On Dec. 4, my colleagues and I were sworn into the Maine Senate, beginning both the 132nd Legislature and my third term in the Senate. It’s an incredible honor to have your trust to represent you in the State House. While it means the world to be your voice in Augusta, I actually want to take a moment to talk about the ways that you can get directly involved in the legislative process. We have many ways to allow your voice to be heard in Augusta, and you deserve the opportunity to speak on the issues and topics you are passionate about.

One of the best opportunities to voice your opinion on a bill would be during a public hearing . After a bill is referenced to a committee inside the Senate Chamber, it is then given a public hearing date. When that date arrives, the public is invited to testify “for,” “against,” or “neither for nor against” the bill. This time for public feedback is critical, as it gives us lawmakers the opportunity to hear how proposals might affect our constituents, understand their feelings regarding certain bills and determine whether or not a bill will bring about positive change.

Submitting testimony isn’t as difficult as you might imagine, but it does require a few steps.

First, you will want to take a look at the calendar tab on the Maine Legislature’s website. This will give you a weekly snapshot of what bills are going to be heard in committee and when. When you see a bill that you would like to speak on, then you can choose from a number of ways to submit testimony.

You can submit and give testimony both online or in person in Augusta. If you would like to give testimony in person, all you need to do is come to Augusta with 20 copies of your testimony at the time and place of the public hearing.

If you would like to give testimony over Zoom, you must sign up on the Legislature’s website, and the committee clerk will send along a Zoom link for you to join. You can do this by following the prompts on the website’s testimony submission tab.

Finally, if you do not wish to verbally address the committee, you can still submit written testimony for the committee to review by following a similar process on the Legislature’s website. All written testimony is made available after the hearing, and you can find it by searching for the bill on the Legislature’s home page.

Public hearings are a pivotal step in the legislative process and can have a large impact on the committee’s votes and influence how a bill might be amended during the committee process. As someone who has been chairing committees for a few years now, I know how powerful these public testimonies can be and how important it is for constituents to participate in this process. If you or somebody you know needs assistance joining a public hearing or with any other government service, please reach out to me.

Joseph Rafferty is a member of the Maine State Senate representing District 34, Berwick, Kennebunk, Kennebunkport, North Berwick and Wells. He can be reached at Joe.Rafferty@legislature.maine.gov or 207-287-1515. Sign up an email newsletter at mainesenate.org.

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