#7 - Cristina Masters & Laura Stowe - Navigating Legislative Advocacy

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Welcome back to Bills and Business, the show where we dive deep into the world of policy politics with the people who make it all happen. I'm Laura Carr, your host. And today we have two special guests who are working behind the scenes to shape the future of Texas. Joining us together are Laura Stowe and Christina Masters. Christina is the chief of staff for state rep Claudia Ordaz of El Paso.

She served as a Capitol staffer for three sessions and was previously at the Austin City Council, where Stowe is chief of staff to Senator Angela Paxton. The Senate District eight is an Austin native. Trinity University grad active in state government in 2008. She discovered her passion for the legislative process at a state agency. Today, we'll explore their unique perspectives from both House and Senate and discusses upcoming legislative session, gaining valuable insights into how advocacy and collaboration work in Texas politics.

So grab your coffee, settle in, and get ready for a conversation you don't want to miss. Okay, well, thank you so much for coming on the Bills and Business podcast. I'm so excited to talk to Christina and Laura here today a little bit more about, this legislative session and how they like to be communicated with with advocacy groups, lobbyists, all the above.

And we've got both parties represented today and both state Senate and House chambers. So, thank you so much for joining today ladies. I'm happy to be here with my favorite Laura’s. Laura squared love Christina working with her.

Laura squared I love it. Well, ladies, for those that don't know you, you want to share just a little bit about your background, how you became chief of staff in the House and Senate. Yeah, I'll go first. I started my career outside the building, and it was a lot of jobs where I had to ask for help.

Which being an advocate and working inside the building was really intimidating. And sometimes you don't understand why things happen the way that they do, or why something is going really slowly, or why and meeting just felt really off and unsuccessful. And I kind of got to a point in my career where I said, I want to be on the other side of the desk here, and I want to be providing help and me.

And it gave me a completely different perspective of what other people are experiencing coming in and what it's like internally, like what red tape or bureaucracy or politics are delaying sometimes good policies, or sometimes stopping bad policies. And it has given me a totally different perspective. And I've been, I've completed three sessions, in the Capitol.

I worked for representatives on Howard and Austin, and then I have done two sessions with Representatives Claudia or Dijon and Hasso. I also got to work on the local government level with masters and council member. So it's been great. I love government service. It's, really fulfilling and satisfying to me to be able to help people.

And it's it's a really cool, fun, frustrating place to be. But I love the people that I live there, and I love being able to, you know, be helpful and, you know, help us all kind of the ideals of government service of like the good jobs that, that people want to offer to them. I love that great.

And Laura. How did you get to the chair now? Well, it was, several years ago that, I was at a state agency. I've been, a long time state employee, and I've worked for four different agencies, but, got to do the fiscal notes and kind of fell in love with that process and procedures and, and wanted to, to get more involved.

And so, first worked in government relations and 84th session and at 85th as well as an agency. And, Senator Paxton was going to run. I was really excited. And so I got to help someone with that campaign. And, so I've been working in her office since 2019 and just been really blessed to, to get to know that district.

And we just had some amazing constituents and just, being able to support the senator. Like Christina said, it's very fulfilling and kind of being in that position to, to make sense of it all for, for those on the outside is it's just a great feeling. And, just enjoy enjoy the people. And the process and y'all are two people that I, that I greatly enjoy and so happy to, to be able to to speak with you today.

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I love it. Yes. We, very fun time last session all together. So it's been great having those colleagues. And I know it's this time right now is, you know, bill filings began a couple of weeks back. And how would you say this time differs from the start of session for you in your office, in your day to day?

What, what do those days look like now and then in session? How do they take shared? Sure. So it's been it's been pretty busy. It hasn't felt like we had much of an inner. So we're kind of just all racing to the session, trying to get our bill drives, trying to meet with as many stakeholders as we can and, and get get our legislation in the best position possible.

But we're running out of time. There's not enough time in the day to get everything accomplished, to be to be honest. And the volume is is high with was meeting request and I think that will continue in this session. And so just kind of managing and prioritizing kind of the urgent and important is really important. But it'll be I think, a very fast and furious session for sure.

That I hope it's fast. It's fast here. We've, we've been under the understanding that no matter what leadership we have on the House, I that work is going to be going sooner, which I am actually really excited about. That is something, I feel like there's this lag time where you have so much energy and you really want to start being productive.

And so I love that we may be starting work a little bit earlier. Somebody is going to be coaching me for saying about it. But I'm excited for that. I also have had the same feeling we were talking about this earlier. That with all the bills that have been filed so far, I think that there's just been a lot more lobby energy and advocacy energy than I've seen in the past.

