Everyday government is making decisions and taking actions that impact you as an audiologist.  We are pleased to offer a governmental advocacy component to the benefits of membership in ILAA.

Having an understanding of the political process and the operation of government is the first step in becoming a more proactive part of that process.  Our profession can be impacted in a number of ways – one of the most common is passage of legislation by the General Assembly.

The Illinois General Assembly consists of two distinct bodies: the Senate and the House of Representatives. There are 59 members of the Senate, and 118 members of the House of Representatives.   Senators are elected every 4 years, while members of the House are elected every two years.   Each Senator represents approximately 186,000 citizens, and each Representative 93,000.

The area covered and represented by elected officials is determined based on the decennial census (taken in Illinois every 10 years).   At that time the House and Senate districts are redrawn by the legislature to take into consideration changes in population.   Each Senate district contains two House districts.   Therefore, Senate District #1 encompasses House District #1 and #2, Senate District #2, House District #3 and #4, etc, up to Senate District #59 which contains House Districts #117 and #118.

Thousands of bills are introduced in each legislative session.  In the end a relatively few number will make it through the entire process and be eligible for the governor's signature, thus becoming a law.   During the process there are many opportunities for input and change to a legislative proposal so it is important to continually watch bills that impact the profession to ensure that they continue to be in a shape that is good for audiology practice and care.

Bills introduced in the General Assembly go through a structured process in both chambers.  A bill has 3 “readings” in each Chamber and must pass with a majority of votes at each step in order to get to the position of potentially becoming a law.  In between those 3 “readings” are committee hearings and potential amendments that may put the proposal in a position to need to be reviewed again in substantive committees or by the initial chamber in order to reach the Governor’s desk for consideration.  The process is as follows:

FIRST CHAMBER

1. Introduction – 1^st Reading
2. Committee Hearing (Can be amended at this point)
3. Committee Report to Full Chamber
4. 2^nd Reading (Amendments can be considered at this point)
5. 3^rd Reading – Full Chamber (This is the final vote in order to move the bill to the 2^nd Chamber) 

SECOND  CHAMBER

1. Introduction – 1^st Reading
2. Committee Hearing (Can be amended at this point)
3. Committee Report to Full Chamber
4. 2^nd Reading (Amendments can be considered at this point)
5. 3^rd Reading – Full Chamber (This is the final vote in order to move the bill to the Governor OR back to 1^st Chamber for Concurrence if Amended in 2^nd Chamber) 

**Bills that are changed in the Second Chamber from the way that they had passed out of the First Chamber have to go back to the initial chamber for “concurrence” with the changes that were made after their vote.  This process is very similar to the initial process,  requiring committee approval and a full floor vote.  Without “concurrence” a bill could go to a “Conference Committee” of the two chambers to find a compromise.

Helpful Legislative Links

"How a bill becomes a law"

http://www.ilga.gov/commission/lis/98bill_law.pdf

Having a presence in Springfield with a lobbyist allows us to maintain a presence and to ensure that someone is paying attention to all of the bills that could potentially impact our profession.    With our lobbyist, the ILAA can facilitate discussion with legislators on issues and provide information on legislative issues to our members, whose involvement is a key to our success.

While we have a lobbyist to watch our interests, it is the local constituency that has the greatest impact on legislators.  Legislators are interested in what you have to say.  They want to make good public policy. They want to reflect the views and concerns of their constituents.  They need reasons to care about important issues and with an established relationship – it will become easier to give them those reasons.

You know what it is like to practice audiology and you know the needs of your patients.   You represent an important constituency. The professionals play an important role, but the best “lobbyists” are the citizens who work and live and vote in their legislative districts.

A listing of Legislative members can be found on the General Assembly website (http://www.ilga.gov/) .  This webpage will also list each committee and the membership of those committees.  Links are available to individual pages of the members with contact addresses and telephone numbers.  Committees that will regularly hear bills impacting audiology in both Chambers include: 

House:

• Health Care Access & Availability
• Human Services
• Insurance
• Registration and Regulation
• Appropriations:  Human Services
• Appropriations:  Education

Senate:

• Senate Appropriations
• Health and Human Services
• Insurance and Licensed Activities

If you don’t know who your legislators are you can look it up by your home or business address on the State Board of Elections website at:  http://www.elections.il.gov/.   Go to the  “Voter Information” page and then to “Find Districts/Officials”.

Get to know your legislators before you begin bringing up a political agenda.  Find out about their areas of interest and past involvement with health care issues.  Invite them to your facilities for tours or special events such as health fairs your organization might be sponsoring or school or training related events.   

Tell them what you’re doing for and in the community.  You provide a very valuable service for the community.  Keep elected and appointed officials updated on your activities and role in the community.  If you have a newsletter or annual communication –put them on your mailing list.  Let them know how many employees you have, how many patients you care for, and where they live.  Facts and figures can be useful, but also emphasize the human factor, with examples of your practice’s impact on people’s lives.

Read the previously noted information on legislative process.  Contact our lobbyist with questions.   You can also find additional information on the General Assembly website at http://www.ilga.gov/. 

You have information that legislators don’t have about the impact of public policy on your practice.  But, make sure that you have all of the facts to provide accurate and valuable information.  Be a credible source of information on issues impacting you and the practice of audiology   Educate them about the impact of existing or proposed legislation on patients.   Answer their questions as best you can.   If you don’t have the answer, get back to them later.   Be direct and make sure you are clear as to what it is you are looking for from the legislators.  Ask them to sponsor legislation favorable to your cause or to defeat unfavorable legislation.  If they know you and your practice, they will be likely to support you and communicate their opinions to other legislators.   If you don’t tell your elected officials what you think should be done, they will listen to someone else.