By Craig McDermott
Future posts on this subject will cover the basics of using the legislature’s website and finding and using campaign finance documents from the website of the Arizona Secretary of State.
However, this one will be focused on one of the few things that the AZLege has done right – users can submit comments on legislation online.
The online commenting and legislation tracking system is called the “Request to Speak”, or “RTS” system.
It is very useful in a state with pockets of population as dispersed at they are here.
The system isn’t perfect though – generally, one has to journey to the Capitol to initially set up an account.
Not too difficult for someone like me, who lives a 20-minute drive from the lege (depending on traffic), but for someone who lives in Holbrook or Bisbee or Yuma or any of the other far-flung population outposts in AZ?
A *major* road trip…
However, the Arizona Advocacy Network (AzAN) is working to help people strengthen their civic voices.
They are offering a webinar training on using RTS, a service that includes an option where they help create an account for participants.
Sign up here – there are two scheduled training sessions, plus AzAN plans to post the webinar on their website for future reference).
…More to come…
I’m a bit confused by the process for signing up to comment on proposed legislation. Where at the Capitol must you go, and when? Are there any times that are outside an 8-5 Monday-Friday time frame? (Unemployment isn’t 100%, thank goodness!)
There are kiosks in each legislative building where someone can sign up. However, so far as I know, they are only available during regular business hours.