How to Contact Legislators and Testify During a Closed Legislature

Janine Hansen, director of the Nevada Families for Freedom recently spoke at the monthly meeting of the Churchill Republican Women. She spoke on several issues pending or expected to be introduced during the 81st Nevada Legislative session. 

Hansen has been involved in Nevada politics for most of her life and is a registered lobbyist. She encourages citizens to become involved in the legislative process and says officially voicing opinion by writing letters, calling representatives, and testifying during committee meetings is the most effective way to affect change. 

That process is complicated this year, due to COVID the legislature building is closed to the public and committee hearings are being held virtually. Hansen provided detailed instructions that people can use to voice their concerns and participate in the legislative process.

The State of Nevada Legislature website is located at www.leg.state.nv.us and Hansen says the first step is to know the bill number of the legislation and use that to find the committee and the meeting time. At the home page, click on “Scheduled Meetings” on the right-hand side of the top blue bar and scroll down to the specific committee and click on that. 

There will be a box on the right “participate” that will bring up a box with another “participate” button. That will take the user to the registration screen which will then go to the option to offer comment on a specific “agenda item” or “public comment.” All testimony is being limited strictly to two minutes, so Hansen recommends preparing remarks carefully. After selecting the rest of the choices, click on the “I’m not a robot” and follow the instructions before clicking “Submit.” 

An email will then be sent confirming participation and give a number to call and the meeting ID which will be required to enter. When the meeting starts there will most likely be several items on the agenda and Hansen recommends being on the call at the beginning of the meeting because the order of the items is often changed. Listen for instructions and when your turn comes, press *6 to unmute, give your name and spell it and then speak for the two-minute testimony time. 

The help line is 775-684-1300 or email [email protected]