End Legal Discrimination PA

Tool Kit

Other Resources

Lobbying 101

What is a lobby visit? A lobby visit is merely a meeting where you tell your legislator what you think about a certain issue and bill and try to get him or her to take action on that issue.

Where can you meet? It is not necessary to travel to Harrisburg for your meetings; each legislator has a local office in his or her district.

Requesting a meeting:

  • Make your request with a call to the legislator's scheduler/appointment secretary.
  • Let the scheduler know what legislation (by bill number) you wish to discuss.
  • Make sure that they know you are a constituent in the legislator's district.

Preparing for your meeting:

Check the ACLU-PA Web site (aclupa.org) for materials. Often we have information to help you decide on your talking points, as well as materials that you can leave with your legislator. Find no more than five pages of materials outlining the importance of your issue that you can bring with you and leave at the legislator's office.

Decide who will attend the meeting. Keep it small, but whenever possible, bring people who represent different groups that have different interests in the legislation.

Research your legislator ahead of time. If they voted in favor of a bill that is important to your issue, make sure to thank them at your meeting.

Agree on talking points. It's important to go into the meeting with an agreement between all attendees on the points you want to emphasize.

Decide what you want to achieve. Clarifying what you want your "ask" to be before you go into the meeting helps make your meeting more successful! Do you want your legislator to vote for or against the bill? Do you want him or her to make a commitment to introduce or co-sponsor legislation?

Call the legislator's office the day before your meeting is scheduled to confirm your appointment. This demonstrates to the legislator and their staff that you are serious about the meeting and the issue at hand.

Following up after your meeting:

  • Compare notes with everyone in your group and report any commitments that your legislator made during the meeting to the ACLU of PA at aclupa@aclupa.org.
  • Send a thank you note to your legislator, expressing how much you appreciate them taking the time to meet with you.
  • Send along any follow-up materials or information that you promised during the meeting.
  • If the legislator doesn't meet the deadline for action that you agreed to during your meeting, ask him or her to set another deadline. Be persistent but flexible!