Grassroots Legislative Advocacy in a 'Passed State'

Once our state team has achieved success in getting the COS Resolution through both chambers, what is left for us to do? That is a common question in a newly “passed state.”

Typically getting to this point has been a long slog with numerous setbacks and the feeling of accomplishment is palpable. Celebration is well deserved, and often some of the old-time troopers feel a need to step back and take a much-needed rest. This is probably the case in many “passed states,” and not really unexpected.

The fact is that new (and arguably equally important) challenges await the grassroots once the resolution has passed. The most obvious is, of course, the defense of our hard-won resolution from the inevitable resolution to repeal that is always in the desk drawer of our opponents. We cannot sleep, and we cannot let our grassroots atrophy.

Of course, we can stay busy helping other states who are working toward their resolutions by making TelePatriot calls, attending their rallies, and block-walking when we can. But keeping grassroots activists involved, and yes, ACTIVE, is the key to staying sharp. So, there is more.

In South Carolina this past legislative session, we worked diligently to advocate for legislation that we deemed important to the people of SC and that also was important to our allies and supporters in the legislature. We identified one bill that we would advocate for as an organization, and several others that we would work for as individual citizens who have gained credibility with our legislators.

Our main focus was the repeal of the 1980s-era Certificate of Need legislation that as a federal mandate at the time gave preferential treatment to medical facilities and hospitals in a misguided effort to assure service to potentially unprofitable rural areas of the state. The 1980s thinking was that by allowing these providers a sort of Monopoly status and allowing competition only after the competition “qualified” for the Certificate of Need – which could essentially be vetoed by the sole provider – rural areas would be served. As it turns out, we found that competition is actually GOOD for consumers. Imagine that!

This was not a case of going after “low-hanging fruit.” This bill faced strong headwinds in important places in the business community and in the legislature. The conventional wisdom was that no one would pay any attention to the legislation because a) they would not understand it, and b) they would not be motivated by its importance. The bill was deemed not very “sexy.”  Lots of shiny objects like abortion, education, and constitutional carry would receive all the attention. The lobbyists might just get this thing tabled.

We received national approval to put our grassroots to work on this bill and wow, did we make a difference! After quick Senate approval, we knew that the real headwinds were in the House. Getting whip counts in sub-committee and committee was muddled at best, but we got to work in shoring up the votes to pass the legislation along to the floor. We were successful in getting the unamended bill through for House debate. The resulting amendments were few and not harmful to the effort, simply putting a short sunset clause for a few problematic sectors. The House finally passed the bill unanimously, and the Senate concurred with the amended bill almost immediately.

We were told by a cooperating organization that the consensus among insiders is that our grassroots phone calls, legislative contacts, emails, and texts made this happen and wilted any efforts to keep this legislation from receiving a vote. We will take that kind of compliment, any day!

Beyond our work on Certificate of Need repeal, we as individuals were actively helping save a wrecked abortion bill by supporting shuttle diplomacy between the House and Senate that revived an earlier bill that they were able to pass in Special Session after the legislature adjourned for the year. We think and hope we had some positive influence there as well, and prevented South Carolina from being the abortion destination state for the Southeast.

So, yes, there is a lot to do after the Resolution has passed.

 
Learn how you can get involved here.