As the dust settles on campaign season, policy teams must swiftly transition and prepare for the gauntlet that is the Texas Legislative Session.
For those unfamiliar, the Texas Legislature meets every other odd-numbered year for 140 days starting the second Tuesday in January. The 89th Texas Legislative Session is roughly 70 days away and lawmakers can begin filing bills as early as next Monday, November 11.
Preparing for Session
Government affairs teams must work closely with their communications counsel to ensure messaging, tactics and procedures stay in sync.
- Set the narrative for your key priorities now so that the opposition doesn’t beat you to it.
- Who is positively affected by these policies?
- Why is it relevant?
- Are there any negatives to consider?
- Build and check-in on those reporter relationships.
- Who are the best community contacts?
- Who are your statewide reporters to know?
- Are there any trade or industry connections you should make?
- Determine your earned media plan and cadence.
- Which platforms do you want to be active on?
- How often and who is providing policy updates?
- Will the newsletter be weekly or biweekly?
- Solidify your approval process to reduce the chance of errors.
- Who is drafting the content?
- Who is editing?
- Who has the final sign-off?
Now is the time to reassess your public affairs needs and determine any gaps in coverage.
The right support could be the difference between your stakeholders seeing your legislative strides in their local paper – or questioning what was accomplished.
