Making Laws WITH the People
Collaborative legislating with POPVOX
“[A]t every step of the process we had the input of the communities most affected by the legislation, and the participation of the working group. The platform allowed us to do that. … It was inclusive, it was transparent, and I hope that leaders learn from our experience. I think that the adaptability of this process from the ground up, legislation and policy development, is something that could be of great utility to individual offices as well as to committee work in Congress.” — House Natural Resources Committee Chair Raúl Grijalva [D, AZ-07]
Traditionally, the process of developing legislation goes something like this: Member has an idea for a bill; Member and staff draft bill; Member introduces bill; Member shops bill to interest groups for their buy-in and support.
Many great bills go nowhere for a lack of buy-in from committees, interest groups, and constituents after staff has already invested significant time and resources into drafting.
As House Natural Resources Committee Chair Raúl Grijalva explained:
In 2014, I introduced an environmental justice bill. It didn’t have the buy-in from the environmental justice community… because people didn’t feel invested in it, even though I felt I wrote the perfect piece of legislation… I learned a lesson there.
In 2019–2020, the House Natural Resources Committee, led by Chair Grijalva, pioneered a new process for drafting and refining legislation in an open, collaborative process. The committee turned to POPVOX, a neutral, nonpartisan platform for civic engagement and legislative information, which provided a way for the committee to incorporate input from stakeholder groups, individuals, and committee members throughout the development and refinement of the Environmental Justice for All Act. The result was a “People’s bill” — one that reflects the priorities of EJ community members.
“The Environmental Justice for All Act signals the evolution of our democratic institutions and a concrete advancement of innovative governing principles… The more inclusive, participatory design of collaborative governance projects like the Environmental Justice for All Act expand the role of citizens beyond elections, giving us all a seat at the table in formulating policy and addressing the challenges our communities face. — Michael Latner, Union of Concerned Scientists, “Natural Resources Committee Embraces Collaborative Governance”
The Collaborative Lawmaking Roadmap
The EJforAll process provides a roadmap for other committees and lawmakers who want to provide more opportunities for public input and collaboration throughout the legislative process.
1. Request for Input. (RFI):
Get community feedback and build buy-in on proposals before going through the legislative drafting process.
In June 2019, the Natural Resources committee introduced its “Principles for Environmental Justice Legislation” and invited individuals, stakeholders, and Members of Congress to provide statements and suggested edits or additions. This was also an opportunity to convene stakeholders at an in-person and live streamed “EJ Convening”.
The Natural Resources committee used the Request for Input (RFI) an opportunity to hone guiding principles even before drafting legislative text.
Any committee or individual lawmaker can use the POPVOX RFI format to seek input on any topic.
2. Invite input from lawmakers:
Build buy-in among original cosponsors early, easily track office comments without email chains
In addition to requesting comments from individuals and stakeholder groups, the Natural Resources Committee invited lawmakers to provide their own statements on the principles ahead of the bill’s drafting. Verified Congressional staff can use the “LegiDash” portal to add a statement on any pending bill on behalf of their boss.
For Committee leadership, the ability to solicit and organize Member feedback can supplement hearings, and start to build the foundation for support once the bill is introduced. For Committee and member staff, soliciting feedback via LegiDash cuts down on staff legwork and keeping track of email correspondence.
3. Inline comments on draft bill text
Invite constituents and organizations to review draft text and offer feedback and suggestions
Committee staff incorporated comments received through the RFI process into draft bill language, which was then released on the POPVOX Madison platform, to allow for inline suggestions and edits on the draft. Through January of 2020, the committee received over 350 inline comments on the draft legislation from both individuals and organizations.
Committee staff found that comments were substantive, helpful, and in many cases, identified issues that would not have otherwise been considered. The benefit of this process extended beyond substantive contributions, and to the overall transparency of the process.
“POPVOX was an equalizer. You did not need to have a federal lobbyist living in DC to be part of the process.” — Natural Resources Committee Outreach Director, Chris Espinosa
4. Submitting Public Input to Congressional Record
POPVOX allowed staff to collect organizational input, constituent input, in one easy-to-work-with place for introduction into the Congressional record around a bill’s introduction and markup.
In the markup period, Members have the opportunity to enter related materials into the record. POPVOX makes it easy to collect and submit constituent input received in the drafting process, keeping all comments received in a format that can be entered into the Congressional record. While this is helpful on the individual comments, it is again especially helpful for organization comments whose support can help build a coalition beyond the committee itself. Example: https://www.congress.gov/116/meeting/house/111066/documents/HHRG-116-II00-20201001-SD005.pdf
POPVOX Request for Input and Madison inline editing tools are available for any committee or lawmaker. Want to know more? Reach out at info@popvox.com
More on the Collaborative Legislative Process:
Reflections from advocates:
- Defend Our Future: “A Seat at the Table”
- Union of Concerned Scientists: “Natural Resources Committee Embraces Collaborative Governance”
Media coverage:
- Press conference for bill introduction
- E&E News: Dems roll out sweeping environmental justice bill
- Grist: An effort to bring ‘environmental justice for all’ goes virtual
- AFP: McEachin, Grijalva unveil landmark environmental justice legislation
Supporting materials:
POPVOX is a neutral, nonpartisan platform for civic engagement and governing.
