LOBBYIST LINGO. Your Lobby Team Welcomes YOU! F L O R I D A 4 - H. The Foundation for The Gator Nation An Equal Opportunity Institution

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1 F L O R I D A 4 - H LOBBYIST LINGO S P E C I A L P O I N T S O F I N T E R E S T : How to Lobby V O L U M E 4 3 I S S U E 1 J U N E , Your Lobby Team Welcomes YOU! I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E : Your Lobby Team Welcomes You! What is Florida 4-H Legislature? 1 1 Your Weekly Plan 2 You Need 3 Why, What, How, When to Lobby? 3 Pages 4 Monday Planning When to Lobby What to Bring How to Prepare Opportunities Amendments and Other Opportunities 4 5 Welcome to Leg 2015! If you have not found out yet what your role is at 4-H Legislature, you re a lobbyist. I would like to introduce myself - my name is Nathan Stephens and I am the 2015 Legislature Head Lobbyist. I will be the guy in Tallahassee that will be helping make Legislature (LEG) a fun and amazing experience for you. I have two awesome Asst. Head Lobbyists: Luke Turner and Michelle Tinker. We are the lobby team and our role is to help you understand what you will be doing during LEG week and help make sure you have the information you will need. Below you will see a few reminders for the upcoming week. 1.) Manual 1 will tell you everything you need to bring and need to know about LEG week, especially pages ) It is important that all lobbyists check out the 4-H website and read Manual 2. You will need to research bills in your lobby group and pick a couple of them that you may be interested in lobbying for or against. Also, make sure you have a printed copy of both Manual 1 and 2 to bring with you to LEG. Check with your 4 -H County Extension Agent as he/she may have already copied them or may be willing to print the manuals at the 4-H Office for you. 3.) Remember that when you are packing for LEG week to read over the dress code (which you can find in Manual 1). You will need to have business dress clothes for everyday we are at the Capitol. If you have any dress code questions please check with your 4-H Agents or you can me. (Ties, jackets, slacks, dresses, dress pants and dress shoes for the Capitol.) PLEASE make sure to wear comfortable dress shoes because you will be doing a lot of walking at the Capitol. 4.) On Monday, when you arrive, you will be able to notice the 4-H Legislature Committee members by our gold name tags. Committee members are your best friends this week and are here to help you! Legislature is a week packed full of fun, and can be pretty hectic at times, but it s such an amazing experience. I am looking forward to meeting you and having an exciting 2015 LEG session. Thanks, Nathan Your 2015 Lobby Team: Nathan Stephens, Michelle Tinker and Luke Turner Work Hard and Have Fun! Tips for Conducting Research Chris Allen, Supreme Court & Legislative Experience Resources and General Information What is Florida 4-H Legislature? Senior 4-H ers come together to develop their skills debating, analyzing legislation, and speaking publicly all while making new friends and having a whole lot of fun. At this civic education event, youth write bills, then act as lobbyists, Representatives, or Senators to pass the bills through committee and then present, and debate, them on the Capitol House or Senate Floor. They have the opportunity to debate issues and experience the legislative process hands-on while having a great time with their friends! Legislature is traditionally open to Senior 4-H ers ages 13 to 18 as of September 1 of the current 4-H year. The Foundation for The Gator Nation An Equal Opportunity Institution

2 P A G E 2 Are you ready for your role as a lobbyist? I have found that the youth that are most prepared tend to have the most memorable experiences. By now, you have been assigned to one of the lobby groups: Citizens Committee for Individual Rights; Churches of Florida United; Florida Business Association; Florida Parents for Education; Law Enforcement Council and Stewards of the Earth. Read about your role pretend you are an actor and are preparing for a major production! There will be other youth in your lobby group from all over Florida and you will work with them (and probably room with one of them). When you arrive, you ll check in with your chaperone, receive your bag and settle in your dorm room. Monday afternoon there will be an orientation in the Capitol. Rules will be discussed, you ll meet the Legislature Planning Committee, there will be an introduction to the parties: Green and Gold, and you will have a lobbyists meeting and a tour. Following dinner in the dining hall, you will have the chance to register for the party of your choice and participate in a dance back at the dorms. Tuesday, when you arrive at the Capitol, you will go to the gallery above the House of Representatives for the opening session. After