Legislative Testimony:
A Guide for Citizen Activists
The state legislature makes many decisions that affect the environmental issues that we care about. You can influence these decisions by testifying at public hearings and/or submitting written testimony expressing your views. Here are some suggestions to make your testimony most effective.
Both written and oral testimony can be very brief. They should include:
WRITTEN TESTIMONY
You may want to highlight specific components of the bill that you especially support or oppose or that are especially important to you. To ensure that every member of the committee receives your testimony, mail copies to each of their state house offices.
The following format can be used for written testimony:
Testimony in support of [Bill #]
[Bill Title]
Presented to [Committee]
[Date]
[Text]
Respectfully submitted,
[Signature]
[Name]
[Town or Organization]
ORAL TESTIMONY
Oral Testimony should be no longer than 3 minutes. Be certain not to just read from testimony and not to repeat arguments that have already been presented. If your whole argument has already been presented, simply introduce yourself and your organization and say that you support the bill for the same reasons that have already been mentioned and are present in the written testimony that you are submitting. The committee will be much more receptive and appreciative of such an approach.
Address the committee members and leader(s) respectfully and personally by name, and thank them for the opportunity to present testimony. For example: "Senator X, Representative Y, and Members of the Z Committee, Thank you for giving me the opportunity to address you today…"
If you are submitting written testimony, bring about 15 copies to the hearing to distribute to committee members.
INVOLVING YOUR LEGISLATORS
Be sure to contact your state senator and representative before the hearing to inform them about the issue and to ask them to testify in support of (or opposition to) the bill that you are concerned about. Also, remember to send your legislators copies of your testimony.
NOTE: This format also applies to presenting and submitting testimony to state agencies.
Sample Testimony:
Testimony on S.981
"An Act Clarifying the Definition of the Term ‘River’."
Presented to the Natural Resources and Agriculture Committee
March 8, 1999
Chairman Pacheco, Chairman Petersen, Members of the Committee:
My name is Nam Kapur, and I am the Legislative Director of the Environmental League of Massachusetts (ELM). The Environmental League is a citizen-based policy and advocacy organization whose mission is to help bring about strong and responsible environmental policies in Massachusetts, a mission we have pursued for more than 100 years.
ELM asks to be recorded in opposition to S.981, a bill that for all intents and purposes would "gut" the Rivers Protection Act. This specified change in the definition of "river" would essentially eliminate all feeder brooks and streams from the stewardship of the Rivers Protection Act. To give you a general idea of the impact of this change, this amounts to more than 50% of the rivers in the state. As you are probably well aware, little can be done to mitigate the effects of contamination of waterways in the commonwealth if we do not look at the ecosystem as a whole.
Thank you for considering this testimony.
Respectfully submitted,
Namrita Kapur
Legislative Director