Episode Three: Tracking the Issues

 

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About this module

In this module, you will learn how to find legislative history, understand roll call votes, see sponsors, and understand how your legislator is voting. This interactive workshop will let you practice navigating the legislative website and discuss outside resources that help you track the legislature’s actions.

The goals and lessons for this episode are detailed below. Click on a box to expand and learn more about each section.

Featuring

Destie Sprague

Destie Sprague

Executive Director for Maine Woman's Lobby

Destie is passionate about organizational infrastructure, policies, and practices which reflect anti-oppression and feminist values. She believes Maine should be a place where all people can live free from misogyny and gender-based discrimination.

 

Anna Kellar

Anna Kellar

Executive Director for Democracy Maine

Anna is committed to preserving and strengthening civil society and grassroots democracy in Maine. Anna started working at MCCE in 2014 as an organizer on the Clean Elections Initiative and ran for the state legislature as a Clean Elections candidate in 2016.

The Maine legislative site can be tricky to navigate. Not everything is intuitive, and it can be difficult to find what you're looking for. This section covers quick need-to-know info about the site.

Do you spend a lot of time looking for a bill but not sure where to find it? Or maybe it's your first time looking up legislation? We're here to help guide you through the process.

Key Links

Bills Before the Legislature : View every single bill that's before the current Legislature.

Legislature Bill Search: A basic search tool where you can check the status of a bill.

Advanced Bill Search: An expanded tool where you can search using more parameters.

Bill Text Search: A search tool to look for bill text and other documents.

Once you find the bill, it may be confusing how to navigate the bill's page. This section dives into important tabs on the website that you won't want to miss.

Key Links

Bills Before the Legislature : View every single bill that's before the current Legislature.

Legislature Bill Search: A basic search tool where you can check the status of a bill.

Advanced Bill Search: An expanded tool where you can search using more parameters.

Bill Text Search: A search tool to look for bill text and other documents.

Roll call votes will determine a bill's future. Where can you find them and what do they mean?

Key Links

Bills Before the Legislature : View every single bill that's before the current Legislature.

Legislature Bill Search: A basic search tool where you can check the status of a bill.

Advanced Bill Search: An expanded tool where you can search using more parameters.

Bill Text Search: A search tool to look for bill text and other documents.

 

Further Reading

A number of civic and nonprofit groups put together bill trackers and issue explainers so that their community members can easily follow along. Here are just a few trackers that you can explore:

 

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