Contacting your Legislator

Many of our members write to us regularly and suggest we contact the lawmakers and ask them to do something or to oppose a proposed law or ordinance.

Chances are, if it’s an issue that concerns our membership or will hurt public safety, we are on it. However, you cannot underestimate the importance of contacting your legislators directly and on your own behalf. Lawmakers already know FAC is out there advocating and probably already know our position on a certain matter. What they need to hear are from members of the public, from their constituents.

Politicians are politicians. They want to get elected so they respond to the public sentiment. If an increased residency restriction is proposed in Pasco County (which it is), residents of Pasco or neighboring Counties should be calling in to voice their opinion.

Finding the contact information for your legislators is easy. It can generally be done by doing a simple Google search. To find the local commissioners in Pasco County, I searched for “Pasco County Commissioners” and found their contact information here: http://www.pascocountyfl.net/index.aspx?NID=147.

Similarly, the Florida House and Senate are found here: http://www.myfloridahouse.gov/sections/representatives/representatives.aspx or http://www.flsenate.gov/senators.

Don’t worry about how well written your letters are or whether it will be read. Most legislators have aides who read their messages anyhow and share the general idea. If a significant number of concerns come in about a bill or other issue, your legislator will know.

If you have any questions about contacting your legislator, please don’t hesitate to ask.