Business League for Massage Therapy & Bodywork

This page was last updated: January 1, 2011 5pm MST
LEGISLATIVE >

1.  Talking Points.

The most important stuff is bolded:

It is crucial that we all stay on the same talking points, to ensure the broadest support possible.
To talk to your legislator, the easiest thing you can do is give them a draft of the bill and a FAQ sheet.  The points below are some tips to talking effectively with your legislator.

a.  Stick to the FAQ sheet.  It covers the points reasonably well.  Remember we must have a unified message in order to influence the bill, and this is it.

b.  Don't bluff your way through or make up an answer - it's ok to say "I don't know."  If you try to bluff your way through, you will lose all credibility.  The best way to handle it:  If you don't absolutely know the answer to a question tell them you will find out the answer and then contact our legislative liaison. (that's a link, click on it to send her an email).

c.  Talk about public protection:  It is the duty of the legislature to come up with laws that protect the public from harm.  Yet at the same time their job is to ensure that personal freedoms aren't encroached upon.  Our goal as a group is to influence the path of any bill so that the bill balances these two ideas. We will actively work to ensure that non-harming, unlicensed practices can be practiced legally while still providing appropriate public protection. 

d.  Be polite.  If they're not interested or opposed to the idea, don't be combative.  Just remind them that these practices are non-harming, that proper public protection is included, that while we may not agree on what works and what doesn't with regard to treatment, that you believe that the consumer has the right to make that choice.  And finally, that all we want to do is ensure that any bill allows a practitioner who is practicing ethically the ability to successfully defend themselves in the courts and in front of a board.

e.  Also, if someone is opposed to our efforts, you need to let us know what their arguments are so that we may counter them during the process.

f.  Talk about your personal experience. 
Practitioners:  If you've been sanctioned by a board, and are trained to do what you did, didn't do the prohibited acts listed in the bill, and no one was harmed, then this is exactly what we're talking about.  Talk about it and emphasize those three points.  If you are a practitioner who hasn't been sanctioned, discuss how you are technically breaking the law and how you could be sanctioned.
Clients:  sanctioning unlicensed practitioners harms you because your access to such services is restricted and creates a monopoly for licensed practitioners, driving up costs.  And consumers have the right to seek out the health care of their choice - particularly when those practices present no or low risk to the consumer.  Changes that we suggest to any bill preserves that consumer freedom. 

2.  Finding your legislators.

Each of us is represented by a Senator and a Representative.
Find those two, plus if you live in a more urban area, find your surrounding legislators to talk with them too.

If you do not know who your legislators are:
     Go to www.leg.mt.gov and click on the "Find a Legislator" Link
     -- there you have many options to find out who your legislators are.
   
Once you know the names and just need their contact info:
     Go to www.leg.mt.gov and click on the "Find a Legislator" Link
     -- At the top of the page is a "By Name" heading. 
         Click on the "current legislators" link.  It will take you to a list
          of names.  Clicking on any of those names will take you to their
           contact information.

3.  Contacting legislators before the session.

Before the session, you may contact your legislator to discuss the talking points.
It is crucial that we all stay on the same talking points, unless you are absolutely sure that the legislator is ideologically aligned with you.  Please don't assume that they are.

Give them a draft of the bill and the FAQ sheet. 
If you don't absolutely know the answer to a question tell them you will find out the answer and then contact our legislative liaison.

Before the session, you will be contacting the legislator at their home or work or via personal email.  Contact information for legislators can be found under #2:  finding your legislator.

If you send an email put the bill number in the subject line

4.  Contacting the legislature during the session.

During the session, we don't want to be bothering legislators until it is the appropriate time.
For example, when a committee hearing is up, we want to contact the committee members during that week, not the whole legislature.  When a floor vote is coming up, we will want you to contact your own legislator (in that house only) that week. 

We will post an alert telling you what message we want to convey when it is time.

By Phone:  406-444-4800
  They will ask your name and other info (giving them your town is helpful as it lets the legislator know whether or not you are a constituent.  You may leave a message for 1 entire committee or for up to 5 legislators per call.  That makes it easy for us when we tell you to "call x committee and tell them you support bill x."  Hours it is available:  7:30am-5pm weekdays, 8am to adjournment on Saturdays.

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