How to Connect with Legislators
The State’s website can be overwhelming! The State typically does a great job posting information in a timely manner, but it isn’t always easy to find. Finding out who to talk to about an issue and finding out what issues are on the table are critical first steps to engaging with policy makers. I’m happy to reprint with permission this excellent collection of links compiled by Chris Hall, Senior VP, Governmental Relations, for the Greater Portland Regional Chamber of Commerce.
Who are my legislators?
Click here and find your town and you’ll find your legislators. If there’s more than one legislator listed for your town, click here. If you have any trouble you can also find them with this link using your street address.
How do I contact them?
There’s a listing for each one – for House members click here, for Senators click here, then select your lawmaker. All their contact info is available in one spot.
How do I find the schedule at the state house?
Click here for a comprehensive set of links to all the schedules you need from, the House and Senate’s daily calendars to future committee hearings and work sessions. The entire legislative calendar also can be seen at a glance by clicking here.
How do I find out what bills are going to be on the table? (Paragraph Added by MANP)
Typically, before the beginning of each legislative session, legislators submit Legislative Requests (LRs). This list of titles with sponsors is published here. As they get formalized and turned in to Legislative Documents (LDs), they start to appear here.
How do I read a bill?
Take the LD (‘legislative document’) number and plug it in here. Then use the navigation buttons on the left to read the bill, track amendments and work sessions, final committee votes and more.
How do I find out what happened to a bill?
Click here for some good information and tips on bill tracking. Make sure you use the bill tracking system (above) since it provides the best, most up-to-date on-line information.
How can I contact a legislative committee?
Here’s a list of all the legislative committees, and a short description of what each one does. To get the roster for any committee, click here, then click again on the committee you want. At the bottom of this page, there’s a link to an excel spreadsheet that makes it easy to email all the committee members at once. Don’t forget you can listen to any committee as it works by clicking here and following the appropriate link.
Other resources:
The Senate has a good page of resource links – the House has an extensive menu too. Both political parties have web resources – click here and hover over the appropriate links, and use the same link for audio and video feeds for legislative sessions.
