Don’t expect others to drop what they’re doing to accommodate you. The environmental community in Hawai`i is chock full of people of good will and talent, but they are stretched thin already. The last thing these people want is to be told that they have been doing things all wrong by someone who has yet to lift a finger.
Of course there are lapses and voids. Many worthy bills will die of neglect. If you feel strongly that they should not, be prepared to jump into the breach.
For Capitol Junkies
Over the last two years, the Legislature, responding to pushes from Common Cause Hawai`i, the League of Women Voters, the American Association of University Women, and the Hawai`i Council of Churches, has taken measures to open up the legislative process. The public notice requirement for committee meetings has been pushed back to 48 hours; testimony can be faxed from libraries on the neighbor islands; through the computerized ACCESS system, bills and committee reports may be viewed almost as soon as they are written by anyone who has a modem or who visits a public library. Not least, the Legislature made available a room for the public’s use, equipped with computers, telephones, mail boxes, a set of this year’s bills, and an assortment of reference books.
Volume 1, Number 8 February 1991
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