At this time, usually once we start heading toward Thanksgiving, things are pretty quiet, but I felt that they've really been picking up. People are still asking me for meetings next week and then answer questions for me. And, I'm glad for that because I feel like there's a lot of work to do, and I feel the, you know, the countdown for coming, before the session starts and I want to meet with everybody to I want to feel like we're in a really good place.

And so many people have really great ideas right now, and I'm just feeling so much more energy, than than last session. I definitely feel like it shifted a lot. Yeah, I definitely feel the same in my role. Obviously a lot of my partners are in the lobby world or advocacy world. So when they're working, we're working and there are a lot of, over the weekend meetings that we had and, people are excited and buzzing and busy and rumors of just even more bills than ever filed this session.

So we'll see. What kind of does that typical day look like in session for you, or is there a typical day, a day all different? I think that's one thing we have in common. No day is the same, you know, and the Capitol and, and the different offices. But, it's just very it's just very busy day.

And I try to explain this for I'm sure you've been interviewing, you know, for the winter office that's, you know, very standard question that we get asked by them. And I'm like, it depends on the month. It depends on the week, because we have so many deadlines that it means our priorities are shifting all the time. When we think about, you know, for the viewers of your podcast, when is the time to build relationships?

It's now and it's the beginning of January. If you haven't already started, you're behind. And it's I would say we really start picking up and we're, we're deep into bills and committee hearings, you know, mid-February. So you have between now and then to really get on our radar, I start I start getting phase blind by the time we have made.

So if you've met with me for, you know, three minutes one time in February, and then you're back again in May to talk about the same bill that's now maybe hit the floor. I've probably forgotten you. Like we need so many people that if you really want to build relationships with office right now, when my brain is still able to make connections, is the time to do it.

If you know there's going to be an issue that you know is close to our hearts in our office, or is going to be on our committee, now is the time to talk to me about it so I can have better memory retention than I will at the end of April or beginning of May. You know, by the time when it's time for the like the last week of May, I might come and to somewhere right and barely functioning.

So this is really the time to to do meet and greet and start building those relationships, which I think a lot of a lot of folks have. And I think they've done a good job of kind of getting in and meeting the new staff, because that's the other thing is we have a lot of new staff that comes on board right before session, during session.

And you know what I tell staff that I said is, you know, January, February, kind of get your bearings. And then by by March, I mean, we're hitting the committees hard. We, April and May on the floor. And so it's kind of just, a marathon to keep, keep pushing through. But, it is a unique place and, blessed to be here.

It's definitely fun. I think the the record for me was like nine. I met with nine advocates and lobbyists in a day last session, and I just remember having this giant stack of cards on my desk and thinking, wow, we saw. And it was all in different topics, and it's a very unique and fun place. What would you say is the biggest differentiator from somebody who, advocates, advocates and, lobbies effectively to you what makes them a good lobbyist?

Honesty is the most important thing to me. I have, if people are giving me the punches and minuses of their bill, thank you so much for doing that, because I'm always going to ask you, okay, who opposes your bill? Because I do. I talk to both sides on pretty much I mean, on every issue. I try to get one thing from everybody on both sides, and I really appreciate honesty from lobbyists.

I have had some meetings where, a lobbyist, you know, in front of their client told me that the chair of a committee was, you know, supporting their bill. And then I called the clerk of that committee, and they have, you know, called the person a liar. And I you know, that that is awful for the client and for me, it puts me in an uncomfortable position.

So the next time you're following up with me, because I can't trust you. And so, really, honesty is so important to me. And I would also say, come with me. Give me a one pager, and then send it to me electronically afterwards, because I want to refer to what you're talking about in that moment. But also I do keep all of our one pagers and we upload it into our elements and again, it's like a management system.

So if I don't have to go in and take that piece of paper ID and scan a double sided piece of paper and upload it somewhere, if you've already sent it to me in a file that makes that gets out a ton of stamps and save some time. So I love both things. And I know that lobbyists will probably hate that, but in-person visits are honestly the best.

And if you can send me a text or email and just ask for those 15 minutes, I will do my darndest to give it to you, because it is the most effective for me and somebody who likes to see things and touch things and be able to ask questions interactively. We want to say that a phone call or I might have something else going on in that moment, or a text message.

Sometimes they're just not great. They don't feel very interactive. And I do like to ask questions if I have that opportunity. So, unfortunately lobbyists. Yeah, that those 15 minutes I like and I like when they come to my office and have a conversation with me, I always appreciate that. But one feature is incredibly important because, again, you can be giving it to me now and I might not need it for a couple of weeks, but I love having something to be able to give a what.

I agree with all of the above. And I often ask, you know, could you send that to me? And that's much appreciated. Because there is there's just a lot going on and it may just be something I need to share with another staff member. Or like you said, check in with the committee, make sure that's the case.

