As previously announced PCPA is planning an inaugural district lobby day for January 14, 2005. Members should have already contacted legislators in their respective district offices and made appointments to visit them on this date; if you have not yet made an appointment, please do so by early January! Also, please register your visits with PCPA by emailing Abbie Hitz. District lobby day, sponsored by the GRI Alumni Network and the Legislative Affairs Committee, will enhance PCPA’s overall 2005 lobbying efforts.
If members are unsure as to who their legislators are, visit the Critical Links area of the Legislative Affairs section on the PCPA web site or access www.legis.state.pa.us or www.capwiz.com/lwv/officials/state/?lvl=C&state=pa. Through these sites members can search for legislators by entering individual addresses or zip codes.
Registration
with PCPA
Be sure to register your
appointment with the PCPA offices as soon as possible. Registering by
January 7, 2005 will ensure that you receive helpful materials for district
lobby day efforts such as suggested talking points and an outline of PCPA’s
system redesign work to share with legislators. Should more than one provider
agency register to visit a particular legislator, PCPA will designate a “lead”
for the visit and ask that members coordinate their visit to the particular
legislator. This will avoid duplication of lobbying efforts.
Goals
of Lobbying in the District
The goal of this meeting is to either establish or cultivate a relationship
with the legislator and his or her district staff. The focus of the meeting
should be on the member – i.e. number of employees, number of consumers/clients
served, programs/services offered, actual costs of doing business (including
programs/services, salaries, health care benefits, insurances, utilities,
travel/transportation, trainings, etc.), and recruitment and retention efforts.
Members can also refer to the December edition of Provider
News for more details.
PCPA is also coordinating Legislative Visit Month in March 2005. Members are encouraged to set dates for legislative visits (hosting legislators and/or staff at agency programs) during the January 14 district lobby day meeting.
For
More Information
Contact Melissa DiSanto Simmons,
director of legislative affairs at the association.
