I had the privilege to sit in a meeting with another organizer from Causa and several lobbyists regularly working at the Capitol building. I was able to pick up tips on how to get a legislator's attention about your bill right before he/she votes on the floor. It was really interesting to hear them talk about the deadlines to introduce a bill and the loopholes one can go through to work around the deadlines. It was a great experience because I was able to learn about ways to subtlety remind a legislator to keep your bill in mind meanwhile pointing out that an influential legislator supports your issue. At the meeting were some of Causa's allied organizations which made me realize that our priorities as an organization are being advocated by them as well. So when legislation is passed that will benefit Oregonians in their education, health, civil rights and equality, its usually the same group of people behind the scenes working the Capitol.
I also was able to be in a meeting with a Task-force that was created by the Governor that included immigrant rights organizations, agricultural business executives, food and lodging business executives, attorneys, faith community leaders, and law professors. It was a learning experience because we were talking about the language in a draft bill. I learned that language is very crucial in a bill because it could mean the difference between it gaining support from key legislators or not. Using the words "for the purpose of" could have unwanted consequences once the bill becomes law. Instead, a better way to state it would be "is intended to". In some cases, it is better to be vague about the language to allow discretionary room for the agency/institution/authority overlooking the law to interpret it in a way that is consistent with your views, but at the same time doesn't raise a red flag to a legislator who is influential and will be bringing more supportive votes with his/her vote.
No comments:
Post a Comment