CAPITOL SEMINARS

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS

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CAPITOL SEMINARS

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS

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Call us

Lobbying 101: The Legislative Process & Legislative Advocacy

In this introductory course, Capitol Seminars founder Ray LeBov draws on his 45 years of experience in working with the California Legislature, the Governor’s Office and regulatory agencies to guide you through the legislative process — both the “civics book” version and the real-world version, with all its twists and turns. Following the survey of the legislative process, an interactive exercise introduces you to the basics and best practices of effective advocacy across all areas of practice.

The Legislative Process:

  • FPPC registration and disclosure requirements
  • Lobbying ethics
  • “How a bill becomes a law” / basics of the legislative process (including the “civics book” version plus additional insights regarding exceptions that illustrate how the process “really works”)
  • The critical importance of the legislative calendar
  • Key legislative publications, documents and materials: What they contain, which ones are the most important and how to use them
  • Overview of Budget Advocacy (covered in depth in Lobbying 201)
  • Legislative rules, exceptions and waivers
  • How to read a bill
  • Legislative committees: Their role, how they function and how to work with them 
(including the respective roles of committee and minority staff)
  • Do’s and don’ts of testifying; how to write an effective letter
  • Legislative Counsel Bureau and how to access it

Effective Advocacy: Strategies and Best Practices:

  • Rules for effective advocacy
  • Attributes of a successful lobbyist
  • Advice from senior legislative staff
  • How to choose the right author for your 
sponsored bill
  • The most common mistakes lobbyists make
  • The lobbyist / client relationship and respective roles 
in the capitol and the district
  • The basics of lobbying elected officials
  • A comprehensive guide to policy advocacy strategy development

Interactive participation is encouraged, and you’ll take home comprehensive resource materials that reinforce the course content and will serve you long after you’ve participated in our seminars.
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Lobbying 201: Completing the Picture – four essential skills

This seminar takes you beyond legislative advocacy to give you a more complete picture of governmental advocacy, exploring four critical areas of practice often overlooked even by experienced lobbyists.

Ray LeBov and his guest subject matter experts — all of whom are currently involved in state government or governmental advocacy — give you real-world insights into the players, processes and best practices involved in Budget Advocacy, Regulatory Agency Advocacy, Media Strategies, and Lobbying the Administration.

Budget Advocacy: The budget bill is generally the single most important piece of legislation taken up by the Legislature each year. It affects everyone who lives in or does business with the State of California. For that reason, it’s just as important to track the progress of the budget, and offer input as appropriate, as it is to participate in the legislative process of individual bills. You need a seat at the table when budget issues are deliberated, and you need to know how to lobby effectively on those issues. You also need to be aware that the calendar for budget advocacy differs considerably from the legislative calendar.

Lobbying the Administration: Long before a bill reaches the governor’s desk, you need to get a reading on how he’s going to view it, whether he’s likely to sign it in its present form, and what you need to do to influence that decision (including amending the bill if necessary). You need to know who the members of the Governor’s Cabinet and the Governor’s Office of Legislative Affairs are and the issue areas for which they’re responsible.

Regulatory Agency Advocacy: Winning or losing in the Legislature is not necessarily the end of the story. Since many bills are not self-executing, they go to regulatory agencies to be implemented. At the regulatory agency stage, you may need to defend your legislative victory, or you could have an opportunity to obtain a more favorable result instead of an outright defeat. The procedural rules for the Office of Administrative Law, which oversees the regulatory process, differ from those of the Legislature.

Media Strategies: Media support for your bill can be critical, especially if the odds are against you. Even if you’re not directly responsible for media relations, you still need to know how to direct and coordinate this activity. Otherwise you’re letting your opposition frame the story for you, and you’re overlooking many cost-effective methods of competing with more established and better-funded organizations.

Prior attendance at Lobbying 101 is recommended but not required for taking Lobbying 201.
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