Legislative Days
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While the Montana Legislature is in session (January to April of odd years), AAUW-Montana members join with those from Business and Professional Women and the Montana Women's Lobby for a dedicated Legislative Day. Early one Friday morning in February, we meet with the MWL lobbyist and other issues lobbyists for a workshop on current issues of interest to Montana women. Then we go to the Capitol for the rest of the day to meet with our legislators and offer testimony on our priority issues. Many years, we have timed our Legislative Day to coordinate with the State of Education address given to a joint session of representatives and senators by the Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI). This has been particularly enjoyable for us lately as both the immediate past SPI, Linda McCulloch, and the current one, Denise Juneau, have been AAUW-Montana members.
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2013 - Join Us in Helena March 8 & 9
On March 8 and 9, 2013, AAUW-Montana will gather for our biennial Legislative Weekend—with members of several other organizations—at the Capitol in Helena. Events will begin at 8:30 Friday morning with a Montana Women's Lobby (MWL) issues briefing at the Montana Historical Society. At 10:00, we will cross the street to the Capitol to join with members of Montana Women Vote (MWV), Business & Professional Women (BPW), the Women's Foundation of Montana (WFM), and the Interagency Committee for Change by Women (ICCW) for the rest of the day's activities. March 8th is also International Women's Day, and we will be celebrating that event along with pursuing our legislative activities. MWV will hold a mid-morning “Lobbying 101” workshop for anyone new to grassroots advocacy. WFM will host a free lunch and press conference to announce the publication of their Report on the Status of Women in Montana. ICCW is hoping to arrange a meeting with Gov. Bullock for organizational leaders sometime in the afternoon.
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After our busy Friday at the Capitol, Saturday's activities will be dedicated completely to AAUW. Linda O'Hara, Regional Field Manager of the WAGE Project, will present an informational session about how AAUW-MT can bring $mart $tart workshops to Montana campuses. That presentation will be followed by a state board meeting (to which all AAUW members are invited). Everything should be concluded shortly after noon so everyone can head home in daylight.
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There will also be two optional evening events that members are urged to attend. Thursday, March 7, from 6:00 to 9:00 pm, Planned Parenthood of Montana (PPMT) will host a fundraiser at the Great Northern Hotel featuring a presentation by Broad Comedy (cost $50). Then Friday's legislative events will be capped off with a 4:00 to 6:00 pm reception at the Governor's Residence, 2 Carson St., Helena, celebrating International Women's Day and the Montana Women's Mural, a Capitol project authorized by the 2011 Legislature, which must be privately funded. If you would like to attend the reception, please read the details and RSVP information here.
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See the Legislative Weekend Information Sheet for the full schedule of events, lodging instructions, and a registration form. Don't miss this opportunity to join with other AAUW-MT members from around the state. See you in Helena!
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2011
The 2011 Legislative Weekend was held in conjunction with the March 4th International Women's Day Event sponsored by Monana Women Vote. For that event, AAUW-Montana and the Montana Women's Lobby presented a workshop called Getting ALICE Out of Wonderland. ALICE stands for "asset limited," "income constrained," and "employed." Corky Bush, Julie Cerenzia, and Diane Ehernberger used statistics to show how women are still lagging behind men financially and how the various aspects of women's financial realities intertwine. Individual AAUW members also lobbied their legislators on bills related to AAUW issues.
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2009
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Serving free lunch to legislators in the Capitol |
Linda Gryczan conducting an issues workshop before we go to the Capitol |
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Some of our 2009 lobbying contingent |
Denise Juneau's State of Education address |
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