But transparency is just, essential. And just having that trust, goes a really long way. We might not agree on everything all the time. Or, you know, there may be, you know, things that come up where we just can't move forward with that bill, but at least I know know what those hiccups are. And if I see it later, you know, maybe something that can be resolved in the future.

So, I really appreciate people that that do that and come prepared. And like you said, you know, being able to ask questions and, and sometimes there's a lot of nuances. And so oftentimes will they'll get back to you pretty quickly with that, precise information. And then you can, you can save that for your records. So that's all of the things, the all those things.

Yeah. I'm really sorry, but yeah, if you want to be like top tier echelon lobbyist, you have to do everything. But there are people out there who are hustlers and they are doing that. And so if you're coming to me, you know, if you're just texting me about a bill versus somebody who spent those 15 minutes with me and gave you a one pager on it, I have so much more information from that person, and it's going to be lopsided.

And there are lobbyists out there that are doing a really just all of that and, that they are going to have a bigger impact. You both mentioned in person meetings are critical. Do you think that kind of those personal relationships outside of session are important? And or do they have impact in how you work through session with them at all?

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I'd say definitely. I mean, there's there's been many times where these, these lobbyists are the experts have been around a really long time. And I'll often, you know, as their opinion on something that's coming through that may not be our bill, but could be, tangential to something we're working on and something the lobbyist is working on and just kind of building that kind of relationship and trust that we talked about before.

I mean, that's that's who I'm going to ask, right? I'm going to ask somebody that I have a good rapport with. But the, I know what what they tell me is that is the truth and nothing but the truth. So that there and I will say, there's so many like she was saying, there's so many lobbyists that are just killing and doing amazing work and, really respect what they do.

They don't always get the best wraps wrap. So I will say in Texas, anyway, I think we have some very fine lobbyists that that are doing great work. Absolutely. I, I love not only, you know, we kind of have a reciprocal relationship in in certain ways. They're coming to ask and they're asking for us to talk to our bosses about a bill, or even if it's a final bill or whatever it is.

But I use lobbyists expertise and their connections all the time. I will touch somebody and say, do you have this person's number? Who's the expert in this area? And it is really nice to have already have built a relationship with somebody who is well-connected and is happy to help you, happy to send a number over or make an introduction for you, because we're putting ourselves in vulnerable situations, too.

Sometimes, and we're having to kind of blindly email people, and maybe try end up trying to learn something about an area we don't know a lot about. And so that's also vulnerable. And so when I have good relationships with, with lobbyists and advocate, I really appreciate the people that I know that I can trust and feel comfortable to help me with the things that I need help with.

And so I do my job at a small, for sure, mentioned communication styles as well. You know, in May everything is up in the air and in crazy time in Texas. But what's your preferred communication method with anybody on the outside trying to contact you during session? Is it email? Is it a text or is it just flagging you down the hallway?

What's an appropriate combination? I prefer email just to kind of set up, set up that in-person meeting just to make sure that I'm available, you know, to meet with them, if it's urgent. And I always tell people, call me call or text, but I prefer email to just kind of have that running chain going, and that I don't know if you feel similarly.

I think it kind of just depends on what that communication is like. The, the urgency of it. Yeah. I think like drop ins are kind of hard sometimes. Sometimes I've got like, I'm, I'm having a good conversation with somebody and somebody else drops it and it can get a little bit overwhelming to, to try to juggle everybody. Our bosses are really on the floor and lobbyists know that.

So it kind of also this means a lot to to take a lot of meetings. Yeah. And just sending a quick text to me and asking can I drop in for a 15 minutes? I appreciate that so much. Emails, I appreciate it with if we've had a good conversation and I then get an email summarizing what we just talked about, that is the best.

Because I can't remember all the details sometimes. Yeah. And yes, we only have 15 minutes with you and I, about 15 minutes and another 15 minutes. And it's hard to keep details straight sometimes. So I love a summary email without having a full on page attachment. And I would say even for right now, the things that are the most helpful, I think a general philosophy is to come to us with, specific suggestions rather than just complaints.

When people come and they say, you know, the foster care system needs to be fixed, I want to know how specifically what kind of legislation specifically, it would be really helpful. And so when lobbyists or advocates come prepared, we need a bill that does XYZ. I believe that is so much more effective of a 15 minute meeting than just telling me something is broken.

And if you're an expert or you're being paid by an expert to represent them, I want really solid ideas. And that is going to make our meeting, and our relationship go a lot easier, I think, and be more more effective and productive very much. I agree with that. Suggestions, are very helpful during session. And so it gets really busy.

And like she said, if they're an expert then please let us know. And you know, we can also vet that language through, our own channels. But but yeah, that is very much appreciated. Okay, so you mentioned coming prepared with the documents. How much is too much? Do you want a full bill packet with talking points, one page or an amendment.

