Sign up early and be flexible the day-of. Some meetings start early in the morning and can run well into the night depending on the length of the agenda.

Prepare your remarks in different lengths. Depending on the amount of speakers, your time may be restricted with very little notice. Prepare a three minute, one and a half minute, and 30 second version of your testimony. You can bring handouts as well for your representatives.

Practice reading your testimony at an even pace. You don’t have to be a public speaker to make an impact, just speak from the heart and address two to three main points and be clear on what you’re asking lawmakers to support or oppose.

Lead with your values. Floridians are hardworking people and we deserve lawmakers who respect our rights to privacy, dignity, and freedom, regardless of political ideology. Be sure to center your remarks around our shared values as Floridians, whether that’s the value of hard work, privacy, dignity, or freedom. Many issues are nonpartisan and we earn more support when we speak to our collective needs and how addressing the issues impacting all of us will benefit our communities as a whole.

Speak to what you know. Whether it is rising costs around housing or access to critical health care services, focus on how the issue you are speaking about has directly impacted your daily life. Sharing lived experiences and local perspectives personalizes an issue for lawmakers and drives home how the people they are elected to serve are feeling the effects of their policy choices every day.

Invite others, hold your lawmakers accountable all year-round, and share your testimony on social media to increase awareness and support. There is often a livestream and recording accessible online, too.

Overall: Every Floridian should have the freedom to be healthy, prosperous, and safe. That means we need real solutions for working families and seniors that expand access to health care, bring down costs and raise wages, and protect public safety.

Affordability: Florida is too expensive for Floridians. We’re paying more for everything from food to insurance to groceries, just to fund more tax breaks for the ultrawealthy and multinational corporations. It’s time for big and bold changes that lower our costs and raise our wages, root out corruption, and put hardworking Floridians first.

Immigration: Our neighbors who are immigrants that share our values, work hard, and pay their taxes, should not be denied the opportunity to build a life here and continue contributing to our local communities and economic success. That’s why I’m encouraging our representatives to advocate for humane immigration reform that addresses systemic problems and provides a pathway to staying in the country for those who are willing to work hard and follow the rules.

• Everglades Detention Camp: Our tax dollars – tax dollars that are meant to help Floridians recovering from hurricanes and other natural disasters – should not be bankrolling a makeshift detention camp in the middle of the Everglades, where people are being caged in inhumane conditions while politically-connected contractors and corporate elite donors cash in. It’s costly, corrupt, and cruel and does nothing to fix our broken immigration system or make life more affordable for us.

Housing: Rents are skyrocketing, insurance is getting more unaffordable, and our family budgets are being crushed. We don’t want more tax breaks for the same multinational corporations who are driving up costs. We want leaders who will stand up to greedy developers, insurance companies, and corporate landlords, and fight for our working Floridians and seniors.

Health care: 

• Medicaid: We all need a safety net when times are tough, and Medicaid is that safety net for millions. It provides essential care for low-income working families, children, seniors, and people with disabilities. But the cuts coming from Washington mean millions losing coverage and higher costs for everyone. We’re  asking you to protect access to affordable, quality care in our communities.

• Reproductive health care: Every Floridian should have the freedom to make private health care decisions without political interference, including when it comes to family planning decisions like IVF, contraception, and abortion care.

Public Safety: Safer communities are stronger communities. We’re asking for the public safety resources our communities need to keep our neighborhoods free from illicit drugs and violent crime, expand access to mental health services and strengthen red flag laws, and promote responsible gun ownership with background checks and training programs.

Education: Across Florida, billions of dollars in essential school maintenance projects are unfunded, hundreds of thousands of students don’t have a full-time classroom teacher due to a teacher shortage, and our neighborhood schools are being forced to shut down while billions of our tax dollars are diverted to unaccountable corporate-run schools. Our kids deserve the freedom to learn in a safe environment with the resources they need to thrive.

Environment: Whether we are new to the state or have farmed, hunted, and worshipped here for generations, we all enjoy our state’s natural treasures and our Florida way of life. But from Pensacola to Key West, Floridians are enduring more extreme heat, stronger storms, and increasingly frequent red tide and algae blooms. While we work hard to preserve our Florida way of life, our environment, and the communities we call home, we need politicians to address the climate crisis, not side with the corporate polluters who fund their political ambitions.