In many states, the political activity took a pause in late June and are scheduled back to come at the end of this month. What does this mean for organizations that want to engage in the process? It means the constant engagement should already be in place.

What do we mean by constant engagement?

• Attending events hosted by your legislative representatives. Following the steps we have outlined in previous articles regarding engagement in an informal setting.
• Keeping in mind the timeline of activity within the legislative process. When are the brakes? When must the legislators. have their bill support on the governor’s desk?
• Keeping in mind that oftentimes after the summer break. The timeline for getting in any last bills is very short, maybe a month or two.
• Strategizing your overall organizational goals around concepts like these will let you be better prepared on whether you should aim for the current, your year or the next year.

With all this in mind, at this point in this article you may be wondering why should we engage if we aren’t getting a concept Through the legislative process? Not every organization needs to or feels they are even ready to engage in this process. So why should we know about it?

The answer to this question is quite simple. Legislative engagement is the right of the people; but it has very technical elements to each piece. So even if your organization does not have goals legislatively this year, it does not mean it may not happen in the future. We aim to ensure you are ready for the upcoming process, regardless of the circumstances.

Another question that may be running through your organization’s mind is when is the consultancy appropriate or third party in general?

This question has a clear answer: you can independently start connecting with your legislators during this process.  We have also produced instructional videos demonstrating this process, using California as an illustrative example.  However, it does get more complicated as you start to put together your independent concepts for your organization and why you are engaging in the process as a whole. It is at this point where you would want to consider a third party, such as a consultancy for advisement. Whether you hire a consultancy or not, it is important to keep the voices of underserved populations such as Developmental/Intellectual Disabilities are strong in the process of legislative engagement. Remember, we are stronger together.