What is your preferred method of that? Do you want to do that yourself, or would you like a lobbyist to come prepared with all that information? The more the merrier for me. I don't need, you know, 50 page spelled out reports and, you know, put that give give me that link so I can click on it.

We don't need to kill more trees or, like, kill your back. I'm going to backpack all these reports around. I tell you, like a one pager. If you've got suggested language that you know of an amendment or whatever it is that you'd like, that's wonderful. I've had some lobbyists even be incredibly helpful if they've come to me, pitched a bill to me, and they've given me suggestive language, all the things are like, I will hope you know, right here you'll be.

And I, for example, do you need suggested language for that in your systems, with your questions, with that, and if I can run something by them, it makes me more confident in what I'm doing, what I'm writing to have a second set of eyes. As a chief, I don't always have a second set of eyes. To be able to do all the writing, that it is a little quieter to do.

So the more offers of help and, to get something right, I more I would agree with that. I think, more, you know, information is helpful, I think for the reports and stuff like that. Just kind of having a week a give you have a PDF that has that ability to just have that link is really helpful.

And I think I, I really appreciate like if you're referencing like an old agency report or, a survey or study, that's helpful in pushing this bill and, and, and having that link, like you said, is, is really helpful. And I don't need a giant packet. But you know, anything that you give us is, as time saved and we can kind of go in and hone in and make sure that it's reflective of how our boss would, would want it to, to sound like.

But, and in this instance, more is better. Yeah. Do you think that most lobbyists or cognizant of your boss's priorities and thoughts and factor that in they're pitching essentially to me, I think that they, you know, they spend a lot of time watching, just like we do the floor and and having a lot of, you know, candid conversations with our bosses, even sometimes where we might not be be around.

So they I think they do have a good sense. You know what what our bosses are kind of looking at. And so, and I will say that that's a successful pitch is like when you're kind of aligning it already with her priorities. It's, it's super helpful, to, to have that already done. But yeah, I think that they do in my, and my, opinion and what is what are your thoughts.

Yeah. I had a great meeting the other day with someone who came prepared and they had print out it was an author's, tongue commissioner, and they had printed out district information. And, you know, in parts of, you know, the wait list for childcare, for daycare facilities for every member's district. So I had a very specific snapshot of what my boss's district was like.

And I haven't seen a ton of people do that. And when they do that, that's great. I love to have that. And then on the flip side, I want to see the Texas overview. I want both things. And so I know this is helpful, but am I going to see a snapshot of what the small problem is when there's also the larger problem.

So I do like both things. But I love when people have done something that is district specific, because if I give my boss something that is Texas all she will always ask me about once the El Paso perspective on that, is is a disproportional out here, there's a disproportionately high or low. And so I love when people have come prepared, you know, knowing what my boss is going to want to see, which is why, and see what's going on in her district.

I would say sometimes, you know, for a less effective meeting, I feel like lobbyists know this, but sometimes they're also rallying, you know, X day, you know, a certain, you know, it's it's childcare day or whatever. And they're bringing in a group of ten people and let's say, which is understandable, somebody who may not travel nine hours from El Paso until they've pulled in, some people from Fort Worth or Houston or wherever.

And so hitting up all the members on my committee, sometimes those folks come in and they just are clueless. They don't they don't know what's going on in the house, and they can only kind of pitch me what's happening in their community. And that's fine, too. And I love when those people are, you know, have you still got an overview of bullet points of of what's important?

You can still give me that really good quality 15 minute pitch. On why something is important. I think sometimes we get those larger groups, don't come in and are not sure how to have an effective meeting with them off others, whether it's, you know, they're locally represented or from somewhere else. Yeah. And I really appreciate when those people are really well trained on their own pictures.

I think sometimes they might get a candidate that morning and they don't actually know what it means. And if you try to ask any questions that are kind of dumbfounded about it and, you know, unfortunately those are not great meetings and I feel bad for them for having traveled all the way. And I feel like I haven't learned anything.

And it's got to be kind of defeating for them to. And so I really appreciate when lobbyist I really talk to some of these groups that they're representing. When a successful meeting looks like, one of the points that you want to hear and be able to give them some background information so they can kind of respond to me when I've got questions I try not to like really need a little concern, certainly, but sometimes they they're not really sure what the bills are advocating for my contact.

It's really hard. And then, you know, you kind of feel like if instead some time I've, I've had some groups ask me, to be on a panel of, of staff to talk about these things and train advocate, find like what a successful meeting looks like. I'm always going to do to do that. So, yeah, I think that, like, you know, people who are in the building every day, you know, know these things and, you know, just being cognizant of people who are not who don't even have a day.

