In every legislative session, a handful of major issues tower over all of the rest. So keep your antennae turned on to detect them, because they will eat a lion’s share of the legislators‚ time and keep them pre-occupied. And that spells trouble for everyone working less contentious bills. The big issues crowd out others, especially during the logjam at the end of a session, when the clock becomes your enemy or your friend.
The dominant bills affect the movement of all legislation, and the lobbyists working the smaller bills just have to navigate around them. It’s not always all bad — sometimes you can exploit the condition. ...
“Sometimes you can hit a home run when nobody’s looking,” said John “Eck” Rose, a former Senate president.
Rose said the best time to get a bill passed is early in the session before the big bills get rolling.
“The big issues are not resolved early, and your bill can get tied up in them as the session goes along. If I had a piece of legislation that I was lobbying for, I’d try to get it through as early as possible,” he said. ...
Big issues require a fair amount of public support because they’re almost always controversial, which means they have a large number of people on both sides.
As a lobbyist, should you get involved with the big controversial issues? Rose's advice: “Stay focused on your own bill, and don't let it appear you're interested in other bills at all.” ...
Swapping influence
A lot of vote swapping goes on behind the scenes in passing important bills. For instance, promises may be made to pass your little bill, if you will persuade so-and-so legislator to favor or oppose one of the session's big bills. It can work for you; just keep it mind that it’s done with some peril.
[More in the book.]
