Legislative contact information

Here's a primer on interacting with the legislature.

Suddenly find yourself having to fight for legislation?
Our Legislative Tips page has great information from around the nation to utilize.

 

The website for the State of Tennessee legislature is: http://www.legislature.state.tn.us (Use the left margin navigation links to search for bill numbers, legislators, committees, calendars, etc.) If you don't know who YOUR legislator is go to the body's (House, Senate) MEMBERS page, scroll to the bottom and you can input your county or district # and it'll tell you who represents you. Call or FAX Toll Free: dial: 1-800-449-8366 then... You'll be prompted: to speak with your legislator or their staff Press their 5 digit phone number, If you don't know their phone number Press 8,  to FAX Press 2.  MAP: To the right is a very tight shot of the legislative campus in downtown Nashville pulled from a great map at the Nashville Convention and Visitor's Bureau. I suggest you download their maps of Nashville before venturing into what may be unfamiliar territory. The horizontal yellow box at the bottom is Nashville's downtown public library. Public parking behind the library is very reasonable but there are, as you can see by the blue P's lots of parking in the area. If you exit out the main entrance of the library which faces the capitol it's a straight walk (though steep) to the legislative plaza where the red arrow is at the tunnel entrance to the legislative offices. This is the only public entrance. The vertical yellow box is the War Memorial Building where many legislative offices are and where THEA holds it rally each year. Once inside feel free to ask staff to direct you. They're usually very helpful. There is a cafeteria in the building, plenty of rest rooms, pay phones, free wi-fi and good cell phone service. You will have to pass through security to gain entrance to the complex. Check your bags for illegal items before you enter. Don't be shy about asking for more specific directions from the security people. They've always been very professional and accommodating in my experience.

Tips on contacting legislators:

Suddenly find yourself in a fight and don't know how to begin? Check our Legislative Tips web page.

While e-mail has become popular and it's my favorite way to correspond, recent statistic show that in order of attention received by a legislator and their staff

• your personal visit has the greatest impact, then
• actual snail mail letters 
• then phone calls, 
• faxes and 
• finally e-mail.  

However, a big advantage of phone calls and faxes are that they tend to shut down normal business.

So send a real letter if at all possible. 

If you live in the district of the legislator you are writing to you should mention that. If you've ever met him, he's done you some service (you've done him some service) or you belong to the same organization working that information in might help. 

Include your full name, address and phone number. This gives legitimizing weight to your comments.

Make your comments short and to the point. If you can't say it in one page--edit--or ask a friend to help you edit. Don't preach. Stay on topic. If you can, give him a reason that is valuable to him to vote your way.

Carefully proofread your letter or have someone else double check it. We're homeschoolers and trying to assure them we are capable of teaching our own children. Basic spelling and grammatical errors won't help. Another reason to keep your letters brief--less opportunity for error.

Finally, I always make sure my RE: or Subject line is very specific. For me it might read: 

RE: Vote NO, HB2795 testing for all. 

This way aids can sort and prioritize the mail more quickly. If they have to stop and read to figure out what you're trying to say it may go to the bottom of the pile. 

Most of the above is also applicable to the following means of communication. So I'll only add a few specific comments.

CALL YOUR LEGISLATORS TOLL FREE

Dial 1-800-449-8366, you'll be prompted to enter either the last 5 digits of your  legislator's Nashville office phone number, OR by pressing 8 you can access the directory of names OR by pressing 2 you can send a fax.

The office staff is just that staff. They don't vote. They don't always know how the legislator is going to vote--too often he doesn't know himself. Be polite. Be brief. It won't do your cause any good if you irritate  the office staff. 

Have your thoughts written down ahead of time so you won't babble or forget. Make sure you've got the bill number handy so they know how to direct your message. 

Don't be surprised if all you get is voice mail. Leave a clear and specific message. There have been legislators that say only leave a message if you're a constituent. Ignore that and leave a message anyway. As committee members legislators represent us all. They are gatekeepers of legislation and they must know how citizens want them to vote.

Fax machines are frequently shared by several legislators.

So be certain that your letter is clearly addressed to your legislator.  These machines can be busy so be patient. If your machine can't make the connection call the legislator's office and make sure you've got the number correct. More than once I've been told the machine was out of order--they get a tremendous workout--and given an alternative machine's number to call.

E-mail is so handy that its use has increased dramatically, especially after 9/11 and Rican scares have make mail a security issue.

Remember to include your real name and address as the legislator will have no idea who "Bubba9783@ISP.con" is. Feel free to cc several on one note. Do make your salutation appropriate remember Senators are addressed first and then House members.

Don't know who represents you? 

Go to http://www.legislature.state.tn.us/ on the left you'll see SENATE and HOUSE, click on one, click on MEMBERS, scroll to the bottom and you can input your county or district # and it'll tell you who represents you. Repeat with the other body. You can also call 1-800-449-8366 and ask for operator assistance.

Whatever your communication method, it's important that you do communicate. Our freedoms are too important to stay silent.  

The next step is to get the contact information....