WA-CARE

Washington Coalition for Adoptee Rights and Equality
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Facts for Legislators
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Contacting Legislators
Step 1: Figure out what's your point
Step 2: Find the right legislator to contact
Step 3: Write the email or notes for a call
Step 4: Follow-up thank you for a vote
Tips for contacting legislators
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Step 2: Find the Right Legislator to Contact
 

Who you contact depends on what you figured out in Step 1: Figure out what's your point.

 

Use the table below as a guideline in determining who to contact.

 

NOTE: For more suggestions on contacting legislators, see Tips for contacting legislators.

 What's Your Point?  Who to Contact

Asking for general support of adoptee rights

Legislators in your district (your state senator and 2 congressional representatives)  

Asking for a yes/no vote on a specific bill

If the bill is going for a vote before a specific committee, contact all members of that committee.

 

If the bill is going for a vote before the entire senate or house, contact legislators in your district. 

Follow-up thank-you for a yes/no vote

The legislator that voted your way!

 

How to find legislators for your district

 

Typically it's most effective to contact the state senator and representatives in your precinct because they listen more to their own constituents (you can vote, or not vote for them in their next election)!

 

To find out who your legislators are:

  1. Go to Find Your Legislator on the Washington State government website.
  2. Enter your address.
  3. Click Find My District.
  4. A pop-up window appears with the names of your state senator and two congressional reps, along with links to their websites. Click a link to find your legislator's contact information.

 

How to find legislators on a specific committee

 

When a bill starts making it's way through the legislature in Olympia, the bill has to first be approved by the appropriate committee before it can ever reach the Senate or House floor.

 

It's a great idea to contact committee members to let them know how you feel about bills. Bonus points if a committee member, especially the committee chair, is your own personal legislator! But even if no one on the committee is from your district, contact them anyway!

 

To find out who's on what committee:

  1. Go to http://apps.leg.wa.gov/rosters/default.aspx on the Washington State government website.
  2. In the Roster column, find Committee Members by Committee, then in the corresponding Chamber column, click either House or Senate.
  3. On the next page, House of Representatives Committee Members by Committee or Senate Committee Members by Committee, in the Committee column, find the desired committee, then in the corresponding Members column, you'll find all the members of that committee.

      TIP!  In the House, it's the Judiciary committee that typically deals with adoption issues. In the Senate, it's the Human Services & Corrections committee. These may not be the ONLY committees that handle adoption bills but they are the ones who usually do.
     
  4. If you click the committee name in the Committee column, you can find out more about what's currently going on in that committee (i.e., current agendas, schedules, meeting notes, etc.) and also committee members' phone numbers as well as staff names and phone numbers. 

 

Now that you know what your point is and who you're going to contact, you are ready for Step 3: Write the email or notes for a call.

This page was last modified on Monday, June 27, 2011