that, you will be dismissed to work with your lobby group and divide up the bills among yourselves (yes, there is Internet). There will be a Chair and a Secretary for each lobby group. Please make sure you have printed out BOTH manuals and know which bills your group is for and against. Pick a few to do in-depth research for but be prepared to discuss them all. You may find that the bill you are supposed to oppose is one that you personally would be for (or vice-versa) but remember, you are an actor playing a role and you should do your best! Before they go to lunch, the committees will have posted the order in which they will be discussing the bills for Second Committee Meetings. It is a good idea to check these, located at the desk between the House and Senate Chambers, before you go to lunch so that you ll know which room to go to first after lunch. When the Senators and Representatives return from lunch, you will spring into action walking quietly, very quietly, in the Capitol and Knott Building, to the various Committee Rooms. They will be all over on Your Weekly Plan - Mrs. Ca$h different floors and in different buildings, but never fear we ll get you there. Your Head Lobbyists, the adult assigned to your lobby group and I (your Lobbyist Coordinator) will be around to escort you or give you directions. When you arrive, walk in quietly, pick up a Committee Appearance Form, complete it and be ready to hand it over when asked. The adult assigned to the room may be able to answer your questions if you are not sure of the bill they are discussing. They post a sheet outside the door. When the Committee Chair asks if any lobbyists are there to speak about the bill, raise your hand and go forward. Make sure you state your name, county, which lobby group you represent and if you are for or against the bill. You may do this individually or with a partner! You have a short time to state your reasons and to thank them for their attention. They will ask you if you will allow questions from them and you can deny all, accept all, or accept one at a time. If you have done your research this is your chance to shine! Remember that they were once in your shoes and want you to succeed. Don t worry if you are late and a committee has already finished discussing your bill this happens every year the committee will permit you to speak. When you finish in that room it s off to another! After you have presented all your arguments for all your bills, it is your chance to go back into the committee rooms and listen. Tuesday night is Office Hours! You should expect to bring items with you to impress the Senators and Representatives. Hand-outs, charts, graphs, candy and other goodies to give the legislators will cause you to stand out and further your arguments. Office Hours are held in dorm rooms. The legislators are in their casual clothes lounging around and lobbyists go into the rooms one at a time and plead for or against bills. You can also meet your Governor, Lt. Governor, Speaker of the House and President of the Senate. Be working on amendments to the bills and seize your five minutes of fame! Many lobbyists report that Office Hours are the best part of their first year experience. Make sure you introduce yourself and do something original to stand out! On Wednesday, we will watch the House and Senate in the morning and hopefully see who gets the Salt and who gets the Hot Sauce. After lunch, we will go to the Supreme Court, take a tour and then you will be assigned to cases for Thursday. You need to know what the First and Fourth Amendments are! I know everyone wants to be a page but the Supreme Court is an amazing experience and I strongly urge you to participate. The privilege alone is something you ll never forget. Trust me, you ll have an opportunity to be a page and still participate in the Supreme Court! A Press Conference will take place between the House and Senate Chambers lobbyists view this from the floor above. Then we all change into our casual clothes and head off for a Political Picnic. First thing on Thursday is the Supreme Court experience you actually try cases and determine Constitutionality. You will serve as lawyers and justices it is so cool. After lunch, in the House, you will have your own Legislative Experience! Some of you will be the bill sponsors and some will be representatives. When the real Representatives and Senators return from lunch you will watch them from the galleries. Have your cameras ready for the Sine Die it happens very fast. Thursday night is the banquet, so dress very nice and use your best table manners. Then dance the night away! Legislature is something that can change your life. It certainly will influence it by making you more aware of the process, the need for an educated electorate, and your responsibilities as a citizen of the United States. As a 4-Her, it will teach you leadership, citizenship and life skills. Be prepared, be flexible and be excited! Just so you know I ll be wearing purple each day so you can find me! Sincerely, Mrs. Laura R. Cash, Lobbyist Advisor Volusia County 4-H Extension Agent lcash@volusia.org

