Advocating for Your Agency with the Legislature

1. Advocating for Your Agency with the Legislature Michael Covington Governmental Relations Officer South Carolina Department of Transportation

2. Today’s Outline • Understand the Process • Know Your Environment • Communicate Effectively Advocating for Your Agency with the Legislature

3. Governmental RelationsRule #1 Sincerity is the Best Policy Advocating for Your Agency with the Legislature

4. Step 1: Understand the Process • Know your agency’s position on issues and its policy on legislative involvement by employees Advocating for Your Agency with the Legislature

5. Step 1: Understand the Process • Familiarize Yourself with the Legislative Process • How is the Code of Laws laid out? • How are billsand resolutions drafted? • How do bills get introduced? • How does the appropriations process work? • How is testimony/input received? Advocating for Your Agency with the Legislature

6. Step 1: Understand the Process 3. How are regulations developed and adopted? Advocating for Your Agency with the Legislature

7. Step 1: Understand the Process • How best to monitor the legislative process? • www.SCStatehouse.Gov (or, your equivalent) • Review meeting schedule • Set up “Track Legislation” account • Review meeting schedule and daily calendars • Employ a monitoring service, or create your own • Request notice of committee meetings Advocating for Your Agency with the Legislature

8. Step 1: Understand the Process • Review state ethics laws • Are you required to register as a lobbyist? • Is your agency required to register? • What are the “Rules of Engagement?” Advocating for Your Agency with the Legislature

9. Step 1: Understand the Process • Read: Covington’s Rules of Legislative Procedure Advocating for Your Agency with the Legislature

10. Step 1: Understand the Process • Be Prepared. Read: * Understand Your Enemy * Winning Without Battle is Best * Strategy, not Power, Wins Battles The Art of War By Sun Tzu Advocating for Your Agency with the Legislature

11. Step 1: Understand the Process • Be Warned. Read: The Prince By Niccolo Machiavelli • Motivation • Distraction • Ends Justify the Means Advocating for Your Agency with the Legislature

12. Step 2: Know Your Environment • Have a basic awareness of politics • Republican • Democrat • Rural • Urban • Top Current Issues Advocating for Your Agency with the Legislature

13. Step 2: Know Your Environment • Familiarize Yourself with the Leadership • Learn Committee Structure • Learn who chairs the committees • Who are in leadership positions? Medical Rules Ways & Means JUDICIARY Transportation Agriculture Banking Education Municipal Affairs Natural Resources Labor, Commerce & Industry Advocating for Your Agency with the Legislature

14. Step 2: Know Your Environment • Understand what motivates both your allies and your adversaries • Be attuned to their predispositions • Pay attention to their judgment of others to understand how they project their own views onto the political environment • Look at campaign disclosure reports. Who are their supporters? • Substitute names of politicians when playing “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon” Advocating for Your Agency with the Legislature

15. Step 2: Know Your Environment 4. Don’t be overcome by the “Shock and Awe” of the environment. Advocating for Your Agency with the Legislature

16. Step 3: Communicate Your Message • “Legislative Relations” is both an art and a science Advocating for Your Agency with the Legislature

17. Step 3: Communicate Your Message 2. Come with your hat in your hand, but wear your big boy pants Advocating for Your Agency with the Legislature

18. Step 3: Communicate Your Message • Prepare yourself • Research the issue • Talk through the issues in advance • Use your experts • Seek “Third Party Endorsement” It’s hard to fly with the eagles when you are surrounded by turkeys Advocating for Your Agency with the Legislature

19. Step 3: Communicate Your Message • Manage your issues: • Weigh your chances. • Consider the probability of success. • Establish priorities Advocating for Your Agency with the Legislature

20. Step 3: Communicate Your Message • Collaborate • Make alliances • Build coalitions • Use other agencies and organizations • State and Federal Agencies • Trade Associations • Advocacy Groups • Colleges and Universities • Work with private sector lobbyists • Use “Grassroots” if appropriate BEWARE OF COVINGTON’S RULE #10 Advocating for Your Agency with the Legislature

21. Step 3: Communicate Your Message 6. As an agency representative, it is your job to EDUCATE, not LOBBY. • Facts • Research • Policy Analysis • Practical Advice • Public Good Advocating for Your Agency with the Legislature

22. Step 3: Communicate Your Message • It’s easy to object… If possible, offer solutions • Stick to policy, not politics • Be a problem solver, not a trouble maker • Give them “a way out.” “Men fight hardest when they have no way to retreat.” Sun Tzu Advocating for Your Agency with the Legislature

23. Step 3: Communicate Your Message • Tell both sides of the issue Don’t lead them down the garden path… Advocating for Your Agency with the Legislature

24. Step 3: Communicate Your Message 9. Empathize. Get the right perspective. To understand a person, you must first walk a mile in his moccasins … Native American Proverb Advocating for Your Agency with the Legislature

25. Step 3: Communicate Your Message “Everything I ever needed to know about governmental relations, I learned from Hogan’s Heroes.” Advocating for Your Agency with the Legislature

26. Step 3: Communicate Your Message 10. Confront the issue. Stay on point. Advocating for Your Agency with the Legislature

27. Step 3: Communicate Your Message • Put Out Fires • You’ll know there’s a fire when somebody starts blowing smoke. • Find the source of the fire. • Put it out before it spreads. Advocating for Your Agency with the Legislature

28. Understanding the Rules Rule #3 “Perception is 99% of reality.” Advocating for Your Agency with the Legislature

29. Understanding the Rules Rule #12 “The most innocuous bills are always the ones that get amended with damaging language.” “But little Mouse, you are not alone,In proving foresight may be vain:The best laid schemes of mice and menGo often awry,And leave us nothing but grief and pain,For promised joy!” Robert Burns Advocating for Your Agency with the Legislature

30. Understanding the Rules Rule #17 “Good bills don’t become law just because they make sense” • Also see Rule #24 “If you think you have a good idea, as soon as it is introduced as a bill you will find out where your reasoning is flawed.” Advocating for Your Agency with the Legislature

31. Understanding the Rules Rule #22 “Once a legislator has deduced a simple understanding of your bill, you will never get him to understand the complicated reality of it.” Advocating for Your Agency with the Legislature

32. Understanding the Rules Rule #30 “Compromise is useful only when victory is impossible.” Advocating for Your Agency with the Legislature

33. Remember, There’s Always Next Year Advocating for Your Agency with the Legislature

34. Discussion Michael Covington SC Department of Transportation 955 Park Street Columbia, SC 29201 (803) 737-0593 covingtonmd@scdot.org Advocating for Your Agency with the Legislature