Educational Materials  |   There Ought to be a Law Website

Legislator Role

Now that you have chosen to examine closely one particular legislator featured in the film, There Ought to Be a Law, it is important that you understand their job as an elected official. Here are the things you will need to do in order to have enough information for your final presentation to the Governor's Task Force.

Become familiar with the Maine State Legislature website. Find your legislators in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.

1. Name of legislator:

2. This person is a member of what political party?

3. Watch the sections: again and take very meticulous notes. Answer the questions below.

"Gathering Signatures "
"The Hearing "
"Guns and Suicide "
"First Work Session "
"Second Work Session "

4.After you have re-examined their actions in the film, and finished the Interview lesson, prepare questions for the interview. If the person has email, you may want to conduct the interview this way. If you want to meet in-person with them, find their phone number and call to arrange a time for this. You may want to interview over the phone.

5.One of your interview questions should be:
Did a member of any special interest group approach you before, during, or after the work session for the bill LD 310?  If so, who was it, and what organization do they represent?

Go to the Maine Legislature Web Site and enter 361 in the LD# Find box. You will be able to see the status of the bill and the progress thus far. On the left sidebar you will see committee info, amendments, sponsors etc. Can you find any information on the current status of the bill?

As you know from watching the documentary, special interest groups were involved in the process of this bill before the Maine State legislature. The meaning of advocacy is to defend or maintain a cause or proposal. To lobby means to promote or secure passage by influencing public officials through education.

There are laws that regulate lobbying. The Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 specifies criteria for registering as a lobbyist and requires disclosure about who is paying for lobbyist activities and how much they are paying. The goal is to provide the public with information on how private activities influence policy.

Campaign Laws and Political Action Committees (PACS): The Federal Election campaign laws require that candidates disclose what contributions they have received and by whom.

The purpose of a PAC is to raise money to help elect and defeat candidates. Their funds come from voluntary contributions from the people or corporations they represent. A PAC can give up to $5,000. to a candidate committee per election.

Some people want to limit the abiliry of these lobbyists to influence candidates because they worry that the legislators' votes are "for sale."

Go to the Public Campaign Finance Page for the State of Maine and you will find a place to enter information on a candidate to find out the type of financing they have received. There is also a reported contribution search and a lobbyist list. Search the site for contributions made by PACS involved with this bill. These include Maine Citizens Against Handgun Violence, the National Rifle Association and the Sportsman Alliance of Maine.

Reasons to Lobby for a Cause

Just as in Cathy's case, it takes only one person to initiate change. Lobbying is something anyone can do who believes strongly in a cause. One example, Mothers Against Drunk Drivers is a group that has advocated for changes in drunk driving laws and as a result, many states have changed their laws. Another group, The National Coalition for the Homeless has advocated for changes in attitudes to help end homelessness in America. Their actions have helped bring attention to the issue and many homeless people have benefited from the efforts of this group.

Lobbyists help people by mobilizing local policy makers. Their work can involve letter writing, visits, strategy planning and phone calls.

Lobbying by nonprofit groups helps build visability and public trust. People asking their public officials for support can offer creative solutions that can often overcome root causes of problems.

Lobbying is part of our democratic system-if we did not have the right to affect public policy by our collective actions, we would be victims of tyranny as you have learned occurred during the American Revolution. At that time, we had no voice in changing laws.

But now that many lobbyists represent the interests of big business and not common citizens, has this "right" changed its meaning over time (much like the "right" to bear arms)?

Now that you have chosen to examine closely one member of a special interest group, featured in the film, There Ought to be a Law, it is important that you understand what this job entails. Here are the things you will need to do in order to have enough information for your final presentation to the Governor's Task Force.

What is the mission of this group?

When was this group established?

What people belong to this group? Why?