3 YOU NEED! Pages of Manual 1 ( /4H_image_factsheet.pdf) Girls: Watch the dress code! Monday: Comfortable clothes to travel to Tallahassee, business casual for Capitol orientation (dress, slacks and blouse, skirt and blouse), casual for dorms (jeans, t-shirts, shorts) Tuesday - Thursday: 3 professional outfits: pantsuits, dresses, blouses and skirts, a sweater, and comfortable dress shoes for Capitol, casual for dorms (jeans, t-shirts, shorts) Wednesday evening: Casual Thursday evening: 1 semi-formal outfit - like a prom dress Friday: Comfortable clothes to travel in Guys: Watch the dress code! Monday: Comfortable clothes to travel to Tallahassee, business casual for Capitol orientation (slacks and nice shirt), casual for dorms (jeans, t-shirts, shorts) Tuesday - Thursday: 3 professional outfits (jacket, dress shirt, slacks and tie) and comfortable dress shoes for Capitol, casual for dorms (jeans, t-shirts, shorts) Wednesday evening: Casual Thursday evening: 1 semiformal outfit - like a prom outfit Friday: Comfortable clothes to travel in Everyone: Money for lunch each day! The cafeteria on the Capitol s lower level is a great spot - no worries about being late! You may have cell phones on silent! Make sure your adult-in-charge has your phone number and you have his/hers! Bedding - single beds; personal grooming products; towels; shower shoes Alarm clock; laptop and chargers; office supplies; printed manuals; items for Office Hours There are refrigerators in the dorm rooms. WHY, WHAT, HOW, WHEN to LOBBY? You will find all the bills in Manual 2. If you have not been already, you will be assigned a Lobby Group. The information about them can be found on pages of Manual 1. There will be a supplemental handout posted on the Legislature website that will let you know which bills your lobby group is for and against. Please remember that this is role-playing. You may not agree with your position but have fun with it and do the best you can. Research ALL of the bills that your Lobby Group either endorses or opposes. Use the Internet, speak to a local legislator or individual/group that this bill would affect, or ask your 4-H Extension Agent, parents or club leader for ideas. Print this information out and have it ready for questions and to pass out to committee members. You will be writing a short speech (a minute or two) - with a few crucial points. You will introduce P A Gyourself, E 3 inform the committee which county you are from, which Lobby Group you represent, and your position on the bill. You could start your address with a question or a statistic - whatever will give weight to your argument and provoke the thought of the legislators listening. Think of yourself as a real lobbyist - a well-paid individual that represents a special interest organization. In reality, most legislators rely on lobbyists for up-to-date information to help them make a decision. During committee meetings, you will speak with the committees directly responsible for those bills. You will speak to them in their committee rooms, behind a podium, with eyes on you. Do not be nervous - they are there to support you and help you. They will probably ask you the most difficult questions - so be prepared. Get to know the bill sponsor - perhaps you can compare notes, work together, and even draft an amendment! Office Hours is different - you visit dorm rooms where legislators are everywhere in their comfy clothes. You are too! This is a more personal time - you can talk to them for as long as you - or they - wish. It is very important to work hard in Office Hours. Your job is to speak to all legislators, because if the bill hits the floor of the House and Senate, ALL legislators need reliable information so they will know how they should vote on it. They are responsible for a lot of bills so they require your help! Make an impression! L O B B Y I S T L I N G O V O L U M E 4 3 I S S U E 1

