Working With State and Local Policymakers

1
Working With State and Local Policymakers

• Christie L. Hager, J.D., M.P.H.
• Chief Health Counsel
• Office of Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi
• Massachusetts House of Representatives

2
Three Branches of Government
Executive
Legislative
Judicial
3
POLICY
LAW
Legislation
Regulation
4
Options for Policy Change

• Statute
• Initiative Petition
• Regulation
• Executive Order
• Stakeholder Collaboration

5
Know Where YOU Are

• Variations among state legislatures
• Full- vs. Part-Time
• Term Limits
• Municipalities
• Local public health infrastructure

6
Local Public Health Authorities

• City and Town Councils
• Boards of Health
• Health Officers

7
Bostons First Health Officer
8
Effective Advocacy

• Know your elected officials
• and make sure they know you
• Legislators and other elected officials are
  people, too
• Research history, incl. voting records

9
Effective Advocacy

• Brevity and clarity of message
• Full and honest disclosure
• Know the landscape and cover the waterfront
• Connect the dots

10
Appropriations

• Budget cycle
• Emergency or deficiency appropriations

11
The Kingdon Model of Agenda Setting
Problem
Policy
Political
From JW Kingdon. Agendas, Alternatives, and
Public Policies, Second Edition.
12
From Beaufort B. Longest, Jr., Health
Policymaking in the United States, Third Ed.
13
(No Transcript)
14
(No Transcript)
15
Politics, Politics, Politics
16
(No Transcript)
17
(No Transcript)
18
(No Transcript)
19
State Legislative Research
20
Congressional Research
21
Areas of Law

• Facility Regulations
• Professional Scope of Practice
• Antitrust

• Eminent Domain
• Contracts
• Insurance

22
Resources

• National Conference of State Legislatures
• www.ncsl.org
• Thomas / Library of Congress
• http//thomas.loc.gov/
• Individual State Websites
• www.state.XX.us
• APHA
• www.apha.org