ADVOCACY BOOTCAMP

1. Mission Possible 2017 SHRM Vermont Human Resources State Conference ADVOCACY BOOTCAMP Meredith Nethercutt Donna Austin-Hawley Shelley Sayward

2. Today’s Mission • Background of LegislativeProcess • BecominganAdvocate - EssentialTips -Golden Rules -CommunicationMeasures • InfluencingtheProcess -ProvidingTestimony -InternalCommunications • Review of AdvocacyTool Kit

3. Legislative ProcessGeneral Information • You must be a resident of Vermont for 2+ years to run for Senate or the House • Elections occur in even number years, terms start in odd years • Session starts the first Wednesday following the second Monday each January, and typically ends in late April/early May • Special legislative sessions called by the Governor are not unusual outside of session • Bills and resolutions are drafted in the Legislative Council

4. Senate 14 Districts 30 Senators President Pro Tempore and a Secretary House of Representatives 58 Single, 45 TwoMemberDistricts 150 Representatives Speaker and a Clerk Vermont Legislature Composition

5. Senate Agriculture Appropriations EconomicDevelopment Housing & General Affairs Education Finance GovernmentOperations Health & Welfare Institutions Judiciary Natural Resources & Energy Transportation Rules *One standing committee per Senator House of Representatives Agriculture & Forest Products Appropriations Commerce & EconomicDevelopment Corrections & Institutions Education Fish, Wildlife & WaterResources General Housing & MilitaryAffairs GovernmentOperations HealthCare Human Services Judiciary Natural Resources & Energy Rules Transportation, Ways & Means *Multiplecommitteeassignments Legislative Committees

7. Influencing the Legislative Process

8. Becoming an Advocate: Essential Tips for Getting Started Identifying and Locating Your Legislators The first step in effective communications with Legislators is determining the right person to contact. It is generally most effective to contact your own legislator — the woman or man who represents your county or is from your town. As your elected official, this is the person who represents you and who must be sensitive to your views. Constituents are the most important influence on a Member's voting decision. See the Advocacy Tool Kit for the list of current Vermont Legislators and their contact information.

9. Becoming an Advocate: Essential Tips for Getting Started • Always be polite – Advocating for your position is all about creating relationships • Say Thank You - Many forget to say a simple “thank you” and it only takes a minute. Send a note, an email, make a call or if possible in person. Don’t forget to also thank the staffers that assisted who set-up your meeting or contact with the policy maker. • Get your story straight– Be prepared! Do your research, practice what you are going to say with a friend, have someone proofread your letter. If you meet in person you probably will not have a lot of time so bring a fact sheet with you outlining your position. Be certain you include your name, organization, contact information and if you represent a group. • Keep informed - Stay up to date on state and national activity. Become a member of the SHRM A Team; attend local Chamber and Rotary meetings. • NEVER make up an answer - Policy makers rely on the information you provide them. “I don’t know” is perfectly acceptable as long as you follow-up in a timely manner. • Get to know your representative (and their staff member) Learn about their issues and priorities. Invite them to an event you are having that will be showcasing your issues. • Patience – Understand that the process takes time.

10. Tips on Writing a Letter to a Legislator Legislators receive numerous letters from constituents each day, most commonly now in the form of emails or faxes, given the need to screen all physical mail sent to government buildings. When sending an email or fax, you should format it as a formal letter for the most impact.  • Be direct. State the subject of your letter clearly, keep it brief and address only one issue in each letter. Also state the purpose of writing (e.g., name/number of bill). • Be informative. State your own views, support them with your expert knowledge and cite the bill number (House bill: H.R. or Senate bill: S.) of relevant legislation, if appropriate. Identify yourself as a constituent (title, university). • Be Constructive. Offer recommendations (don't blame, accuse, and threaten). • Be Political. Explain how the issue affects the district/state/country. • Be Discriminating. Stick to one issue per letter (avoid "laundry list"). • Be Inquiring. Ask how the member stands on the issue. • Be Available. Let him/her know that you are available to follow up. • Be Appreciative. Thank your member for considering your concerns/request.

11. Meeting with Your Legislator A carefully planned face-to-face visit with your legislator is the most effective means of conveying your message. • Make an appointment. Contact your legislator's office, state your affiliations and the subject you wish to discuss, and ask for 15 to 30 minutes of your legislator's time • Do your homework. Learn as much as you can about the legislator's record as it relates to your issue. • Be on time. But don't be surprised if they are not. Schedules can be hectic, and being a visitor to legislative offices requires patience and flexibility. • Establish ties. Introduce yourself, convey information about your affiliations and exchange pleasantries briefly. But don't get bogged down in small talk. You will have precious few minutes with the legislator, so keep to your purpose for the meeting. • Be prepared. Have your information ready in a digestible, concise form, just as you would when writing a letter or making a telephone call. Know the opposing arguments as well as those in favor of your view. Take your cues on how to proceed from the legislator. If he or she seems familiar with the issue, you can move right ahead. If not, take the opportunity to inform him or her. • Be inquiring. Ask your legislator to state his or her position on your issue. Know what you want in advance, and ask for it. Be tolerant of differing views and keep the dialogue open. • Be responsive. Try to answer questions. When you can't, offer to get back to your legislator with the information. Thank him or her for the time spent with you. Follow up with a thank you note, capitalizing on the opportunity to restate your points. • Be appreciative. Follow up with a letter of thanks.

