PTA Guide to the Legislative Process

The Utah State Legislative Session begins around the third week of January and runs for 45 days, ending in early March. Hundreds of bills are introduced each legislative session. Each bill will go through at least some of the steps described below. You have a chance to make a difference and let your views be heard when you understand this process.

A bill is the first step in changing or making law. The ideas for bills can come from a citizen, legislative interim committee, individual legislator, task force, state or local committee, corporation, the governor, a state agency… there are many possibilities.
1. A bill must be introduced by a current member of the legislature. Often a senator or representative is asked by an individual or a group to “sponsor” a bill. Analysts and attorneys in the Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel write the bills requested by the legislators. If a senator sponsors the bill, it is a Senate Bill (SB); or it is a House Bill (HB), if sponsored by a representative. The SB (HB) appears before the bill number and is used when referring to a bill. A Senate bill must pass in the Senate before it can go to the House and a House Bill must first pass in the House.
2. As the legislative session begins, bills are “introduced” (the number, sponsor, and title are read) during floor time. This is called the “First Reading” of the bill. Actions “on the floor” are those that take place when the House or the Senate is in session and members of each body are assembled together in their respective chambers. Citizens may view proceedings from the gallery or online.
3. The ‘gatekeeper' process of assigning bills to committees is performed by the Rules Committee. The House and the Senate each have a Rules Committee which determines which bills will be heard and when bills come to the floor. They also determine the order in which they are heard. This committee differs from other committees in that it is exempt from requiring agendas to be posted 24 hours in advance and no public testimony is allowed.
4. Most bills result in laws that will cost money to implement. All bills are given a “fiscal note” by the office of the Legislative Fiscal Analyst. Legislative leadership usually sets a dollar limit on bills with fiscal notes. Bills which exceed the limit or have large fiscal notes tend to be held from final voting until late in the legislative session. In the final days, the state budget is being set and members of each chamber declare their priority bills. Those bills are released for floor debate.
5. It is difficult to get a copy of a bill before it has been “numbered.” After they are printed by the legislature’s printing office, you can get a copy on the legislative website: le.utah.gov. As bills are amended they are printed on a different color, and a current date and time are added to avoid confusion. The website is updated regularly as well.
The first formal consideration of a bill is in a Standing Committee. When a bill goes to a Standing Committee, the chair of each Standing Committee has the power to decide which bills will be heard, when, and in what order. Bills can be moved to the top of the Standing Committee agenda by motion of a committee member, but the motion has to be passed by a majority. Schedules for these meetings can be found online at: le.utah.gov. The agendas (which bills they will consider) must, by law, be posted at least 24 hours in advance. These agendas are found near the Senate and House Chambers.
1. Any citizen may request the opportunity to speak on a bill in Standing Committee meetings when the bill is on the agenda. Most committee chairs will ask for input from the public, but you could also make your request to the committee chair before the meeting. Sometimes, sign-up lists for public input are provided when substantial public input is anticipated. Only members of the Utah PTA Legislative Advocacy Committee, under direction of the Utah PTA Advocacy VP, may speak for Utah PTA. Any citizen can speak for themselves.
If a bill is “passed out favorably” from the Standing Committee, the next step depends on whether it is a House or Senate Bill. The Senate debates and votes on bills brought to them from committee. This is the bill’s “Second Reading.” The House only votes to adopt the Standing Committee’s report on the “Second Reading” without debate. The actual floor consideration will take place later. In both chambers, debate happens in the “Third Reading.” A variety of actions may take place.
1. A good time to discuss a bill with legislators is just before it comes up in committee (contact committee members) or before debate on the floor (contact any member in the House or the Senate). This is when Utah PTA usually requests help from PTA members through the Utah PTA Legislative Take Action Network. Your job is to request support for the PTA position and tell them why their support is important to the children they represent. Always be brief, to the point, and courteous.
  1. Any time the House or the Senate is in session, you can send in a message or request to speak with any legislator. The doormen will provide special notepaper for your request and will deliver your note. If your request is to talk to a legislator, be prepared to wait because business is taking place. When House members can get away they will try to come out and talk. Senators usually will request a meeting at a later time.
  2. Messages can be left with telephone operators to relay to legislators. Leave your name, phone number, and a very brief message (House of Representatives, 801-538-1029; Senate, 801-538-1035). You can also speak with their intern.
A bill that passes the body where it originated is sent to the other house, where the process is repeated. Bills amended and passed in the second house must go back to the originating body for approval and final passage on the floor. Once passed by both legislative bodies, bills are reprinted as “enrolled” bills and then go to the governor for a signature. The governor has the power to sign or veto. Once signed, the bill becomes law.

During the session, Utah PTA compiles a weekly update of the bills Utah PTA is following and the PTA position. The bill sheets are available on the Utah PTA website: utahpta.org.