4 Pages Lobbyists who are interested may apply to be pages. Sign up sheets will be available Tuesday evening before Office Hours. Lobbyists may sign up for thirty minute periods for Wednesday and Thursday. Pages sit in the back of the House or Senate Chambers while the legislators are in session. Pages take messages between legislators, to the Governor and/or others. Messages may include facts about a bill, information to develop political allies, etc. Messages should be pertinent to the business of the Florida 4-H Legislature program. This a great way to meet other youth and be a part of the action! Pages will work under the supervision of the Head Lobbyists and adults in the House and Senate Chambers. They may request that messages be read prior to delivery. Pages are permitted, and encouraged, to attend the Supreme Court Experience. MONDAY PLANNING It s Monday and you have finally arrived at LEG. Today will be the only slow day of the whole week, so don t worry! When you sign in, several people will speak to you about joining the Green or Gold party. These parties are 4-H s form of the Republican and Democratic parties. After you sign in and get a room key, you will need to change because we will be heading out to the Capitol. Make sure you wear business casual clothes (i.e. button up shirts, skirt, slacks, dress shoes, etc.). If you aren t sure what you should wear, find a committee me mber and ask. Committee members are your best friends this week and are here to help you! They can easily be identified by their name tags. You will be transported to the Capitol building by bus. Make sure you are on time, so you do not miss the bus! When you arrive, you will be given an orientation to the Legislature program. We will give you the rules for the week and introduce you to the committee members and tell you a lot of important information. Make sure you pay attention. After that, everyone will be separated to have meetings depending on their roles. Our meeting will be to discuss the adventure of being a Lobbyist. The first thing we will do is pick out who will be lobbying what bills. Everyone is assigned to a lobby group. Within that group there are bills that your group is for and against. The six lobby groups are: Citizens for Committee for Individual Rights, Churches of Florida, Florida Business Association, Florida Parents for Education, L a w E n f o r c e m e n t Council, and Stewards of the Earth. If you didn t request a bill from your lobby group through to one of the Head Lobbyists then you will have second pick of the bills. If you were not able t o d o r e s e a r c h beforehand for your bill then talk to your Head Lobbyist, so that he/she can help you get information on that bill. During this meeting we will assign a Lobby Group Chairperson that will have a role of leadership in helping the lobbyists in his/her group to get the bills that the group wants to pass/fail. A Secretary will also be assigned to take notes for the Chairperson during the meeting. You may decide to partner on a bill. You double the resources and being together helps with nerves! After the bills are chosen, we will take a tour of the Capitol so that you will know where the committee rooms are. Make sure you pay VERY close attention or else you may get lost tomorrow. The Capitol can be confusing and it is easy to get mixed up and have no idea where you are. If this should occur then call one of your Head Lobbyists and stay where you are. If you keep moving we won t be able to find you. After the tour, we will take you to dinner and then you will have free time. Of course, don t forget to register for your party! Make sure you do some research on the bills you were given if you have not already! YOU WILL HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO SIGN UP FOR BILLS - JUST AS THE SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES DO! IF YOU DO NOT REQUEST THEM, THEY WILL BE ASSIGNED DURING YOUR MEETING ON MONDAY. IT IS IMPORTANT THAT YOU DO YOUR RESEARCH PRIOR TO THE EVENT - AND ON SEVERAL BILLS. ALL OF THE BILLS DESIGNATED FOR EACH LOBBY GROUP WILL BE ASSIGNED TO LOBBYISTS. L O B B Y I S T L I N G O

5 V O L U M E 4 3 I S S U E 1 P A G E 5 AMENDMENTS AND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES On pages 57 and 58 of Manual 1 is the procedure for making amendments to bills. Amendments are modifications to the bill: either you omit, add, change, or perhaps provide clarification or correction. As a Lobbyist, you can write amendments BUT you need to have a Committee, Senator or Representative accept and propose it. The lobbyists will have a work session to teach you about this. You can also your Head Lobbyists before LEG for help. Examples include: Lengthening or shortening the recommended prison sentences for criminals in the bill; Introducing language that nullifies the bill; Couching another bill that failed in the bill; Deleting confusing phraseology and substituting clearer language; Adding exemptions; And changing the effective date for the bill. Find the Amendment Form on page 68 of Manual 1 and start today! If you think a bill can be better, then do something about it and write an amendment! WORK HARD AND HAVE FUN! Hey! Hang out by the doors to the House and Senate Chambers when the legislators break and LOBBY (that is how lobbyists got their name - they would hang out in the lobby in order to speak with the legislators)! Until your bill passes or fails your job is not over! Push your amendments too! This is the way to get the most out of your lobbyist experience. Play the role!

