Legislators are busy people with demanding schedules and thousands of constituents, so learning how to best communicate with them will make you more effective.
Listed below are tips for making effective contact with state lawmakers, and more tips, from legislators themselves, are available here for the Florida House and here for the Florida Senate.
General talking points about Florida State are available on the Talking Points page of this site. Legislative issues important to FSU are on the Priorities page, and additional information about the university is available on the News tab at the top of this page.
Find Your Legislator
Find your State House, State Senate, U.S. Congress and U.S. Senate representatives:
Find your Florida House Member Find your Florida Senator
Email or Regular Mail
- Emailing your Representative and Senator about issues important to Florida State is easy for those who have registered with this website.
- Otherwise, information on each legislator, including their office addresses, is available through Online Sunshine, the official website of the Florida Legislature.
- Let the legislator you are contacting know you are a constituent and an FSU supporter.
- Tell them why the issue you're addressing is important to you and the legislator's hometown district.
- Stick to one issue per email or letter.
- Keep your correspondence brief and concise to better ensure it gets read.
- You are welcome to use the language provided by Florida State exactly as it's been written, but it is more effective if your message is done in your own words or includes personal comments.
- Keep a positive tone and thank the legislator for considering your position.
Meeting with Legislators
- Information on each legislator, including their office addresses, is available through Online Sunshine, the official website of the Florida Legislature.
- State lawmakers are often easier to reach and less hurried when they are in their hometown offices, as opposed to their Tallahassee offices.
- If you should meet with a legislator in Tallahassee, especially during the legislative session, expect to only see them for a few minutes. Also, legislators are often delayed by circumstances beyond their control. Patience is important!
- Instead of meeting with a particular legislator, you may meet with an aide. Legislative aides are knowledgeable and influential assistants who will deliver your message to the legislator, so please do not consider a meeting with an aide to be a waste of time.
- Let the legislator or aide you meet with know you are a constituent and an FSU supporter.
- It is generally more effective when meetings pertain to a single issue and the key point of that issue is gotten to quickly.
- Should the legislator or aide you meet with ask a question you cannot answer, please let them know you will get back to them and contact the FSU Governmental Relations office for an answer.
- You are welcome to use the language provided by Florida State exactly as it's been written, but it is more effective if your message is done in your own words or includes personal comments.
- Keep a positive tone and thank the legislator for considering your position.