12. Inviting Your Legislator to Visit Appearances or site visits by public officials are exciting, but they require a great deal of advance planning. Here are a few tips: • Arrange and coordinate the event with the staff scheduler from the representative's office. Send a written request with all of the appropriate details, such as time, place, duration of the visit, number of attendees and other guests, activities planned, etc. • You may wish to have members of the local press attend the visit. Contact your own company public relations office or SHRM for professional help with this. Be sure that your lawmaker's press secretary is informed before members of the press are invited. It is important to target the right reporters to invite to the event. • Notify anyone who will be affected by the visit, such as other colleagues in your group well in advance, and again the day before the event. • Provide the legislator's office with precise and detailed directions to the event and designate a contact person who will be available as a liaison in advance of the event. • Meet the legislator before the event, allow time for introductions, and provide a briefing on the itinerary and a time schedule for the event. Discuss important factors surrounding the visit, for example, who is attending the event and their group affiliations. • Introduce your guest. Give a brief explanation of why he or she is visiting and announce whether or not there will be a question and answer session. • Don't forget to send a thank you note, possibly containing photographs taken during the event, as well as any press clippings or news coverage generated by the event.

13. Providing Testimony - H.462 Introduction: As the SHRM Vermont Council’s Director of Government and Legislative Affairs, I am here to provide testimony regarding H.462, An act relating to social media privacy for employees. The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) is the world’s largest HR professional society, representing 285,000 members in more than 165 countries. For nearly seven decades, the Society has been the leading provider of resources serving the needs of HR professionals and advancing the practice of human resource management. SHRM has more than 575 affiliated chapters within the United States. The SHRM Vermont Council advances the Human Resource profession by serving as a resource for the HR professional in matters of education, strategic direction, legislative lobbying and promotion and enhancement of Human Resources as a profession.

14. Providing Testimony - H.462 House Bill 462 addresses an employee’s right to freedom of speech and expression, which is an important element for all citizens to maintain. There is some balance in the draft language, including the rights of an employer to request social media account content in the case of employee misconduct or a violation of law, and the bill also explicitly states that an employer has the right to user name and passwords associated with employer-issued electronic devices. We would recommend that your committee consider two additions to the draft legislation: • Firstly, the ability for an employer to request an employee divulge social media content if the employee has posted confidential or proprietary business information of the employer. • Secondly, the ability for an employer to request an employee divulge social media content if the employee has posted discriminatory or disparaging content about another employee, or disparaging content about the employer, if good cause exists to do so. The VT SHRM Council is a proponent of employee’s rights in the workplace, but also believes that there is a balance between protecting the employer and other employee’s from social media postings that may be confidential, inappropriate or insensitive. Thank you for the opportunity to express our viewpoint.

15. Revised Language – H.462 (Act 37)The ask in action…

16. Internal Memo- Example INTERNAL MEMO LEGISLATIVE INITIATIVE UPDATE To: Members of Management From: HR Leadership Team Date: Fall 2017 Re: Paid Family Leave – Vermont Background: On May 2, 2017, the Vermont House of Representatives voted 89-57 to provide Vermonters with Paid Family Leave for up to six weeks annually. The bill requires Vermont employees to pay for the program via a mandatory payroll tax in the amount of 0.141 percent of their pay. An employee (other than the self-employed) taking up to the six weeks off would receive 80% of their pay during the leave time. The program is estimated to cost $1.2 million to administer, and those monies would come from the payroll tax.

17. Internal Memo- Example Potential Impacts to Business: Paid Family Leave in Vermont may attract potential employment candidates to the State if they are in family planning stages, have young children, or are caring for elderly family members. Looking from an alternative point of view, a mandatory payroll tax may be a deterrent to some recruitment efforts in Vermont if a potential employee is not foreseeing a need to take Family Leave time, as a portion of their salary may be impacted by the mandatory payroll tax. Unlike earlier versions of the bill, H.196 does not include a contribution from the employer, and has been pared down from the originally suggested twelve weeks to six weeks of paid time off.

18. Internal Memo- Example Opportunities to Respond: We can write a letter explaining our position to our local legislator, or schedule an in person meeting. If we feel very strongly about this issue, we can track any similar legislation that appears in the Senate next year, prepare written testimony to submit to the Senate Committee that will be hearing the issue, and appear in person to offer our testimony. Recommended Position: There does not appear to be a risk to the organization to support the passage of Paid Family Leave in to law. In fact, management at our company has been discussing expanding our paid maternity leave policy. We may want to wait to see what happens in the legislature before changing our policy. Please email me your feedback, or call my direct line to share your point of view on this matter.

19. Advocacy Tool Kit • How a Bill Becomes a Law • Becoming an Advocate: Essential Tips for Getting Started • Guidelines to Effective Lobbying & the Legislative Process • Golden Rules – Working with Public Officials • Sample Testimony – H.196, provided by Vermont Chamber of Commerce • Sample Testimony – H.426, SHRM Vermont State Council • H.426 (Act 37) Final Form • Sample Internal Memo • List of Vermont Legislators

20. Vermont Resources Director of Legislative & Governmental Affairs, SHRM Vermont State Council and SHRM A-Team Member: Shelley Sayward, VP & Assistant GC Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (802) 772-2215 shelley.sayward@casella.com SHRM Vermont State Council Leadership Advisor and SHRM A-Team Member: Donna Austin-Hawley, SVP & CHRO Northfield Savings Bank (802) 661-5392 donna.austin-hawley@nsbvt.com