6 FLORIDA 4-H University of Florida 2142 Shealy Drive P.O. Box Gainesville, FL Phone: Fax: What is the 4-H Mission? The Florida 4-H Youth Development Program uses a learn-by-doing approach and caring adults to help youth gain the knowledge and life skills they need to be productive, responsible citizens. To achieve its mission, 4-H accesses the expertise and resources of the University of Florida and a nationwide network of Cooperative Extension Service faculty and staff. What is the 4-H Vision? Florida 4-H aspires to be the leading youth development program that creates positive change in youth, families, and communities. Motto: To Make the Best Better Slogan: Learn By Doing Pledge: I pledge my head to clearer thinking, my heart to greater loyalty, my hands to larger service, and my health to better living. For my club, my community, my county and my world. Resources to Help You! Websites and Videos: Legislature Preparation Series, Lessons 1-7 (See your 4-H Extension Agent) CHRIS ALLEN AWARDS The Chris Allen Awards, sponsored by Joe and Leslie Allen, are given to participants that shine each year. Chris Allen was a 4-H er that served on the Council and died in a car accident. Each year, these awards are given out to 4-H ers (Reporters, Senators, Representatives and Lobbyists) that have been nominated and voted upon. The awards are presented at the banquet. This is a tradition and a very special honor - so do your best! SUPREME COURT On Wednesday, the Lobbyists take a tour of the Supreme Court Building. Participants also learn about how the Supreme Court functions. Thursday morning, the Lobbyists get to try cases. The cases and parts are assigned Wednesday so everyone has a chance to prepare arguments! Pages and Aides may attend - just check your schedule! This a powerful event! LOBBYIST MOCK LEGISLATIVE EXPERIENCE After watching the Senators and Representatives for two days you will get YOUR chance to be a Representative. While the legislators are at lunch, the Lobbyists invade the House Chambers to tackle a few bills. There will be bill sponsors - and you can make amendments. Speak up! We will help you with the Parliamentary Procedure. The Lobbyist Team will notify you ahead of time which bills you will debate so you can Sources: 2011, 2013 and 2014 Lobbyist Lingo newsletters; florida4h.org website; UF/4-H Legislature Preparation Lessons 1-7 TIPS FOR CONDUCTING RESEARCH Obtain your information from credible sources. Use your local library. Call organizations or agencies your bill may impact and ask them for resources and information. Make sure you document and cite your sources - the legislators WILL ask. Statistics! Are there laws in Florida or other states already related to this issue? Who will be impacted by this bill? How? Why? What will happen if this bill passes or fails? Positives and negatives. Call your local legislators or talk to people you know - teachers, parents, neighbors, and your 4-H Extension Agent. DO NOT WAIT UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE! DO A LOT OF RESEARCH ON A FEW BILLS AND AT LEAST SOME ON THE OTHERS!

7 Appearance Record: You will fill one out for each committee appearance you make. We will provide them. Lobby Group and Bill Designations: Be watching for the 2015 form - it lists all the lobby groups and the bills they are for or against (on website)! Bill Analysis Form: This will help you with your research and arguments! Committee Lobbyist Appearance Record: This allows the committees to keep track of who spoke to them. Other forms you will see: (1) List of Committee Rooms and other important rooms; (2) Map of Capitol area; and (3) Amendment forms. (4) BUT you need to print Manuals 1 and 2 AND bring them with you!

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10 Briefly, what does this bill do? 4-H Legislature Bill Analysis Worksheet State the current situation and what this bill will change? Why is it needed? Who will benefit? How will it be enforced? What is the cost? Who will pay the costs? Constituents affected - who and how many? Who might be supportive and why? Who might be opposed and why?