Be a part of the MFOA team that has been giving animals in Maine a voice for over 25 years!
How to Support Maine Friends of Animals’ Legislation
- Read the talking points for the bills. Go to www.mfoa.net for Bill overviews and Fact Sheets.
- Be sure MFOA has your email address to receive our Updates and Action Alerts.
- Share bill information on your social media; ask friends to contact their legislators.
- Write Letters to the Editor (LTE) of your local newspaper(s). Editors prefer to publish concise letters that respond to an article, editorial or an issue before the legislature. LTE 250 words maximum. Limit the subject, be brief and to the point, localize if possible, and end with most important point.
- Most important: Contact your State Representative and Senator — send them a letter or email explaining the legislation you hope they will support. Make sure you state the name of the bill and LD # and a brief explanation about what the legislation would do. Concisely explain why the bill is needed and request their vote and support. If you call, leave a short voicemail, again be polite, respectful, and concise. Note: If your legislator serves on the committee one of the MFOA bills is before, as a constituent it is even more important to reach out to them.
- Attend public hearings for the bill(s) in Augusta and give oral testimony or submit written testimony to the Committee via the Committee clerk (see below)
- Once the bill gets out of committee, email your State Representative and Senator and remind them of your earlier letter / email and urge support and/or
- Just before the vote is taken on the bill in the House and Senate, re-contact your two legislators, via their office in Augusta by telephone. Leave a very short message giving your name, address and name the specific bill you want them to vote for:
House Democratic office (207) 287-1430 Senate Democratic office (207) 287-1515 House Republican office (207) 287-1440 Senate Republican office (207) 287-1505
GUIDELINES FOR PREPARING, WRITING, and GIVING TESTIMONY
You can submit written testimony, Zoom testimony or testify at a public hearing on any legislative bill.
Giving testimony is one of the most effective ways to educate legislators and policy-makers about the impact, either positive or negative, of the proposed legislation and the change it might have.
WRITTEN AND ZOOM TESTIMONY:
Go to https://legislature.maine.gov, at the bottom of the page, click on ‘Testimony Submission’, then on ‘Public Hearing’, which will open up to the drop-down list ‘Choose Committee’. Select the committee that will hear the bill. Choose the date of the hearing, then check LD # “An Act to …..(name of the bill)”, and enter your testimony, can be cut and pasted or downloaded as a document. Complete the rest of the form and submit. Your testimony may not be online until closer to the hearing. Written testimony can be as long as needed, but concise, shorter testimony is more likely to be read – legislators are busy.
If you want to submit your testimony remotely, click on ‘I would like to testify electronically over Zoom’ you will be sent a link for the meeting, but you must still enter your written testimony and submit it. Zoom testifying is easy, but note Zoom and in-person testimony has a strict 3-minute limit.
PROVIDING ORAL TESTIMONY AT COMMITTEE
There is strength and political persuasion in numbers. Being in the committee room matters.
- No pre-registration is required for in-person hearing testimony.
- Most Committees have a three-minute rule. Practice your speech at a regular pace so you can comfortably complete it in three minutes. You can always submit materials and other testimony in writing and reference it in your oral testimony. You also can elaborate if the Committee asks you a question after your testimony. Use the question time to not only ask the question, but perhaps refer to a key point in your testimony you wish to add to or underscore.
- Print one copy of your speech in large font to make it easier to read / refer to. Highlight the keywords. Memorizing pieces of the speech is helpful so that you can make eye contact with Committee, but time is limited, so it is often good to read your remarks to be sure you say what you want to in 3 minutes.
- Practicing your speech as it’s written can sound different than when given orally. Write your remarks like you talk.
- Wear business casual clothes, and clothing you are comfortable in.
- Arrive early to get a seat in the Committee Room and in rare cases, to sign up to provide testimony. It also allows you to perhaps chat with a legislator(s) in the room before the hearing begins.
- Just as you are about to speak, first give the Committee Clerk 20 copies of your testimony to pass out to the committee. Give the clerk a few minutes to pass the testimony to the committee members.
Follow this the appropriate heading for your testimony:
Your name, your title
In Support of (or Against) LD #___ “An Act to ……….”
‘Committee on (Veterans and Legal Affairs’, etc.) and the date of the hearing.
Begin testimony with, “Good afternoon (morning) “Senator____________, Representative_____________ [Senate and House chair], and members of the Committee on (Veterans and legal Affairs” etc.). Identify yourself and the organization you represent (if applicable), and where you are from.
- Stay calm. Don’t be intimidated. The legislators likely know little about the bill and need and want to hear your input, and/or they may not be aware of the implications of a particular piece of legislation. Remember they want to hear your testimony to help them better understand the bill.
- Be concise, no longer than three minutes. Clearly present your position, stating as either “For” or “Against” the proposed bill; provide factual arguments and data as evidence to support your position, if available; offering a personal story or anecdote to demonstrate your position can be powerful; conclude with a review of your position at the end of your testimony.
- Keep your testimony simple and straightforward. Stick with what you know; personal stories are best if you have one. Confine your remarks to irrefutable facts and your area of expertise only.
- Try not to repeat points made by speakers ahead of you. If all of the points you wanted to make have been made, tell the Committee you agree with the testimony given by the preceding speakers, offer anything different, and urge them to take the appropriate action.
- Conclude by thanking the Committee for the opportunity to provide testimony; ask them to vote ‘out-to-pass” (or ought-not-to-pass) for LD ___; and offer to answer any questions they may have.
- Often you are not asked questions after you give your testimony, but it is prudent to anticipate questions you might be asked by the Committee and prepare / practice answering them.
- Answer only those questions that you can answer correctly, as clearly and succinctly as you can. Offer to find the answers to questions you are not sure of and to promptly get back to the Committee (via the clerk) with the information.
- Do not argue with members of the Committee or people giving opposing testimony. Always be polite and respectful of the procedure and the participants in the hearing.
