LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE
I. Membership
A. The
committee shall consist of ten (10) members: an elected Chairperson, immediate
past Chairperson, Chairperson-elect, and a representative from each of the
seven (7) NCAPHNA Regional groups (elected by the groups and not already
serving on the committee).
B. All the elected members shall be elected
during the odd numbered calendar years.
C. The terms of office shall be two years.
D. Consideration
should be given to having at least one (1) member who lives in close proximity
to Raleigh
II. Duties of Committee
A. Keep abreast of legislative activities
of concern to the membership.
B. Keep
membership informed of pending legislation, when possible, and stimulate active
involvement.
C. Act
with the approval of the Executive Committee, on behalf of the Association and
Public Health Nursing personnel and/or legislators regarding legislative
concerns. Bills for the same are to be
submitted to the Treasurer.
D. Arrange,
upon approval by Executive Committee, for information mailings to all Public
Health Nursing Personnel and/or legislators regarding legislative
concerns. Bills for the same are to be
submitted to the Treasurer.
E. Present
written report for the Association Secretary with a brief oral presentation to
the entire membership at the Annual Conference Business Session.
F. Chairperson
will be responsible for bringing copies of the report to the Annual Conference
for distribution to the entire membership.
(Check with Secretary for number.)
G. Review
and update legislative platform.
H. Promote coordination/cooperation with
NCNA/NCPHA.
I. Sell
Legislative Manuals to old and new members of the Association and other
interested groups/individuals. The price
will be determined by the Executive Committee of the North Carolina Association
of Public Health Nurse Administrators.
III. Roles
A. Elected Members
Each
of the two (2) Association-elected committee members will have a designated
role with well-defined distribution of responsibilities. The Chairperson will be responsible for
coordinating these activities, for convening meetings, and for providing
reports to the Governing Board/Executive Committee.
In
order to activate the committee immediately and effect change in the political
process, a plan of action needs to be formulated. Letting our elected representative know what
kind of laws we WANT is a vital part of our political system. The following committee roles become
effective immediately after election:
1. State Liaison
Be
familiar with the state legislature.
Prepare state legislative priorities for approval by the
Association. Keep watch on state health
bills of concern and request an alert when membership action can be most
effective.
2. National Liaison
Be
familiar with the National Congress.
Prepare national legislative priorities for approval by the
Association. Keep watch on health bills
of concern in both houses of the Congress and request an alert when membership
action can be most effective.
3. Telephone Network Coordinator
Set
up pre-planned telephone network with Regional Legislative
Representatives. Respond to alerts by
notifying Regional Legislative Representatives to trigger telephone chain into
action.
4. Legislative Correspondence
Writer
Be
secretary for committee meetings.
Respond to alerts by writing letters stating the position of the entire
Association with approval of the Executive Committee.
B. Regional Legislative Representatives
1. Be familiar with state and national
legislative issues.
2. Set up
pre-planned regional telephone network with Regional Legislative
Representatives as the “initial” contact for the Regional Group.
3. Respond
to state or national alerts by triggering the regional telephone chain into
action or by writing regional letters to designated legislators.
4. Attend
and participate in all meetings of the Legislative Committee, or send an
“alternate” representative from the Regional Group.
5. Report
to the Regional Group, on a quarterly basis, the activities of the
Association’s Legislative Committee, including a legislative update.
6. Offer regional input into the
formulation of the legislative platform.
C. Process for Legislative Alert
1. Chairperson
a. Discuss
legislative issues at Governing Board meetings so that they are alert to and
can decide appropriateness of expected legislative actions.
b. Institute alerts:
1.) Legislative
Chairperson receives request for a legislative alert.
2.) Legislative Chairperson calls the
President.
3.) Legislative
Chairperson obtains the consensus of the Executive Committee as to the action
to be instituted to initiate this particular alert, and the best format for the
alert (written or telephone).
(Reference: President, VI., I. , J. on
P. 2b)
c. Develop legislative alert
1.) All
legislative alerts, regardless of format, should contain at least the following
information:
What
is the problem?
What
is the House or Senate Bill #?
What
will the Bill do?
Where
is the Bill?
Who
are we to call or write?
What
action is being asked of the legislators?
Why
is this action being requested?
What
is the deadline?
2.) Written
alert (preferred if time allows) may include letter of explanation, fact sheet,
list of key legislators to contact, and/or copy of the bill. Depending on the time factor, the above
information may be sent to the entire membership, or to the Regional Legislative
Representatives (for distribution to Regional Group membership).
3.) Telephone
alert is initiated by the Legislative Chairperson calling the Telephone Tree
Coordinator who, in turn, calls each of the Regional Legislative
representatives. (If the Chairperson is
unable to reach the Telephone Tree Coordinator, then he/she should initiate the
tree). (See Legislative Alert Form - page 16e)
2. Regional Legislative Representatives
a. Update
Regional Legislative Telephone Tree annually in December or January.
1.) Legislative
Representative to be the initial contact person for the Telephone Tree.
2.) An
alternate to the initial contact person needs to be designated on the tree.
3.) Home
and work phone numbers, work addresses, and courier numbers need to be included
on/or attached to the tree.
4.) A copy
of the undated Regional Telephone Tree is mailed to the State Legislative
Chairperson.
b. Provide
a mini-orientation session on the Legislative Alert Process annually in January
or February. This should include (as a
minimum):
1.) Reviews the State and Regional
Legislative Alert process.
2.) Distribute
a copy of your Regional Legislative Telephone Tree and Legislative Alert
Forms.
a.) Instruct
all telephone tree contacts to continue down the tree until someone is reached,
if they cannot reach their designated contact.
b.) Instruct
all members to keep a copy of the telephone tree at home and at work.
c.) Ask
the receiver of the message to repeat information back to you to check the
accuracy of the message received.
Note: This orientation may be enhanced in any manner that
meets the needs of the Regional Group.
c. Serve
as Regional Legislative Representative at all NCAPHNA Legislative Committee
meetings, and provide legislative updates at all regional meetings in order to
enhance preparedness for alerts.
(Regional Groups may wish to designate an “alternate” to insure that all
regions are represented at all Legislative Committee meetings.)
LEGISLATIVE ALERT FORM
What is the problem?
What is the House or Senate Bill number?
What will the Bill do?
Where is the Bill?
Who are we to call or write?
What action is being asked of the legislators?
Why is this action being requested?
What is the deadline?
Ask receiver of message to repeat information back to you to
check the accuracy of the message received.
______________________________________________________________________________
What is the problem?
What is the House or Senate Bill number?
What will the Bill do?
Where is the Bill?
Who are we to call or write?
What action is being asked of the legislators?
Why is this action being requested?
What is the deadline?
Ask receiver of message to repeat information back to you to
check the accuracy of the message received.
______________________________________________________________________________
PLEASE DUPLICATE THIS FORM AND SAVE THE ORIGINAL COPY FOR
FUTURE DUPLICATION. (NCAPHNA
Legislative Committee Form #1 -5/85)