If you're working with a group like that to give them some training, to not let them go. Okay. So is there a time that either of you had where you have completely changed your mind on a topic from meeting, I definitely faced this assumption. I would have new lobbyists come in and there would be a topic that I never even read anything about, and I then, you know, got five different perspectives that day in my actual opinion on that change.

And have you guys faced that at all in these crazy times? I think maybe perspective is broadened based on the meetings. I don't know if I've ever had just like a complete shift. But I definitely appreciate hearing kind of, all sides of it. And you all, and that and that helps us when we're, you know, on the floor and, you know, people are asking different questions.

And, so I think that is really helpful. But no, I don't think I've ever I don't know if anyone's ever seen maybe this session does this, we have to be kind of jewels of all trades in our in our world, you don't get to be experts. A lot of the times on what we're doing. And, yeah, we have to wear so many different hats on so many different policy topics.

Like what you mentioned. Having eight meetings on a topic is kind of a normal thing, and we can't be experts on everything. And I have definitely had times where, you know, especially in an area maybe was not, as informed about that. I've had somebody come in and give me the perspective and I said, yeah, that'll make sense.

I can understand that. And then I've had somebody come in the next day and give me a completely different angle of how a bill is going to impact a group that I didn't even consider would be impacted by a bill. They're like, ooh. And when I have those kind of moments and I'm not sure what I, what I want to recommend to my boss, I will take those beautiful one pagers.

I'll put both on there and I will, you know, kind of call other officers out on that committee. And we were able to have more information than maybe what I got. And I will also recommend to my boss, go talk to this representative who is a subject matter expert. You know, maybe it's a family law issue or a veterinarian issue.

You know, go talk to that expert who's already on the floor and has dug into this and get their opinion, because I'm a little bit stuck out here to recommend here. And that's a good point. As we we have such varied offense or, you know, House members and Senate members that have their own lane of expertise. And so same, you know, just kind of being able to point them.

And that to the right member to kind of talk those different perspectives out is super helpful. So we're we're blessed to have, you know, so many, you know, various professions that are all represented and, and one don't the reason people do it, they want to change your mind. Right? A lot of times they want you to continue on the path you're on.

Sometimes they want to completely change your mind. So what would you say is the most persuasive, tool? Is it the data? Is it, you know, having that relationship and being a convincing, you know, speaker, what do you think is the most convincing and persuasive, for you? I think what we talked to me and I agree with what we talked about earlier, is just kind of that transparency and giving us the pros and cons, because, you know, it's great to be persuasive when you're, you know, doing talking points, but but just talking candidly, I don't necessarily want to be persuaded.

I just kind of want to know as much as possible about the subject, I would think, and what those effects could be and who, you know, who's the best folks to include in on this conversation and gets stakeholders together? Maybe. But I think, another book version frequency in that. Love it. Absolutely. If something is going to be harmful to a specific community, that is a red flag for me on any level, and I will always give that to my boss.

Even if I think kind of the good outweighs the bad in a certain way sometimes. Yeah, I've gotten a bill and it's like, well, you know, this is going to be bad for this group and this is going to be good for this group. And if you don't partake in this, then that same group, you know, flip side and you're kind of like, okay, I will donate to support this group in this group.

But it could be, like it can be some really strange positions. You find your soul, you know, you don't really if you're not thinking about day to day, but is very impactful for maybe these two groups of people. So it can be, can be like harm mitigation sometimes it is it is such a, it's such a strange space to be in.

And so you think we have like a, like a red, yellow, green light system of the way that we send over our recommendations. And we got some yellows in there. Right. And it's kind of either like a vote your conscience or as I said, go talk to this person about it. And I have I will be honest and put a yellow down if I, if I'm really kind of stuck on something and I will, I will put my perspective.

In there for my boss. It can be it can be tricky. And I don't know that how she makes up her mind at that point. I think she goes and she has a lot of conversations to, you know, we all kind of get our reports on all sides and she'll take all the information she has and, and vote and do the vote.

But they don't always have as much time as that, you know, to make those decisions. So I think sometimes people think they need to go directly to the member every time. Which staff are actually I think we have a lot more, input than they can. They realize sometimes for sure. I think a lot of people on the outside of things sometimes don't realize how bipartisan.

Actually, most bills do pass. In both chambers and very smoothly through the process and agreed on by both sides. So how has it, how does it differ when you're having somebody who advocate to you more for a bipartisan type of legislation? Does that change how they, communicate with you? Do you think?

I always look at one of the things I do, I always look up at committee vote and I'll see. I mean, as you say, most of the times it passes easier or whatnot through the committee. If I see there's a dissenter to go in and look out for who that is, and I'll ask them why they dissented. If it's something that's not really clear to me.

