Collaborative News

Legislative Tips Guide You through the State Capitol

Compiled by MARY FRANCES WILLIAMS

Who are my legislators? Contact your local Voter Registration Office. The number is listed in the phone book in the county government pages. You want to know your House, Senate and Congressional districts. When you know your district numbers, you can call House Information at (404) 656-5082 and Senate Information at (404) 656-0082 to get information about the legislators serving your district. This information is also available on the Web at www.legis.state.ga.us/.

You can also request a copy of the publication Members of the Georgia General Assembly from House or Senate Information. This resource is updated yearly.

Who is on what committee? This information is included in Members of the Georgia General Assembly and also is available at www.legis.state.ga.us/. You can find information about committee assignments for individual House and Senate members or you can look up information by committee.

When is a committee meeting? For the House, call the Clerk of the House at (404) 656-5015. For the Senate, call the Secretary of the Senate at (404) 656-5040.

Some committees adhere to a daily or weekly schedule when the Legislature is in session, although meetings are often postponed or scheduled on short notice. Most meeting notices are posted outside the offices of the House Clerk and Secretary of the Senate. If you are trying to closely monitor the activity of a specific committee, your best bet is to check with the committee secretary on a daily basis.

To receive a weekly schedule of meetings when the Legislature is not in session, call Legislative Counsel at (404) 656-5000 and ask to be placed on the mailing list.

For a copy of a bill, go to www.legis.state.ga.us/. If you know the bill number, you can easily find the legislation. There is also a search option that allows you to search using key words. If you are still having trouble, you can call the Clerk or the House or the Secretary of the Senate (at the numbers above). You will need to know the title or description of the bill.

To contact a legislator, addresses, phone numbers and sometimes e-mail addresses are available at www.legis.state.ga.us/. This information is also in Members of the Georgia General Assembly.

When you are at the Capitol and the Legislature is in session, you can send a message to a legislator in the House or Senate chamber. Page desks are located outside each chamber, and forms are located on the Senate Page desk and in the south lobby outside the House. Legislators are not always at their desks, so sometimes you must send a message in more than once. If you want to speak to your own legislator, it sometimes helps to call ahead and let him or her know that you will be at the Capitol that day. Legislators are more accessible to their own constituents, so if you live in the district, let him or her know that up front.

Transportation to the Capitol: MARTA is your best option within metro Atlanta. For schedule and route information, call (404) 848-4711 or Customer Service at (404) 848-4800. Some parking is available at state-owned lots. The "Pete Hackney" lot on Butler Street is your best bet. A parking pass for the duration of the session can usually be purchased through the Georgia Building Authority.

General Assembly Schedule: When in session, both houses usually convene at 10 a.m., although they may begin earlier in the later weeks of the session. Committee meetings are usually held in the afternoon. Many legislators keep office hours from about 9 a.m. until the House/Senate convene and then again in the afternoon. The most important thing to remember is that the schedule is set each day and is always subject to change.

Other Featured Articles:
Education vs. lobbying
Collabs Receive Health Grants
Collaborative News Briefs