On Monday May 2nd I headed back to the State House for another week of interning. With the budget bill passed in the House and headed to the Senate for debate in a few weeks, things were a lot quieter and slower around the office. My main task for today was to respond to several letters from members of the 4-H club of Ipswich, who had visited the State House on my second day, regarding a farm animal bill that had been filed back in January. To begin I first researched the bill and found out what implications it had and also how far along it was in the process of becoming a law. This particular bill would make it illegal for a farmer to keep a farm animal in a cage where the animal could not sit, turn around, or fully extend its limbs. I also found that the bill was filed in a timely fashion so it will be guaranteed a hearing and that it had also been referred to the joint committee on the judiciary. In my letter I explained the text of the bill and explained where the bill was in the process. I then try to personalize the letter by explaining Rep Hill’s view on this issue. In closing, I encourage the constituents to attend the upcoming hearing to testify and to also contact the office if we could ever be of any help in the future. Today, I learned that it is very important to “personalize” each letter you write. Rep Hill told me of an instance where a colleague of his once wrote a generic letter with no personal touch and the constituent became very angry with this particular representative. Sometimes it is better to say your position on an issue even if it the recipient of the letter does not agree than to “tip toe” around where you stand.
