LEGISLATIVE BASICS��

With Tylee Harmon and Aubrey Snyder

GOALS FOR TODAY

• Basic understanding of Legislature and Bills
• Who can help with your requests
• How to be heard
• Connect with peers with the same requests
• Opportunity to practice advocating
• Get excited about being involved

�������LEGISLATIVE ADVOCACY�

• Seeing a need and finding a way for YOU to address it.
• Our lawmakers want to hear from us.
• They don’t know our disability world, so it is our job to teach them.

• What change do we want to bring about?
• What is going wrong? Evidence?
• What rights do we like?
• Who can make change?
• Who are our allies?
• How can I help?

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LEARN THE LINGO

• Bill- A proposed piece of legislation
• Appropriation- The money set aside for specific State programs
• Budget- Estimates of proposed expenditures and expected revenues for the fiscal year

LINGO CONT….

• SESSION- The time set aside for our lawmakers to get to work. Full of committee meetings, Votes on policy issues and budgets. (BUSY)
• INTERIM- The period of time between sessions (May-Nov) when Legislators are not as busy with meetings. Great time to start making connections with them.

• Legislation – Laws, bills and budget.
• Legislator - is a Lawmaker or elected official who works to bring change to new and existing laws and works for the people.
• Legislature- refers to the whole group of elected officials

LEGISLATIVE SESSION

• General session begins in January and ends in March. 45 Days
• Set budget for the State of Utah.
• Create or Change laws.

Separation of Powers

At a Federal and State Level

• Executive
• Administers Laws passed by the Legislative Branch
• Legislative
• Passes Laws for the Executive to Administer
• Judicial
• Interprets the Laws passed by the Legislative and Administered by the Executive to ensure compliance with the Constitution

Utah State Capitol

Space for Chart

Executive

Legislative

• Governor
• Lt. Governor
• Departments
• 20+ State Agencies/�Departments

• Speaker of the House - Rep. Schultz
• 75 House Members
• 2 year terms�
• President of the Senate - Sen. Adams
• 29 Senate Members
• 4 year terms

Separation of Powers in Utah

Judicial

• Court system

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

House of Representatives serve terms of 2 years

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SENATE

• Senate serve 4 year terms
• https://betterutahinstitute.org/ut-leg/

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LEGISLATORS

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• Steep learning curve. About 20% of legislators are new each election, and it is a challenge for them to learn about all the policy issues brought before them, as well as the budgeting and legislative processes. Few will be in office long enough to know everything. They may or may not have chosen their committee assignment.

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• Information overload. Legislators make decisions about hundreds of policy topics each session. On average, more than 100,000 bills are introduced in state legislatures across the country each year.

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LEGISLATORS CONT

• Unfamiliar issues, expertise, and language. Health and Human Service issues are complex, expertise takes time, and the jargon---and government-speak--- is foreign.

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• Limited public resources. For every $1 of tax revenue, there are $4 of requests. Legislators must make tough choices when allocating limited resources across all competing government agencies, and social service committees must do so for all competing health and human service agencies priorities.

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PUBLIC POLICY

• Public policy is formed as a collective effort between governments, institutions, and even regular citizens. It’s important to have your voice heard.
• Because politicians and parties change every few years, so do the positions and views held by the majority or by those in office. ADVOCACY is ONGOING

HOW A BILL BECOMES A LAW

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COMMITTEE HEARINGS

If changed, the bill is sent back to the chamber of origin

for approval or further consideration.

A vetoed bill goes back to the chamber of origin.

If the veto is overridden, the bill moves to the second chamber for its reconsideration. If not, the bill dies.

LAW

GOVERNOR

FLOOR DEBATE

FLOOR DEBATE

BILL DRAFTED

HB / SB Introduced in chamber of origin by due dates

2ND CHAMBER

1ST CHAMBER

TOP PRIORITY NEED

COMMITTEE HEARINGS

COMMITTEE HEARINGS

VETO

H.B. - House Bill: Any legislative bill that originates in the House

S.B. - Senate Bill: Any legislative bill that originates in the Senate

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UNDERSTANDING BILLS

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• Example #1 - H.B. 23 Service Animal Amendments (2026)
• Bill Text
• Short title of bill (S.B. vs H.B; short title; year; sponsors)
• Long title (includes brief description, if any money is being appropriated, what part of Utah code the bill changes, etc.)
• Text
• Underlined text is what would be added (if the bill passes)
• Strikethrough text is what would be deleted
• Normal text is what already is (and would remain) in Utah code
• Bill Status
• Hearings and Debates
• Example #2 - S.B. 154 Protection and Advocacy Agency Reporting (2026)

COMMITTEES

• Rules- Decides if and where a bill is heard

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• Standing- Hears testimony and votes on bills

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• Appropriations Subcommittees- Hears testimony, prioritizes funding requests

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• Executive Appropriations- Leadership, determines State budget

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• Interim- Meets between sessions to study issues. Held year-round on the third Wednesday of each month

Committees of Interest

• Health and Human Services (HHS)
• Social Services Appropriations (SSA)
• Executive Appropriations (EAC)
• Economic and community Development

Committees

1. All Committee Meetings are open to the public
1. In-person and Online
2. You can find information about Committee meetings on each Committee’s webpage
2. Committee Types
• Appropriations (Budget)
1. Meets throughout the year (General Session & Interim)
• Standing (Policy)
• During the General Session
• Interim (Policy)
• During the Interim

WHERE DOES THE MONEY COME FROM?

