Schoolhouse Rock... NOT

Legislative Procedure Flowchart

I recently wrote an op-ed on a bill passed by the Kansas House and Senate, which was awaiting the governor’s signature.

The major problem with the bill was the legislators’ use of an oft-maligned (mostly for good reason) tool in the Kansas legislative process - the “gut-and-go”, combined with “declaring an emergency” final action vote - to avoid public input (read: conflict) on the issue.

The reality is they used the rules to circumvent voters so they wouldn’t have to endure the mental strain of hearing from people who disagreed with them. Representing is SO much easier when you only listen to people who agree with you! (Heavy sarcasm.) When elected to represent a district, you’re elected by a majority, but serve the whole.

• Pro-tip: Serving those which agree with you is easy and requires increasingly little thought or skill. The REAL work of public service is to serve and represent everyone (which is the job), even voters with whom you DON’T agree. You can do that by validating their 1st amendment right to say what they want - and for you to listen AND hear - and explain why you chose a different path.

  • Voters aren’t innocent here - it’s your legislators’ 1st amendment right to tell you how they’re voting and why - and for you to disagree with it.

  • Getting legislators to communicate with voters is the first step.

  • Voters demanding representation by those they “hire” can only truly be done at the ballot box...

When I launched Sharp Connections 15 years ago, I mapped out the legislative process in Kansas and hired a graphic designer to develop the flowchart below as a tool for new legislators. I thought it might be helpful for voters attempting to follow the process as well.

“How a bill becomes a law” varies from state to state and for Congress, but most follow a similar path. Each step in the process is designed to include public input, whether early in the process - directly via public hearings - or later in the process, via communication with your elected officials - asking them to support or oppose legislation after public hearings have been held.

When elected officials skip the sometimes hard and uncomfortable parts of representing, those parts don’t go away. Angry voters vote. And they bring friends. It’s always better to listen to voters who disagree with you during the legislative process, than face their wrath at the ballot box.

Feel free to share this with anyone who’s interested (or should be) in the legislative process!

Happy serving,

Stephanie Sharp

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