I was recently talking with Emily about legislator briefings and their effectiveness, rather their ineffectiveness. We at Beacon used to host legislator briefings on various topics for years. However, regardless of whether we were in session or not, it seemed like few legislators came, and those who did mostly came for the food. Sure there were a few outliers, like when our previous governor proposed a Medicaid expansion bill for example. But for the most part, it seemed like they did little to sway legislators and were a waste of time and resources.
Several years ago, we made the decision to start hosting “policy boot camps” for state house and senate candidates instead. Held throughout the state, these boot camps are open to all candidates of any open seat and are usually done before the primary. We’ve found this approach to be wildly successful because we have been able to build relationships with future legislators early. In the past two cycles since taking this approach attendance has been high as candidates are eager for information and appreciate the fact that they are receiving attention even prior to the primary. Yet, with the boot camp setting we don’t have to waste time meeting individually with candidates who end up not being elected.
We saw the results first hand once session started and the then-candidates were sworn in. First, our business cards weren’t lost with the hundreds of others from lobbyists meeting with them that first week or two. Second, we weren’t rushed to go over all of our agenda and research in a 15-minute meeting, as they were already familiar with it. We were able to spend that valuable time during early session talking about their hopes for the session, such as committee assignments, issues, potential legislation they planned to bring, etc., and really positioning ourselves not just as another interest group but a true resource for them. Additionally, since we began building our relationship with them prior to any opposing views, we’ve found those who attended our boot camps in the long run were more sway-able and open to our positions. Lastly, they have granted us more access as these candidates have started to become sub or full committee chairs.
Has anybody else had similar experiences with legislator briefings?