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Our In Practice series continues today with lobbying experts Ray LeBov and Chris Micheli discussing how to lobby the Governor’s administration on policy bills. They speak about important points of contact and mistakes lobbyists make when lobbying the administration.
LeBov emphasizes that if a bill you are lobbying affects a department or agency, you are going to need to be speaking with them. Even if they cannot take a position on a bill, their insights and knowledge will be critical to the success or failure of a bill. The agencies and departments a bill affects are going to be making a short presentation and a recommendation later on to the Governor as to whether to sign or veto a bill.
Another point of contact to lobby the administration is through the Horseshoe, which consists of the immediate Governor’s staff. The Deputies in the Legislative Affairs Units are responsible for every single bill that is introduced in the Legislature and are critical to contact. They analyze each bill and compose a file of reports prepared by the Department of Finance and relevant departments and agencies. They also collect letters sent to the Legislature about the proposed bills. LeBov and Micheli suggest sending every letter you as a lobbyist send to the Legislature to the Deputy in charge of the bill so they have it when they analyze the bill for the Governor.
Our experts also emphasize the importance of contacting the Deputies early on so that they can provide insight into any amendments that would make the bill more likely to be signed by the Governor.
Each Deputy is a person and creating a personal relationship with them is critical to building a strong support within the administration and will thus help you effectively advocate and lobby for your clients.
To find out more insights and common mistakes lobbyists make when lobbying the administration, listen to the full podcast.