1. You will only have one minute to speak. Make it count. Make two or three points convincingly. Don’t try to make every point possible. Others will make ones that you don’t. Don’t go on longer than your allotted time or the message you want to deliver will lose its impact.

 

2. You are basically delivering a commercial. Be memorable. A one-minute speech is approximately 150 written words. Talk about what you know. Be yourself. Talk about why the program or service is important and why it gets results and helps people. Practice what you are going to say.

 

3. You are allowed to give the committee written testimony in addition to your spoken testimony and can put more detail in it if you desire to.

 

 

1. Why this program should be a priority for state support – why it is one of the core responsibilities of state government.

·    Budgets are about priorities. People are a priority.

·    How it helps keep people (families) working and self-sufficient.

·    How people receive help and then move on to self-sufficiency.

·    How everyone should have the opportunity to succeed if they are willing to work for it.

 

2. Why it is a good use of state resources.

·    How it is efficient. How it gets results. How it is accountable.

·    How, (if applicable) it is not an entitlement. There are standards that people have to strive for or live up to or they don’t receive help.

 

3. Don’t dig the budget hole deeper (by passing tax cuts or by artificially lowering revenue estimates).

·    Don’t prioritize tax cuts.

·    This is about needs, not wants. This is one of the core responsibilities of state government.

·    If state revenues come in stronger than expected later in the fiscal year, give additional funding to valuable programs that unfortunately had to be cut.

 

4) Why legislators should produce an up-front budget.

·    A back of the budget cut hands priority setting to DHHS instead of elected legislators.

·    Up-front budgeting means transparency and accountability.

·    The voters sent legislators to Concord to make decisions and want to know what those are and where they stand.

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