Downs Mike Downs Center

I took the same approach that most people would take. I made phone calls to senators who serve on the committee. I communicated with colleagues and friends who were following the same bills. I traded E-mails with legislative aides. I checked the state's Web site: http://www.in.gov/

This activity was not to try to sway the opinions of legislators. It was to find out if the bills would have hearings. My efforts were rewarded when I learned the days, dates, times, and locations of the hearings.

While finding out if there would be hearings, I also had to prepare my testimony. This meant:

* Reading the bills and relevant parts of the Indiana Code carefully

* Talking with others about the ramifications of the bill

* Trying to find out if any of the legislators would be offering any amendments

* Preparing compelling arguments and presentations.

Track legislation Go to http://www.in.gov Click on "General Assembly" Click on "Bills and Resolutions" Enter a bill number (three digits for Senate bills and four digits for House bills) or Search the subject listing. Most bills are cross-listed in more than one subject. Contact information Indiana House of Representatives: 800-382-9842 Indiana Senate: 800-382-9467 Indiana Legislative Services Agency 317-232-9856

There were a few moments when this process was quite frustrating. For example, it was much more common to get voicemail than a live person. The result was that misunderstandings that could have been cleared up in seconds took hours or days to clear up by phone tag. Also, the busy schedules of the legislators meant that it was highly unlikely that I would be speaking directly with a legislator. I spoke with legislative aides who were generally helpful. (On a side note, there were two legislators who returned my calls. Ironically, they got my voicemail when they called.) Finally, it was virtually impossible to get copies of the amendments before they were introduced. To paraphrase Fort Wayne Journal Gazette reporters, they treat those documents like state secrets.

Finding out about when a hearing will take place and being prepared to testify on a bill is one thing. Being able to sway the votes of legislators is another thing altogether. The technical process by which a bill becomes a law in Indiana is fairly simple (www.in.gov/statehouse/tour/BillintoLaw.pdf), but the real process is not only dynamic but also challenging.

There are a few factors that feed the challenge. This year, there were more than 1,500 bills working their way through the process. (If this year is like most other years, 20 to 30 percent of them will be passed.) Another component of the challenge is the fact that we have a part-time legislature that is in session for a limited number of days each year. Our legislators have to juggle learning about the bills, meeting with constituents, meeting with lobbyists and continuing to work their day jobs. This makes it difficult to have direct contact with them during the session. A final component of the challenge is being aware of the political battles, partisan and otherwise, that are going on behind each piece of legislation.

I am happy to report that I was able to testify on one of the two bills I was following. On that bill, the General Assembly voted the way I was hoping it would. On the other bill, it did not. (I have been telling myself that my testimony, or lack thereof, made the difference on each bill, but that might just be hubris.)

My experiences this session reminded me of some simple rules:

• Don't wait until the General Assembly is meeting to get involved. Try to meet with legislators before the session begins. This provides a much better chance of meeting them and being able to discuss an issue in detail.

• If you want to testify on a bill, remain flexible. It is rare that you will have much more than 48 hours notice before a hearing. The further you have to drive and the busier your schedule, the more difficult this will be. Additionally, there is a chance that the meeting might be recessed until a later date which could mean another trip to the Statehouse. This kept me from testifying on one of the two bills. A colleague of mine who was testifying on a different bill was lucky. Her meeting was recessed, but the chair of the committee invited those who couldn't return for the resumption of the meeting to testify immediately.

* If you can't make it to the hearing, make sure your voice is heard. Send letters, E-mails, faxes and make calls to legislators. Contrary to some opinions, most legislators want to know what their constituents think.

* Work in a group. Legislators have a tendency to ask people who they are representing. A political reality for legislators is that they have to consider who they might offend or make happy with their comments and votes.

There are a variety of reasons for attending legislative meetings. One of the most important might be that you can see first-hand how laws are made and be able to judge the performance of your legislators. The first meeting you attend might seem like organized chaos, but eventually it will make sense. The legislative process has been likened to making sausage, and it is. Fortunately, I like sausage and don't mind knowing what it took to make it.