It's April 2018, do you know where your elected officials are?
The 2018 Maryland legislative session has come to a close. Read our blog on the 2018 session here!
Regardless of our accomplishments, with more federal rollbacks coming every week, we have to set the goalpost farther than we ever have before. And we can't wait 9 months to get going. We need to start now.
The legislative session is just one part of our cycle of advocacy. Before session we spent months educating our communities and advocating for our issues. And after session, after our legislators have voted, it is time for follow up and accountability. We need our legisators to know that we are in it for the long-haul, that we will thank them for their support, or hold them accountable for their mistakes. Our efforts start right now.
With the session over, legislators are organizing or participating in local “wrap-up” town halls meetings. These meetings offer an important opportunity to continue to make our voices heard.
Sierra Club has developed materials to support our volunteers and other organizations take advantage of these public to raise our issues. And perhaps to organize our own meetings if none exist.
Here's How to Get Involved
1. Download our Town Hall Meetings Toolkit - Take a look at the best practices for setting up and facilitating meetings with your State legislators.
2. Find or Plan a meeting with your legislators (Schedule of Town Hall Meetings) - This is our compilation of meetings we are aware of, as you can see there aren't many currently scheduled. We'll update this document as meetings are scheduled and announced but we could use your help. If you don't see one for your area, please contact your reps and let us know what you find out! Our Town Hall Meetings Toolkit contains directions on how to plan and execute your own meetings if none are currently planned. Not every legislator plans to host a town hall so you can work with other local district residents to host a meeting and invite your legislator to attend!
3. Get the facts on your reps. Use our 2018 Vote Tracker - Use this document to see how your representatives voted on the issues during the 2018 Legislative Session. You can use this information to decide what questions and issues to address in your meeting! Note: A number of bills died before receiving full floor votes so the tracker may have several blank spaces. Refer back to our blog for full breakdowns on each bill.
This page is a work in progress so send questions and feedback to legislative.intern@mdsierra.org!
