Texas Legislature

Communicating with the Texas Legislature

To effectively communicate with members of the state legislature, you need the proper tools. Communicating with your state legislature can be an effective method for educating, advocating, and lobbying for issues about which you are passionate. There are several ways to communicate with the state legislature, from meeting individually in person, attending town hall meetings, testifying in committee, calling, emailing, writing letters, and more. The purpose of this webpage is to provide tips in one such area: writing letters. Resources to help you communicate with the state legislature through other means are provided at the bottom of this page.


Finding Your Texas Representative and Senator

An initial task when writing a letter to your representative and senator in the Texas legislature is to determine who your elected officials are. One method of determining who represents you is to locate your representative on the Texas House of Representatives website (https://house.texas.gov/) and on the Texas Senate website (https://senate.texas.gov/):


  • To locate your House representative, click on the “Find who represents me?” link in the lower-left-hand corner of the web page under the How Do I . . . section. You may be redirected to a second page asking for your street address.

  • To locate the senator who represents you, click on the “Who Represents Me?” link in the lower-right-hand corner of the web page under Quick Links section.

Learning About Your Texas Representative and Senator

Knowing more about your representative and senator will help you to be more effective in your communication. I recommend that you identify the committees on which your representative and senator serve. You can find that information, as well as mailing and email addresses, through the representative’s and senator’s individual websites. To avoid spam, your representative and/or senator may require use of an email submission.


Writing Your Letter

Letters can be sent through traditional mail or as an email. Legislative staff track the number of letters received on various issues. Traditionally, mailed letters are more likely to receive a response, although it may be a form letter. Most advocacy sites recommend the following tips to help write your letter:

  • Planning ahead of time what you want to say and how to say it will make your advocacy most effective.

  • Know your “ask”—that is, what you want your representative and senator to do. For example, do you want her or him to require a particular FCS course? Recognize AAFCS Certified Family and Consumer Sciences educators as a national certification? Vote yes or no on a specific bill? The ask should be a prominent part of your letter.

  • Explain the why—that is, why this issue is important and why the representative and senator should take the action you are requesting. Two important elements to include in this explanation are research related to the issue and the financial implications of your ask (e.g., return on investment). It is perfectly acceptable to include your own research on the issue. Be sure to also include stories or anecdotes of how your research relates to real life.

  • Keep it local—explain how your ask relates to your representative’s and senator’s district or constituency.

  • Be succinct—your letter shouldn’t be longer than two pages, with one page being the preferred length.

When writing to your state representative and senator:


  • Identify yourself as a constituent—that is, that you live in the district your representative and senator was elected to represent—it increases the chances that your letter will be read. However, one exception is when writing to members of a committee about legislation the committee is discussing. Also include your job title, credentials, affiliation, and your professional expertise.

  • Be brief, clear, and courteous—legislative staffers and members receive hundreds of communications daily: Brevity, clarity, and courtesy are the most important qualities for effective interactions. Each letter should address a single topic. While brevity is important, it is also important to adequately explain the issue.

  • Send individual emails to the representatives and senators—if sending the same email to multiple people, it is best to send each email individually. Sending a mass email is more likely to be deleted.

  • Address the letter to your representative and senator, even if it is the legislator’s staff who will read the letter.

  • Send your letter to your representative’s office in Austin, TX.

  • Use plain, understandable language and avoid jargon.

Formatting the Letter

Start your letter with the date and your name and address. Follow this by your representative’s and senator’s name and address in Austin, TX. Be sure to address your representative and senator as “The Honorable” followed by his or her full name.

Next, provide a salutation such as “Dear Representative [First and Last Name]” or “Dear Senator [First and Last Name].”

The main body of the letter follows. A one-page letter typically consists of three paragraphs:

  • Paragraph 1 includes personal information, such as identifying oneself as a constituent, your professional expertise, and your ask. Your reason for writing (i.e., issue, bill) should be clearly detailed and concrete.

  • Paragraph 2 describes the facts, such as the research and finances (e.g., return on investment) related to the issue. You do not need to include a list of references, but it is OK to refer to specific experts in text. This is a great place to include your own research, anecdotes from the legislator’s district or state, and your argument for why your representative should follow through with your ask.

  • Paragraph 3 concludes the letter with your call to action. Remind your legislator of your ask. Remember to be specific. Feel free to offer your expertise should the representative and senator want more information and include how to contact you. You can request a response. Thank your representative and senator for considering your request.

End the letter with a closing, your name, credentials, title, and times you are available to be reached.

The body of your letter can certainly include more paragraphs. Remember, though, that a one-page, clearly written letter is best.

Additional Information

  • If you send your letter through traditional mail, it can take two to four weeks to reach your representative and senator because of security screenings. Emailing or calling your representative and senator may be a better method when the issue is urgent.

  • Signed form letters may not reach your representative and senator or their staffers; the letters may be thrown away or caught by a spam filter, if emailing.

  • Be careful of how often you write your legislator. Sending letters too often is not regarded well.

  • Send a thank-you note to your legislator when she or he does what was requested. This is a powerful incentive for the member to pay attention to future communication.

  • Many examples of letters can be found online and in some of the additional resources linked below.


If you find yourself writing letters to your representative and senator or if you desire to be more involved with them, consider other means of communicating with them. Introduce yourself, develop a relationship with your legislator, and serve as a resource for him or her. The resources provided here also include multiple communication methods and tips. I encourage you to (re)read Tips for Working With Legislators (Crosswhite, 2015b) and Policy Advocacy or Policy Education: How to Impact Family Policy (Crosswhite, 2015a) to determine your preferred approach for working with legislators and how to build a relationship with her or him.


A final word of encouragement—as a professor teaching family policy, I taught my students how to write letters to their legislators. Students could choose to whom they would write the letter, including to local-level officials. I remember one student was very upset about a school policy and decided to write the local school district. Through effective communication, research, following the recommendations presented here, and being polite, the student was able to change the school policy.


References

Crosswhite, J. (2015a). Policy advocacy or policy education: How to impact family policy. NCFR Report, 60(1), 9–11. www.ncfr.org/ncfr-report/past-issues/spring-2015/family-science-report-policy-advocacy-or-policy-education-how-impact-family

Crosswhite, J. (2015b). Tips for working with legislators. NCFR Report, 60(4), 8–9. www.ncfr.org/ncfr-report/past-issues/winter-2015/family-science-report-tips-working-legislators