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revised January 2024

Best Practices for Testifying in Committee

1. The Bill-to-Law Process
2. Demystifying Committee Hearings
3. Why Should I Testify?
4. How to Tell Your Story
5. Best Practices for Testifying

Arizona’s Bill-to-Law Process

BILL INTRODUCED

Leadership Assigns Bill to Committee

Committee Chair Puts Bill on Agenda

Committee Hears Bill & Votes

Leadership Brings Bill to Floor; FULL VOTE

Leadership Assigns Bill to Committee

Committee Chair Puts Bill on Agenda

Committee Hears Bill & Votes

Leadership Brings Bill to �Floor; FULL VOTE

Gov Signs or �Vetoes

LAW

What is a Committee?

Committees are small groups of assigned legislators who review bills on certain topics and decide whether to send them to the entire group for a vote.

Demystifying Committee Hearings

• Committee meeting schedule & agendas posted 1 week ahead; Request to Speak opens
• Committee chair sets agenda and bill order
• Staff presents bill information
• Bill sponsor, constituents and lobbyists provide testimony
• ...and it’s all subject to the Chair’s whim

House Education

Chair: Beverly Pingerelli

Vice Chair: David Marshall

Partisan Split: 6/4

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The party in power chooses which legislators sit on which committees. Because one party currently controls both chambers of the Legislature, most committees are weighted firmly in favor of that party.

Resources & Water

House Natural

Chair: Gail Griffin

Vice Chair: Austin Smith

Partisan Split: 6/4

Senate Education

Chair: Ken Bennett

Vice Chair: Justine Wadsack

Partisan Split: 4/3

Senate Government

Chair: Jake Hoffman

Vice Chair: Wendy Rogers

Partisan Split: 5/3

Develop your “Elevator Pitch”

• Short: aim for 2 minutes
• Stories and personal relevance work better than facts or statistics
• Lawmakers cannot argue with your personal story
• Where to start? Try this worksheet

CRAFTING YOUR STORY: PART 1

FAMILY & CHILDHOOD

• Parents/Family
• Growing Up Experiences
• Your Community
• Role Models
• School

Choose a topic that is important to you. What experiences and values call you to advocate for this issue?

LIFE CHOICES

• School & Career
• Partner & Family
• Hobbies, Interests, Talents
• Experiences & Finding Passion
• Overcoming Challenges

ADVOCACY EXPERIENCE

• Role Models
• Your first experience of advocacy
• Your first awareness of this issue
• Your current experiences

CRAFTING YOUR STORY: PART 2

THE BIG PICTURE

How does your story relate to the bigger picture? Are there other families or stories like yours? Do you have a specific statistic that brings your story into the larger story?

OUTCOME

What happened as a result of the challenge and your choices? What did you learn?

CHALLENGE

What was the specific challenge you faced?

Focus on one key story (an event, place or important relationship). Consider the context of the challenge, outcome and bigger picture.

CRAFTING YOUR STORY: PART 3

1. Share your life experience which brought you here today
2. Challenges you faced because of this life experience
3. How does your challenge fit into the bigger picture? Can you connect your experience to a shared experience?
4. Action (your ask)

Bring your story together, then add an ask (what you want the lawmaker to do).

“...and with that, I’m available for any questions”

Some lawmakers love to try to play “gotcha”...

DON’T FALL FOR IT!

Repeat YOUR talking points, not theirs

Friendly lawmakers are there to help you

This can be surprisingly anticlimactic

• BUT: We're playing the long game
• Not just the committee: other lawmakers, social media, reporters
• Stories and emotional framing ultimately change the narrative

Rules Committee

• Doesn't judge a bill on its individual merits
• All bills go through Rules
• Using RTS for a bill in Rules puts your name on record
• No point showing up to testify (or spending a ton of time crafting a comment)

• We'll help with talking points & testimony crafting
• We'll go with you to the Capitol
• Rural? We'll put you up overnight
• Our media liaison will amplify your voice

Testifying: Tricks of the Trade

2017’s universal ESA voucher expansion bill marked increased citizen engagement at the Capitol. These citizens were still learning. Notice the neon green “YES ESA” stickers, handed out by pro-voucher lobbyists. Parents who came to oppose the bill left determined to bring their own “NO ESA” stickers next time — and sit in high-visibility spots for in-room cameras.

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DECORUM: Committee Hearing Dos & Don’ts

DO:

• Bring friends (wear stickers or matching T-shirts)
• Connect with a friendly lawmaker beforehand
• Address the Chair, not individual lawmakers
• Respect the Chair’s rules
• Be concise and polite; tell the truth
• Show appropriate emotion
• Introduce yourself to any media (almost always present) and offer an interview on the issue

DON’T:

• Address individual lawmakers directly
• Insult lawmakers or be rude
• Exaggerate or make false claims
• Yell from the crowd
• Bring signs

It’s true: Talking to lawmakers can sometimes feel like banging your head against one of these.

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Telling your story helps you connect with lawmakers and staff on a more personal level. They may argue with your facts, but they can rarely dispute your personal story.

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When people start advocating for good public policy through storytelling, we are all working to take apart this wall, brick by brick.

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tinyurl.com/rtssignmeup

Use Twitter? Follow @AZCEBVus for up-to-the-minute bill status updates in session

Four Ways to �Get Involved

cebv.substack.com

THANK YOU for USING YOUR VOICE

“All political power is inherent in the people” Arizona State Constitution