Advocates’ Toolkit

We believe the best health care solutions . . .

. . . are found when everyone works together to build them. Taking your first steps to speak out? Long-time mover and shaker? Either way, you’ll find tools and tips on this page that are useful, and (sometimes) fun and interactive. Give ‘em a try!

Click below to jump to your topic of choice

Know Your Officials
I’m Just a Bill
Be an Online Watchdog
Media Tools: Make a Public Statement
It’s Your Legislature: Get More Stuff!

Know Your Officials

Most elected officials listen carefully when someone from their own district contacts them — especially a voter. If you don’t know who represents you, you can find out here.

Project Vote Smart: a non-partisan “one stop shop.” Enter your zip code to get a list of your elected officials, from Washington, DC, on down to the state House and Senate. Find out who’s in office now, who’s running and more.
Am I registered to vote? Elected officials are especially interested in what voters from their district think. The Kentucky Secretary of State’s office has a “Voter Information Center” you can use to find out if you’re registered. Follow the links to your officials. Or find out where to vote.
The Governor’s Homepage: Click the homepage to get a welcome. Click Contact and you can send the Governor a message. Click Media Room and you can view press releases and even subscribe to get a news “feed” on your computer.
www.ky.gov: Find your way around Kentucky state government, using tabs for citizens or business. Health care advocates may want to get familiar with a key executive branch agency: the Cabinet for Health and Family Services. It’s got a page full of toll free hotlines.
Kentucky Legislative Research Commission: The LRC has lots of useful stuff on bills, laws, regulations and more. You can find out and contact your:
- House Members: Look up Representatives district by district, complete with pictures and short bios.
- Senators: look up Senators, too.
Online tool: E-mail Members of the Kentucky General Assembly
The phone works too: Toll-free numbers for the General Assembly.

I’m Just a Bill!

Good stuff here to know how a bill becomes a law:

The “School House Rock” animated version. Let You Tube show you.
How a Bill Becomes Law: Slide show Click Here
The Road to Passage: How a Bill Becomes a Law: A quick overview of the steps a bill must go through from introduction to final passage in Kentucky.
How a Bill Becomes Law: One page guide to the process in Kentucky.

Be an Online Watchdog

Grab hold of online tools to keep track of bills and regulations, custom-tailored to your topics of interest:

Legislative Research Commission: find lawmakers, bills, committee schedules and agendas, research reports and more.
Bill watch: a free legislative tracking service offered by Kentucky state government. Enter a profile of your interests. Get email updates automatically when things happen.
RegWatch: State agencies make regulations to carry out laws. Set up your profile and see when “regs” that interest you are filed. Good Q&A on the regulation process, too.
Kentucky Educational Television: KET provides online video coverage of the Kentucky General Assembly as a public service. During legislative sessions, Senate and House chambers and committee meetings are streamed live.

Media Tools: Make a Public Statement

Contact Information for Kentucky Newspapers : Find your local papers.
Media Guide: media guide includes newspapers and TV stations, with links to websites.

It’s Your Legislature: Get More Stuff!

These items can help you dig deeper into Kentucky’s legislative process. They come from the Legislative Research Commission.

Tip Sheets

Click below for:

Advocacy Action's 11 Commandments for citizen advocates
Real Clout's work sheet for honing your "elevator speech"
A one-pager on IRS lobbying rules for non-profits from Alliance for Justice

Hidden Gem

Kentucky Educational Television has launched a Be Well Kentucky initiative:

" . . . marshaling all of our resources—statewide broadcast, video and multimedia production, web sites, community outreach, school-based services, and partnerships—in a major initiative to improve Kentuckians’ health attitudes and practices and “move the meter” on Kentucky’s poor showing in national health statistics."