THE BUDGET PROCESS

1. Forecasting what the budget is (how much money does Utah expect to have?)
2. Agencies budgets and requests
3. Governor’s budget is released prior to legislative session
4. Appropriations Subcommittees take this into account, but don’t HAVE to use it

THE BUDGET PROCESS CONTINUED…

Appropriations Subcommittees

Executive Appropriations

• Deep Dive into each Department’s Budget
• Hear from Departments and Others on what should be funded/prioritized
• Forward their Prioritized list of Budget Items to Executive Appropriations (Legislative Leadership) within the first 3 weeks of Session
• Meet during the Interim (3-4 times between sessions) to deep dive into areas of interest

• With the Governor’s Office, adopts budget projections
• Hears Budget Requests on items that cross multiple subcommittees
• Receive and Review Recommendations from Subcommittees
• Determine the Final Budgeted Items/Bills within the last week of the Session

YOUR ROLE IN THE APPROPRIATIONS PROCESS

• Testify at an agency budget hearing
• Contact members of the appropriation committees and legislators
• Testify at a legislative appropriations hearing
• Contact members of Executive Appropriation

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BASIC ADVOCACY

• You don’t need to be an expert- you just need to care enough to get involved and speak up.
• Your potential influence is far greater than you think.
• Speaking up won’t guarantee that you will win, but not speaking up guarantees that your information won’t be known.
• Your only task is to be yourself, a citizen and voter who wants programs and policies to work for those who desperately need it.
• Get involved where you are comfortable

GOLDEN RULES OF ADVOCACY

• Be fair and respectful
• Be understanding
• Be friendly
• Be reasonable
• Be thoughtful
• Be realistic and persistent
• Be practical
• Be a good opponent
• Be informed
• Be discreet

I HAVE AN ISSUE… WHAT DO I DO?

3 BASIC STEPS OF ADVOCACY, SHARING YOUR STORY AND CONCERNS

1. CHOOSE YOUR ISSUE

• What concerns you about your neighborhood, community, State budget ?
• What obstacles do Utahns with disabilities face that you feel aren’t being addressed?
• Are there budget changes that will affect Utahns with disabilities that need to be amended?

2. KNOW WHO TO TALK TO

• Who can help you?
• Who represents you?
• Find YOUR elected officials www.vote.Utah.gov
• How to find your legislators, City/County members, school board members etc.…

3. COMMUNICATING YOUR VIEWS

• Meeting with Committee Members, Senators and Representatives who will hear your issues either in person, email or telephone.

SHARING YOUR PERSONAL STORY

COMPOSING YOUR STORY

If you are a constituent of the person you are writing, tell them.

What is a constituent?�A voting member of a community and having the power to elect

Example: Representative Brown, I live in your district/ neighborhood

Photo by Element5 Digital

COMPOSING YOUR STORY

Introduce Yourself-

What is your name?

Where do you live?

2-3 sentences that share relevant personal or professional information about yourself.

Share your concerns!

Request for action

Photo by Maria Oswalt

COMPOSING YOUR STORY

Your request for action-

What do you want to happen?

What can the law maker do?

If you have an idea or solution about HOW this can be solved, share your idea to resolve or fix the problem.

Photo by Kyle Glen

YOUR TURN!!

Draft a letter of your own.

Spend the next few minutes working on your letter.

We will walk around and help answer questions.

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You can also use this letter to give public comment, send an email/text, or during any conversation with a decision-maker!

Photo by Prateek Katyal

EXPECTATIONS AT LCPD RECEPTION

• Put yourself in the shoes of the Legislator
• Leave an impression
• Today 4:30-6pm
• March around the capitol 3pm
• Dress professionally
• If you don’t get a chance to talk with a legislator, your presence is still impactful
• LCPDUTAH.org

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BE A YEAR-ROUND ADVOCATE

• Get on the email alert list
• Legislative Coalition for people with disabilities www.lcpdutah.org

Navigating the Utah Legislative Website: https://le.utah.gov/

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BILLS

• How to find bills

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• How to track

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• Looking at the status of a bill

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• Hearings/Debates

LEGISLATORS

• My Legislators

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• Finding their contact information

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• Committee assignments

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• House / Senate Roster

COMMITTEES

• Tracking when/where committee meetings held

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• Agenda items

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• Attending a committee meeting - remotely

My Legislature Tracking

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Track Bills | Track Committees | Track Sections of Utah Code | Track Subjects

WWW.LE.UTAH.GOV�

CONTACT

• House: (801) 538-1029
• House Roster: www.house.utah.gov
• Senate: (801) 538-1035
• Senate Roster: www.senate.utah.gov

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QUESTIONS?

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• Organization of Utah State Legislature
• Glossary of Legislative Terms
• Significant Session Dates
• How to Participate in a Virtual Committee Meeting
• Legislative Guide
• FAQs
• Get Involved

Other Resources

Your only task is to be yourself-

“A citizen and voter who wants government policies to work for the most vulnerable as well as they do for the most powerful.”

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-Nancy Armidie