So I always check that out. I feel like that's kind of a red flag, because it is so common for everything to go through committee really easily. And if I see you decide if I if a staffer can't tell me why or without on the witness list who is opposed to something and reach out to them. Because you do have so many options in this.

Yeah, I think, I think that's one of the beautiful things about the Texas legislature is there are so many bills that they go across with support on, you know, on all sides. And, it really honestly makes things move more quickly. I think, you know, the bills that, just filled a lot of, you know, pushing the ball in the right direction and that we kind of all agree on, is really key.

I don't, I don't I don't know if I've noticed them approaching it completely different. I do think sometimes they will say like, oh, this person voted against it because of all along. So I mean, that's helpful, right? It's helpful to know, you know, a little more background and there's just as we talked about this limited time.

So I think, important thing that, you know, the lobbyists do bring is kind of they talk to more offices and I will never have time to talk to. So I appreciate kind of getting that feedback on, you know, I talked to this office and they they had these concerns or they were really excited about this bill. And so that's helpful to know.

And then, you know, it could be bipartisan that their timing and different, you know, parties office or not. And either way, I find it, really helpful. Laura, such a good point. How much more mobile was lobbyist are than we are? We are stuck behind our desks or sitting at a meeting tables so much. And when they are able to kind of freely move about the building than we are, it can be a huge asset for us to, you know, to help sell some of the bill that they asked us to, you know, that that they ask for help with or whatnot, for them to be able to, to engage from, from other

offices, you know, did you know that that that this office is really, you know, selling out childcare this session? And Bob's has gotten really into it and had a really, really great tour of a daycare, and he wants to get involved and wants to help. And wow, that information is really helpful. You know, we I feel like I don't right now we get to move around the line to get to me and talk to a lot of people.

But I feel so just talking to my office staff in such a more than I would like to be. And so it's really nice when, lobbyists can kind of help share information and make connections. That's a final words of advice, to lobbyists out there to make sure they retain, you know, credibility and trust in any of that.

You know, I heard, somebody asked an interesting question in a group I was in the other day. It was because they first we were talking to lobbyists about how to better engage with us and, how we can engage with them better. So. And somebody said how, you know, I feel like lobbyists will, you know, take us for coffee or, you know, do nice things for us.

How can we thank lobbyists for the work that they're doing? And the response was, tell our boss or our client that we're doing a good job. That is like the best thing that you can that you can do in this person's mind. And I thought that is such a great response, and it's so true. And it's also true.

On the flip side, you know, if I you know, it's so get we don't get you know, this is and I think this is a thankless job by any means. But we interact with so many people and you know, we can get yelled at a lot or just our time can be abused a lot and we can't really burns out too.

And if if a lobbyist wants to show you that they're gleeful, that is also for us. I think the best thing that they can do is go tell my boss if they think that I'm doing a good job, go tell other people that they think I'm a good staffer to work with. You know, reputation is everything in this culture, and it is everything while you're working in the building.

And everything. If you want to transition out of the building, that is so vital for us. And I think that, you know, both both sides are true. If you think I'm doing a good job, please tell someone you can take a good job. If it's a free thing you can do. And, it really goes a long way.

And, you know, we can you can keep me going for like, a whole day. If somebody like, gives me a compliment like that. I really appreciate when people tell me that they think I'm doing a good job or that they appreciate my time, I you it's about. Yeah. I really appreciate you sharing that. It's that's, interesting to know.

I mean, I'm not surprised, but that's, that's a great way to kind of reciprocate that, that relationship that you built. And, we're all kind of here in the trenches together. And, as much as we can all kind of, work in tandem and kind of work together and, be supportive of, like, yeah, you're. And I'll tell anyone that I know the question is great to work with Lauren.

Good to hear you. That's like that's like such a you don't think about it as being something that's not important. But you're right. Like there's really long days. And if someone said, oh, I had really good things with you. Oh that does that does feel good. Especially today. That helps. That helps right today. So, I really appreciate you sharing that.

Everybody knows everybody in this room. So reputation is stability. And so I'm shifting gears a little bit. What would you say is the hardest thing to keep up with during the legislative session for each of you. And I know it may be different each, chamber as well. Just, to me it's like getting the pace, like getting, getting, getting ready for that.

I think we're kind of. And one in some respects in a good position because things have been, like you said, there's just been a lot more movement this session. We've got 65% more bills file this session than last session. So we and the volume to me is, I think what's going to be, a challenge, to kind of move, make sure that everything that we want to move is moving and keeping track of all the other balls that are moving is, I think it's a, it's a lot.

