CT Retired Teachers’ Lobby Day WELCOME TO CT RETIRED TEACHERS’ LOBBY DAY APRIL 6, 2016 Dear colleagues, It is a pleasure to welcome you all to our third annual Retired Teachers Lobby Day. In the coming together of ARTC, AFT-CT and CEA-R we are truly representing the interests and concerns of Connecticut's 33,000 retired teachers. Additionally, we are advocating for and protecting the future welfare of our state's 53,000 active teachers who contribute their 1/3 share contribution towards the funding of our Health Insurance Premium Account ( HIPA ). Thank you for taking the time to attend our Lobby Day to meet with your legislators to discuss the important issues affecting retired teachers. Face to face contact between legislators and their local constituents is the most effective way to advocate for ourselves and to educate our government representatives on matters affecting us. Our major legislative concerns this year are to maintain full funding of our HIPA and to protect the retired teachers' pension plan as well as the recent legislation which provides for an increase in the state income tax exclusion on our pensions from 10% to 25% (scheduled to increase to 50% in 2017). You will be learning more details about these issues in our first hour "seminar" this morning. You'll be hearing from two key legislators about budget issues and from our lobbyists about the workings of government and strategies for presenting information to your legislators. Our planning committee has been organizing this event since last October and we appreciate and thank them for the many hours of dedication and effort on this task. The committee includes the following members: AFT-CT: Teri Merisotis, Mary Elia, Linda DeSousa and Jennifer Berigan- lobbyist ARTC: Neil Foster, Patty McDonnell, Sandra Bove, Cathy D'Agostino and Kevin Graff-lobbyist CEA-R: Gloria Brown, Bill Murray, Jeanine Coleman, Nellie Crowston and Susan Williams- lobbyist A heartfelt thank you to all for joining us today. When we work together good things happen. In solidarity, Tom Singleton, President, ARTC Jan Hochadel, President, AFT-CT Gloria Brown, President, CEA-Retired 1 OUR SCHEDULE April 6, 2016 10:00 a.m. Convene in Old Judiciary Room 310 Welcome Remarks Guest Speakers: Senator Beth Bye Distribution of Materials How to Lobby 101 – Kevin Graff, ARTC Lobbyist 11:15 a.m. Legislative Visits Be sure to leave a fact sheet, apple, and your contact information if the legislator isn’t in. Try to talk to the legislator’s staff person if the legislator is not available. 12:15p.m. Legislative Luncheon Old Judiciary Room 310, State Capitol 2 Citizen Lobbying We all lobby all the time. Whether it is lobbying to convince a friend to see a certain movie, a child to clean their room, the boss for a raise, a co-worker to help out on a project--we all lobby to get things we want. We list the arguments for our position, we point out the problems with the other side's arguments, we enlist the help of those who are more powerful in the situation and we use our own position of power in the situation to get our way. All of this is lobbying. All are techniques used to lobby the Connecticut General Assembly. A Few Facts about the Connecticut General Assembly Keep in mind – the only truly universal rule in the legislative process is that there is no universal rule in the legislative process. In 2016, the General Assembly opens on February 3, 2016 and adjourns on May 4, 2016. Regular sessions of the General Assembly are held from January to June in odd- numbered years, and from February to May in even-numbered years. The state constitution restricts the shorter, even-year sessions to consideration of budgetary, revenue, and financial issues, bills and resolutions raised by committees of the General Assembly, and emergency matters. The Governor may call special sessions in case of emergency. Also, a majority of the members of either chamber of the General Assembly may petition for a special session. A post-adjournment, or trailer, session is required to reconsider any bills vetoed by the Governor and not acted upon again by the legislature before the close of a previous regular or special session. Membership There are 151 House of Representative Members and 36 Senators in the General Assembly. The Governor, Dannel Malloy and the Lt. Governor, Nancy Wyman, are both Democrats. The Lt. Governor serves as the President of the Senate meaning she presides over the Senate, but she only votes if there is a tie. The highest ranking member of the Senate is the President Pro Tempore, Martin Looney, and a Democrat. He is elected by the membership of the Senate. The House of Representatives is presided over by the Speaker of the House, who is Brendan Sharkey, a Democrat. He is a member of the House and elected Speaker by the House members. 3 The Senate Connecticut’s Senate has 36 members, each elected from a separate senatorial district of substantially equal population. The state constitution permits the size of the Senate to vary from 30 to 50 members. The Senate: determines its own rules and procedures. is presided over by the Lieutenant Governor, who is President of the Senate. The Lieutenant Governor may cast the deciding vote in case of a tie. elects a President Pro Tempore (temporary president) who presides in the absence of the President and serves as a party spokesperson. The President Pro Tempore appoints the Senate chair of joint committees and Senate committee members. has a Majority Leader and a Minority leader who also serve as party spokespersons. Elected by Senate members of their own party, these leaders direct party affairs, assemble members for important votes, and serve as ex officio members of all committees. tries all impeachments of executive and judicial brand officials. The House of Representatives The House of Representatives has 151 members, each elected from a separate assembly district of substantially equal population. The state constitution permits the size of the House to vary from 125 to 225 members. The House: determines its own rules and procedures. is presided over by a Speaker of the House, elected by the members. The speaker is a party spokesperson and appoints the House chairs of joint committees and House committee members. The Speaker also may refer bills to appropriate committees. has a Majority Leader and a Minority leader who also serve as party spokespersons. Elected by House members of their own party, they direct party affairs, assemble members for important votes, and serve as ex officio members of all committees. 4 How the General Assembly Does Its Work The General Assembly meets in the State Capitol in Hartford. General Assembly committees meet and hold most public hearings in the adjoining Legislative Office Building, which houses members’ offices. Connecticut’s legislature is one of the few that traditionally operate with a system of joint House and Senate committees. Committees, which may operate on a year round basis, meet to review proposed legislation and make recommendations to the full House and Senate. The joint committee system minimizes duplication of effort, saving both time and expense. It also spares the public from having to appear before separate House and Senate public hearings on the same legislation. In most cases, committee members represent each political party in relative proportion to its number in each chamber. Two committee chairs are appointed from the majority party, one by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate and one by the Speaker of the House. There are currently more than twenty joint standing committees that focus on particular legislative issues. Most senators and representatives serve on several committees. Some committees use subcommittees to handle the volume and complexity of the work that comes before them. Professional and technical support is available to legislators through the Joint Committee on Legislative Management, which supervises various non-partisan offices and commissions staffed by experts. Lobbying Through the Mail/Email First, you should remember that we have a small state and a large General Assembly. These legislators are your neighbors. Once you have met your representatives, you will likely run into them in the supermarket and at the post office. They also want and expect to receive letters and phone calls on issues and use these as an important source of information when they decide how to vote. Unlike Congress, members of the General Assembly do not have a lot of staff. They also do not receive a lot of phone calls or mail on most issues. Legislators acknowledge that they are impressed and give special attention to an issue if they receive even 10 letters or phone calls about a particular subject. 5 So, it is important that you write that letter -- it does make a difference. Ask someone why she/he has never written to a legislator and invariably she/he will say, “I don’t know what to say or how to say it.” But there is nothing mysterious or even difficult about writing to your representative in Hartford. Here are a few pointers to make writing that letter a little easier. Keep it short. One page is probably sufficient. Write in your own words and include your own thoughts. Discuss only one issue and deal with the major points one at a time. Make your points factual and be concise. Let the legislator know you are familiar with the issue and have given it thought. Save other issues for later letters. Give reasons for your position briefly. Cite your own experience or observations if possible or point out that a local law or practice like the one you are lobbying is in effect and working.