Legislative Bills - An Explanation

In the top right-hand corner of each bill is the number assigned to the bill. HB indicates it is a House Bill. SB means Senate Bill. When the B is replaced by an R it means it is a Resolution. Resolutions indicate intent and are not binding. SSB or SHB indicates the bill is a Substitute Bill (Substitute Senate Bill or Substitute House Bill), which means there has been substantial change made to the original bill.
In the top left-hand corner, Legislative General Council indicates the bill was approved for filing, by whom, and with the date and time.
In BOLD CAPS is the “short title” of the bill. When referring to bills it is best to refer to the bill number and short title.
In bold lower case type is the name of the legislator sponsoring the bill and the senator or representative cosponsoring the bill. Frequently listed below the sponsor are the names of other legislators who are co-sponsors of the legislation.
Next, in CAPS is the “long title” of the bill. The long title is a brief explanation of the legislation.
The long title is followed by the bill itself. The main body of the bill may be a few sentences or hundreds of pages. The lines of the bill are numbered down the left-hand column. This facilitates finding the exact location of any wording in the bill by the page number and line. When amendments are made or discussion is directed to a particular part of the bill, everyone can find it quickly and accurately.
Within the bill are a few important items to note:
When wording is underlined it indicates proposed new language to current law.
When wording has a line through it, the language is a proposed deletion.
When a bold three part number such as 53A-17a-124.5 is found, it is referring to a section of the Utah Code or current law. It is referencing a part of the code or the law impacted by the legislation.
Following the bill is a Legislative Review Note which indicates any constitutional or statutory concerns created by the legislation. Every bill must have a Fiscal Note. A fiscal note states how much money it will cost to implement the bill and which revenue source or fund will be impacted.

Working with Policy Makers

Policy makers who represent you are interested in your views and opinions. PTAs inform policy makers about PTA priorities and positions and request support of those positions.

It is important to remember that policy makers respond best when treated with dignity and respect. You will not always agree with a policy maker on all issues. Remember it is important to maintain a positive working relationship.

Educate yourself and understand the issues.
Introduce yourself early and in person, if possible.
Be friendly and maintain contact. Do not wait for a crisis.
Understand the pressures being applied from many different groups.
Avoid cynicism about public officials.
Try to be positive. You can be positive and assertive without being combative.
Listen to their point of view.
When you disagree, focus the disagreement on the issue, not the individual.
Be practical and reasonable in presenting your arguments.
Be consistent and loyal to your position.
Be discreet, trustworthy, and dependable.
Be patient. Change sometimes comes a piece at a time and often requires years of education before a need is recognized and action taken.
Always thank public officials and contacts for their time and service.

Developing/Sustaining Relations With a Legislator

Know that legislators are people, just like the rest of us!
Schedule an appointment to introduce yourself to your legislator in his/her own local district office. Take a PTA specific brochure and a business card if you have one. Follow up with a “thank you for the visit” letter.
Put your legislator on your PTA mailing list. Send him/her copies of your publications, brochures, pamphlets, etc.
Do your homework: Know the issues of importance to your legislator. Know his/her committee, special awards, history of involvement with your facility for the past several years, family make-up, business dealings, etc.
Offer to help your legislator:
- Provide research materials on issues
- Give testimony on legislation
- Conduct voter registration drives
- Set up Meet the Candidate Nights
- Bring constituents to the capitol
Things your legislators can do to help you:
- Sponsor bills helping the children of the state
- Send out copies of bills
- Judge special events at your school
- Appoint you to long-term legislative committees
Visit your legislator at the capitol
Never stop trying to develop a positive relationship with your legislator. If he/she is defeated, immediately start all over again with the newly elected legislator.

Using the Internet for Legislative Advocacy

The availability of legislative information on the internet has made understanding legislation and communicating with legislators much easier than it was previously.

A citizen can access bills in their written form, agendas and minutes of legislative committee meetings, and information about legislators, including how to contact all of them on the Utah State Legislative website. You can access the homepage for the Utah State Office of Education and the United States Department of Education as well as The White House and the Library of Congress.

Resources

The Utah PTA website offers information about legislation we are following, including weekly updates during the Utah Legislative Session each winter.

Use this wealth of information found on the internet as a resource and associated email addresses below for direct communication. One word of caution when using email: Find out if your state legislators use email for communication; many do, but some do not. Also, recognize that officials in Washington hire staff to read electronic communication for them.

UTAH PTA

utahpta.org

kids@utahpta.org

UTAH STATE LEGISLATURE

le.utah.gov

Email for legislators are on this website address

NATIONAL PTA

pta.org

info@pta.org

UTAH EDUCATION INFORMATION

schools.utah.gov

THE WHITE HOUSE