And then just kind of the time management, to me, it's like the urgent and the important and trying to make sure everything gets, gets done. And I think you probably feel similarly that it's it kind of just hits all at once. And one day you're just like, oh, wow. Well, your session has officially begun. Well, we all need, you know, if, if in the past, honestly, it's going to be different this time around.

And, if we filed around 7000 bills ish, you know, during the session, we passed like one 1200 ish, and all those numbers are going to be totally different aspects this session. But it gets overwhelming at the volume, the breadth and depth of some of these bills is a lot. You know, we had some incredibly important bills, you know, like public education, finance, HB three of a few sessions ago.

You know, I think about this huge omnibus bills that are so detailed and has so much information in it, versus, you know, some of these other smaller bills and they're all hitting the floor and sometimes the same day, and it can be very overwhelming to, keep pace with the number of bills that are hitting the floor that are important.

And everybody, you know, they all start hitting their deadlines to lobbyists start recognizing, oh, we're down to a few days or my bill is dead. And so everybody's urgency is probably in different places. I think right now it's more like, okay, we're waiting for all of our drafts to come back. I saw that I'm missing so many jobs that I want to file for council.

And I think, it just to the mountains and, the firehose of bills that it's coming through and the things that are so important to other people sometimes are a little more backbreaking for me in moments. And I, I feel bad and I can't, like, be 100% present for a meeting when I've got a million other things going on.

And so that always is like a guilty party for me in those moments. Okay, ladies, a couple last, last columns here. What are your biggest challenges that you're seeing, for yourselves in your offices coming up this session? I think, as we said again, ten times the number of bills, and then you're going to be a lot to pull through.

I would also say, you know, there is I wish there's a little more clarity from leadership in the House, you know, a little more direction of what we're going to be doing. And I think we have some larger issues that we can expect coming down the pipeline, but there's still kind of a lot of uncertainty, at least, from where I'm sitting.

So it's kind of hard to know. I kind of never think that any two sessions are the same. And any predictions, that people have had, I think I've always been wrong, especially my own predictions. So I stopped doing that. And every, every session has a little bit of a different challenge, a little bit of a different flavor to it.

So it's kind of fun to know exactly what to expect. Expect the unexpected. I said, that's exactly what I was going to say. It's like, that's kind of the, if there was a motto for a session, then for. For what? To, as soon as you think you know it's going to happen, it will, will change.

So, yeah, I think the like you said, the biggest challenge is just kind of keeping up with such a heavy volume and just there's so many big issues and needs to be met in Texas. We were so blessed with, a lot of great natural resources and amazing, you know, talent and professionals here. But there's definitely some gaps that that have been brought to light.

So, tackling all the inner, hearings was, was chat was a challenge in the Senate. And then we were we're just kind of concluding those and those reports will go out, but there's just a lot to get done. So I think, just kind of managing our time because we are constrained to that 140 days. So, I think time constraints, will be a challenge.

Absolutely. Any pieces of advice to anybody looking to get in a position like yours?

Are, you know, there are some real hustlers that I have seen in my time. There have been folks who have, like, print out their resume years and essentially gone door to door. And I've been in offices that I've been private that person because you get to meet them immediately face to face and then out there hustling.

And I love that, even one of the people that I hired was a nanny for somebody who works in the building and said, you should go door to door, and that's that's what she did as well. And then how she and the framing for the building and so kind of love those unexpected touches. And if somebody, you know, I think a lot of positions are getting filled right now, unfortunately.

So if you're thinking about working here in January, either you know, on an internship level or, a more traditional level, get out there immediately. Because I think a lot of offices and hopefully not reach out to a freshman office, they don't swear in until January 14th and they don't get their budget till then. And so you're kind of the last ones on the hook to hire.

And there's a lot of freshmen this year. So I think starting with their offices is also probably best intended my way to where to be hiring advice in session. So I'll be in there probably asking to take a nap on your couch. So, yeah, definitely send them my way. There's any really promising individuals who are interested in being attacked.

Yeah, I agree with that. Amazing kind of also doing like just introducing yourself to anyone that's working in the capital and kind of getting to know the lay of the land and, kind of will help place you in like the office that you will be the most successful at. And I mean, things move really quickly here and people move on and, to different positions.

So kind of being a known quantity and knowing what, what you want to do and what you're interested in, kind of your, you know, top policy positions, if you will, is helpful, that folks can kind of refer to, you know, can refer to you in those, openings, arrive. And like you said, January is is a big, big date.

And, just getting your resume circulating early, is super helpful. Absolutely. Any words of advice or wisdom for obvious interacting with anybody who later I think, you know, like I said, the the tech, the lobbyist in Texas, I think, you know, once I've worked with them has all been kind of great to work with and all have their, have a high level of expertise or able to connect to really a lot of those who do.

