Advocacy curriculum: How MSDC prioritizes bills in the Council August 27, 2021

We all know prioritization is important. If we did not rank our to-dos or must-dos every day, our lives would be chaos. Similarly, organizations like MSDC need to prioritize issues in order to be most effective in its advocacy for its members and the healthcare community.

Recognizing how often MSDC was being asked for its opinions and testimony on legislation, in 2018 the MSDC Board approved a ranking system for bills. This system would allow MSDC members and the public to see what are the top priorities for the Society among bills introduced by the Council, and which ones were being monitored but not as actively engaged. With over 1,000 bills introduced each Council session, this helps stakeholders easily see what MSDC members are most concerned about in the Council period.

Before sharing the ranking system it is important to outline how a bill gets "ranked". Legislation introduced by the DC Council is discussed by the MSDC Advocacy Committee at its every-other-month meeting. The Chair discusses the bill with the committee and, if MSDC has clear policy on the issue, staff will recommend a rank for the bill. The Committee then votes on whether to make a recommendation to the MSDC Board for a rank, and what rank to give the bill. At its next meeting, the MSDC Board discusses and votes on a rank for the legislation.

Below are the various "ranks" a bill may receive. You can also see them on our website here, as well as how they apply to legislation before the Council here.

• Priority Support: The Society supports this bill and considers the bill one of its highest legislative priorities.
• Support: The Society lends its support to this legislation.
• Support with Suggested Changes: The Society has suggested amendments or changes to legislation, and if those changes are included, the Society will give the bill Support or Priority Support.
• No Position: The Society does not take a position on this bill but is monitoring its progress.
• Priority Oppose: The Society opposes the legislation and considers preventing it from becoming law one of the Society's highest priorities. 
• Oppose: The Society opposes this bill.
• Oppose without Suggested Changes: The Society opposes this bill unless suggested amendments or changes are adopted.

Want to be involved? Join MSDC's advocacy efforts here.