First, understand the terrain. State legislatures differ from Congress in key ways. Consider:

• Only eight state legislatures operate year round.
• The other forty-two operate a part-time legislature that range in length from just two to five months, with most convening in January and concluding by Memorial Day.
• A member of Congress typically has around  25 staff members, however, a part-time state lawmaker averages only 4-5 employees in their office. Many states have lawmakers with even fewer staffers than that.

Second, knowing how state legislatures operate, it is important to have a well crafted strategy. Here are some best practices that  we recommend:

• Begin legislative preparation in the preceding summer or fall at the latest. By the time most legislatures convene in January, they have already mapped out much of their calendar for the months ahead.
• Provide reliable fact-based information to explain your policy position and your company’s or industry’s state impact directly to legislators and staff. With less time and few staff members, state lawmakers are more receptive to educational efforts (and are less cynical).
• Recruit and deploy allies to provide support for your position. While each member of Congress represents about 700,000 constituents, state legislators represent an average of only 57,000 (and as few as 3,330 in some states). As a result, companies have a much better chance of persuading elected officials by mobilizing their constituents. Whereas it may take tens of thousands of contacts to get the attention of a member of Congress, it may only take a dozen or so constituent inputs to influence a state legislator. The same volume may not be necessary, but the quality must be superior for maximum impact.

View State Case Studies

---

Finally, how can DCI Group help? 

• You can’t beat our experience. For 25 years we have operated hundreds of multistate and local policy campaigns.
• With 1,500 bipartisan professionals in all 50 states, we know who has the best relationships and who can help you win.
• We have a four-step process that meets you wherever you are – from passive information-gathering to evaluating threats to managing multistate and local campaigns to optimizing large teams (while cutting costs).

Let us know how we can help you.  Contact Us

Understand how local government functions.

• Frontline providers. Local elected officials are often responsible for managing direct essential services, such as community policing and fire services, for their constituents.
• Local budgets reflect community priorities. Budgets are policy statements at the local level where deficit spending is not an option; therefore proposals with a budget impact, especially a proposal that will generate increased local sales tax receipts, could be seen positively, but proposals that incur real costs for the community may require multiple levels of approval to be adopted.
• Differing power structures. Local government is managed in a number of different ways. Some have county/city managers, some with chief executives (mayor or county executive), and some are run by a collective council. Understanding the power structure is critical prior to engagement.
• Local voices matter. Like all politicians, hearing about important issues from their constituents is critical.
• Building consensus is key. Unlike other levels of government, local government can predominately operate in a nonpartisan or bipartisan manner.

Engagement:

• Identify the power structure and develop a strategy to engage with the decision makers who have the most influence on a particular issue (i.e. mayor, city manager, council president).
• Engage local supporters to communicate directly with officials.
• Provide reliable information that supports your position directly to officials. Given their direct ties to the community they represent, policymakers are more open to understanding all sides of a particular issue, its potential impact on the community, and data that supports your position.
• Public engagement is an important complement to lobbying and directly engaging with policymakers.

View Local Case Studies

---

Finally, how can DCI Group help? 

• You can’t beat our experience. For 25 years we have operated hundreds of multistate and local policy campaigns.
• With 1,500 bipartisan professionals in all 50 states, we know who has the best relationships and who can help you win.
• We have a four-step process that meets you wherever you are – from passive information-gathering to evaluating threats to managing multistate and local campaigns to optimizing large teams (while cutting costs).

Let us know how we can help you.  Contact Us

DCI Group has an extensive track record designing and winning ballot measure campaigns, including victories with sports stadiums, airports, gaming and casino approval, as well as energy, telecom, education, and general tax measures. Our experience includes both statewide ballot measures and local approval for highly charged topics.View Ballot Initiative Case Studies

---

Finally, how can DCI Group help? 

• You can’t beat our experience. For 25 years we have operated hundreds of multistate and local policy campaigns.
• With 1,500 bipartisan professionals in all 50 states, we know who has the best relationships and who can help you win.
• We have a four-step process that meets you wherever you are – from passive information-gathering to evaluating threats to managing multistate and local campaigns to optimizing large teams (while cutting costs).

Let us know how we can help you.  Contact Us