So I mean, the biggest thing I think is just to, to kind of be mindful of, of the time, that that staff spends with you and kind of be mindful of, you know, the time that they're doing that as time that they can do something else. So, and I don't know, many of them are, but just just to be respectful of time and, and kind of our own constraints.

And we all have, you know, only 24 hours in a day. So we we are all doing our best. And so, I think I think that's good to just keep in mind as, as the, as the session, keeps on rolling. So we also, as I kind of started off talking about sometimes you don't understand until you're in the building why things take as long as they do.

And we're also feeling the same time crunch as they are. You know, if there's a bill that they're really supportive of and they're frustrated that it's not moving faster and they're wanting to know why something is not moving, there are sometimes so many things that maybe are kind of internal conversations that we're having with other offices that we can't share all the time.

Right? And we also, you know, want to be successful in our offices. We also want to Pasco. So I think we also have a lot of other things that we want to get done during sessions, a lot of meetings, constituent meetings. We're also doing casework. We're doing so many things during fashion. And and so yeah, I think sometimes people can feel frustrated when they don't know what it is in the building.

And even some folks are maybe in the building three years ago. And things have changed a lot. And our time demands have changed. And so the urgency of which people feel things are definitely change a lot in society that wants immediacy. Like the Texas Capitol crawls along so we don't have to get to move as fast as we would like either.

And so it's a lower risk point just by being patient with us and understanding, like we also are having really long hours and we also have a lot of pressure is on ourselves. And we also we're going home to our families at night. You know, we are ours are different. And somebody is there to kind of essentially do a 9 to 5 or even they might have a long night or two.

We're doing really long nights, like 16 hours, like police have never gone home. It's four in the morning, you know, it can be really, really late. And then we're back, you know, for a hearing at 8 a.m., you know, so it can be really long and tedious and arduous for us, too. So just understanding and having some grace, if we're being a bit snippy one day or tired one day or whatever, you know, slowly start going through, once we hit May, it's just, we appreciate people's saying, well, you got me beat.

The time I think 230 is the latest ice date, and I've fallen asleep on my desk a little more before that. So I was like, I was home already. She actually didn't realize I was still there, and I was like, no, I'm waiting for you guys to finish. You know? It's like, no, it can be. It's a it's it's a lot.

It's I just remember sitting on the floor, you know, we're we're sitting in our offices too. And yeah, I can get really long. Well hoping for the best session for both of you and and run into you. Any last thoughts before we wrap up? It's been a really great conversation. The one thing I wanted to highlight is just one thing that, that made the session just so much better and goes go so well as just amazing staff.

And, I'm so blessed for the, the staff that we have. And of course we miss miss Lauren was on staff, but we we have her in spirit always. And, it's just so important to, have the, the right folks around you guys. You. So we're here all the time. And so, having, people that you can depend on rely on, you know, they know their staff and they, they take it really seriously, and they have a servant's heart, and, and they're all, you know, embodying and and moving forward, the senators or the House members goal.

And, I mean, it's it's just such a blessing to have have great staff and I, I by sure you will agree, they may also have some useful energy. I don't have. And it can be hard sometimes they're they're learning to they're also there to get something out of session. And their goals are maybe even a little different than mine or my bosses.

You know, they're there to grow professionally. There's a lot of people are there for the first time. And, you know, sometimes when you see how the sausage is made, it can be kind of soul crushing. And so we're all there to to be supportive of each other. Some people like they, you know, you see them down, they do a session, they don't come back and they learn that about themselves.

Other people staying safe, saying, and it's really wonderful. When you see folks that have caught the bug and, yes, they would be absolutely nothing without our staff. They keep me sane and protected, and they keep my boss sane and protected. And, I mean, our building, our building would absolutely not be able to function with, all of the people sitting in the actual offices day in and day out.

Definitely grateful for that. And I think also we kind of touched upon, you know, the bipartisan nature of our bills. We've got a lot people are friends in this building right by staff. Talk to each other. I swear, if staff were actually, you know, taking all the boots and, and doing things, we would get so much more dialog.

We would we would have really great bills, really great policy. We are so bipartisan in our friendships. And, you know, I think people think that we are a lot more siloed as offices when we actually are. We all do communicate with each other and talk with each other and enjoy each other's company. And so I'm definitely really fortunate to be able to know my whereas and all the and all these other really wonderful people that I think sometimes people don't recognize that, we all do know each other and we all are friends and we love to work together.

I love an excuse to work with any other office that I can. And so just really grateful for all the people that I just met along the way and look forward to. Oh, thanks for such a fun discussion today, ladies. And I know a lot of people see you in the building during session and I'm really grateful to have you.

So thanks for coming on those minutes. Thanks for having us. Yeah. Let's make sure to subscribe for more insights like this. Thanks, everyone.

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