Engaging Legislators in the Transportation Operations Message

1. Engaging Legislatorsin the Transportation Operations Message Jaime Rall, Policy Specialist, NCSL Transportation Program NTOC Summit, November 7, 2011

2. Who is NCSL? • Bipartisan organization that serves the 7,382 legislators and 30,000+ legislative staff of the states, commonwealths and territories • Nationally recognized leader in state legislative and policy issues • Serves legislatures through in-depth research, expert testimony, technical assistance and opportunities for policymakers to exchange ideas • Provides reliable, unbiased information responsive to state legislators' self-defined, real-time needs • Covers all topics a legislature might consider, not just transportation

3. Engaging State Legislators 101 • When working to engage legislators: • Know Your Audience • Provide Meaningful Options • Solve Their Problems • Speak Their Language • Target Your Outreach These points also can apply to engaging other elected officials or legislative bodies (e.g., local councils, boards or commissions).

4. Engaging State Legislators 101:Know Your Audience • First, ask: Am I approaching the right decision-maker(s) for what I want to achieve? • The state legislative role: • Lawmaking: Enacting state-level policies, statutes and programs • Appropriating revenues to departments, programs or specific projects • Representing constituent interests • Balancing the power of the executive branch • Convening stakeholders to develop ideas and aid the decision-making process

5. MA RI CT NJ DE MD Engaging State Legislators 101:Know Your Audience • Become familiar with the legislative setting • Money issues dominate • Hundreds of issues compete for attention • Legislatures differ significantly in structure, schedule, term limits, budget process, etc. "Traditional" (Part-Time) Legislatures "Professional" (Full-Time) Legislatures Hybrid Legislatures Source: NCSL.

6. Engaging State Legislators 101:Know Your Audience • Know the legislative process and schedule • The process is complex, but has its own logic and can be learned • Designed for deliberation, broad input and compromise • Only about 20 percent of bills become law • Often, much of the work is done in committee • The schedule is tight, with deadlines at every turn How a bill becomes a law ( Source: Vermont Secretary of State.

7. MA RI CT NJ DE MD Engaging State Legislators 101:Know Your Audience • Know the history • Relevant legislation in previous sessions? • Sympathetic or opposed legislators? • Involved stakeholders? • Term limits? Newer members may have a learning curve or not know the history. Term-limited states Source: NCSL.

8. Engaging State Legislators 101:Provide Meaningful Options • What would you like the legislature to do concerning transportation operations? • Be concrete: • Create a program? • Initiate a study? • Appropriate money? • Change a relevant law by introducing legislation? • Support, amend or oppose an existing bill?

9. Engaging State Legislators 101:Provide Meaningful Options • Offer relevant, real-life examples from other jurisdictions whenever possible. Source: http://www.ncsl.org/?tabid=19115

10. Engaging State Legislators 101:Solve Their Problems • Demonstrate understanding of the broader context -- especially that legislators have to handle many problems that are competing for limited money and attention • Ideally, the options you offer or request should solve not just your problems, but those facing legislators (and your state), too

11. Engaging State Legislators 101:Solve Their Problems • What are some of the competing problems state legislators face? • NCSL's Top 11 Issues for 2011: • #1: Balancing Budgets "The worst may be yet to come for state budgets..." • #2: State Pensions; #3: Jobs; #4: Health Reform; #5: Higher Ed; #6: Redistricting; #7: Unemployment Benefits; #8: Criminal Justice; #9: Student Performance and Dropout Rates; #10: Immigration, and... • #11: Transportation and Infrastructure

12. Engaging State Legislators 101:Solve Their Problems • What problems exist within transportation? • Well-documented funding crisis • Aging infrastructure and growing demand, but acknowledged limited resources for system expansion or maintenance • Competing transportation programs and projects • Pressures to "do more with less" while still achieving policy goals (safety, sustainability, equitable access, reduced congestion, etc.)

13. Engaging State Legislators 101:Solve Their Problems • Operations and ITS can be well-placed to present cost-effective solutions to many defined transportation problems. Source: http:// www.ntoctalks.com/

14. Engaging State Legislators 101:Solve Their Problems • Be sensitive to state-specific, of-the-moment contexts when framing both problems and solutions: • How problems are defined will depend on the context and the mood of the times • The same solutions may solve different problems in different contexts • Example of gas tax increases: Source: Richard Watts, University of Vermont.

15. Engaging State Legislators 101:Speak Their Language • Tell the story simply and in terms the legislative audience can understand DOT FHWA AVS open-road tolling TSM&O HAR DMS M&OITSLRTP traffic signal optimization CWS RCTORTSM&O STIP TIP TMA national architecture RWIS ATMS CID CORSIMNTOC component architecture CVISN FRESIM GUI HOV/HOT lanes VMT V2VDSRC highway management carry-over dilatory supplemental appropriation floor amendment enacting clause chamber item veto joint session special orderratify minority report code recess germane interim enroll pre-file engross special session expunge filibuster division previous question pro temquorum calldivisionfiscal note ADJOURNMENT SINE DIE

16. Engaging State Legislators 101:Target Your Outreach • Target your outreach to the right legislative audience • Chairs or vice chairs of key committees • Sympathetic legislators • Influential legislators • Sponsors of previous legislation • Appropriate legislative staff • Send the right messenger • Constituents? Business community? Coalitions? • Arrange hands-on site visits for a few key legislators

17. MA RI CT NJ DE MD Engaging State Legislators 101:Target Your Outreach • Use the expertise and connections of the legislative liaisons at your state's DOT (as appropriate) DOT Has Dedicated Legislative Liaison(s) Liaison Functions Performed by Another DOT Office  No Dedicated Liaison Source: NCSL-AASHTO, http://www.ncsl.org/?tabid=19117.

18. A Few More Key Dos, Don'ts and Things to Remember • DO: • Be accurate, reliable, direct and honest • Address opposition and anticipated questions • Keep a positive attitude about politics • Build ongoing relationships • DON'T: • Bury the lead -- do make key points up front • Waste legislators' time • Assume one size fits all

19. A Few More Key Dos, Don'ts and Things to Remember • REMEMBER: • Each legislature -- and legislator -- is unique, and needs context-specific, individual outreach • Budgets are still in trouble -- think about how operations may create jobs, save state funds or allow legislatures to "do more with less" • Every issue is competing against many others • It can take three years or more to pass a significant law

20. Contact Details Jaime Rall National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) 7700 East First Place, Denver, CO 80230 Phone: 303-856-1417 jaime.rall@ncsl.org http://www.ncsl.org Key Resources: • NTOC: http://www.ntoctalks.com/ • NCSL Transportation Operations, Mgmt. and ITS Online Database: http://www.ncsl.org/?tabid=19115 • NCSL Leg. Organization, Procedures and Facilities: http://www.ncsl.org/Default.aspx?TabID=746&tabs=1116,112,764#1116