Creating Influence
Ideas

Growing Connections with Legislators

The state Legislature is made up of committees that debate the issues, and it’s in these small settings where much of the language is hammered out on bills, or where bills stall out and die. As such, it’s important to have strong connections with the members of key committees… but how does one know who will be on which committee? One doesn’t until that list is  released – even legislators themselves do not know what committees they will be assigned to until it is done by the leaders of either the Senate or the House. As such it is important to continually grow connections with legislators. A great example of this are the two new additions to the Senate Banking Committee: State Sen. Mike Dugan (R-Carrollton) and State Sen. Brian Strickland (R-McDonough). Credit unions reached out to both of these individuals early in their careers in the Legislature, meeting with them in the district to grow their understanding of what makes the industry and their legislative needs unique. And more importantly, they had this understanding BEFORE they were assigned to this key committee. Connecting with legislators EARLY is vital.

But relationships and connection development are ongoing, and there’s a large number involved. There are 16 federal legislators from Georgia, and 236 state legislators. After the runoff for District 5 State Representative seat is determined, there will be 40 new legislators in the state Legislature. Add those new legislators with the four new statewide officials, it’s a crowded space made more blurred with more than 900 registered lobbyists. As such, growing the personal connections between credit unions and elected leaders is an important aspect to successful advocacy. The most recent proactive involvement was seen with Altamaha FCU attending the Wayne County pre-legislative session event where they connected with Sen. Blake Tillery (R-Vidalia), Rep. Bill Werkhieser (R-Glennville), and incoming freshman Rep. Steven Meeks (R-Screven), as well as North Main CU who connected with a wide mix of legislators and lobbyists alike at the inaugural festivities of Governor Kemp. Our thanks to the credit unions for helping place an in-district face on the industry! If your credit union connects with legislators in the home districts, please let us know.

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