How to Take Action on a Bill

Contact your state representative

• Firstly, you will want to get in touch with your state representative.
  • Pay close attention to whether you are dealing with a House Bill or a Senate Bill. Depending on where the bill originated, you will need to contact the appropriate elected official.
• Afterward, follow the links below to identify what House/Senate district you live in and who represents you.
  • Find your Local Legislator 

• • The Texas Tribune Elected Officials Directory

• Once you have identified who your elected official is and have their contact information, you may proceed by writing to them by mail, calling them, or emailing them. In doing so, remember to express your stance clearly.
  • If calling, you will want to prepare a script beforehand.
  • If writing by mail, you must remember to format the mailing address and salutation as shown below:

The Honorable (insert name of Senator)
Texas Senate
P.O. Box 12068
Austin, Texas 78711-2068

The Honorable (insert name of Representative)
Texas House of Representatives
P.O. Box 291
Austin, Texas 78768-2910

• • For more information… see instructions online

Contact the relevant House/ Senate Committee

• To find which committee has been referred to your bill of interest, you can visit the Texas Legislative Online (TLO) website… click here
• Once you are on the TLO website, you will be prompted to search for your bill. Make sure to select the correct legislative session and type the correct bill number in the search bar.
  • ex. HB 3213 or SB 976
• Once you land on your bill of interest page, you can scroll down and identify which committee the bill has been referred to. Click on the hyperlink of the committee.
• On the committee website, you will be able to find which representatives sit on that specific committee and their contact information.
• Now, you are ready to decide which means of communicating you will use to reach the elected officials on this specific committee. You may write to them by mail, call them, or email them. In doing so, remember to express your stance clearly.
  • It is important to consider each representative’s platform and ideology so that your message can be directed at the representative who supports your stance.

Contact Businesses and Organizations that may have a stake in the bill

• If your bill of interest impacts a specific occupation or a specific field of job, there likely exist various trade associations that represent companies and organizations that would have a stake in your bill of interest.
• Another way to identify relevant organizations is to search for non-profit organizations dedicated to the policy area of your bill of interest. 
• Once you have found an organization that is directly impacted bill your bill of interest, you may contact them.
  • When contacting the organization of your choice, it is important to convey how your bill of interest will impact their line of work, hence, why it is important that they engage with this bill via legislative action.
  • Needless to say, your stance on the bill should align with the organization’s political inclinations.