SAM Legislation Outreach Tips and Guidelines 2021–22
Published on Friday, February 25, 2022 in Legislative Affairs, News & Updates

First, thank you!

Our advocacy efforts will not be successful unless our members (i.e. voters) exercise their rights to get involved. Please email Sue Smiley, Legislative Director directly if you have any questions.

Please ask your members to try to complete your outreach by Wednesday, February 23, 2022. Feel free to share any feedback you receive.

For this effort, ALL correspondences to Legislators will be via EMAIL.

There are two ways to locate the appropriate Legislators (one Representative and one Senator) for your home (if you are writing on behalf of the club, you should include ALL the legislators in your club’s region):

• Click here to download a document that contains contact information for Massachusetts Senators and Representatives. Scroll through the document to find the city/town of your club and/or your own home. If using Microsoft Word, go to the Home tab and locate the Find button. Type in the city or town of your club and/or your own home and click the Enter key. Generally, it should bring up two entries. For instance, if you type in Pelham, you’ll get an entry for Senator Jo Comerford and Rep. Mindy Domb (representing Pelham and other communities in the Senate and House of Representatives, respectively). Each Legislator’s entry will have their photo, name, District and the towns included, email, et cetera.
• Click here to download a spreadsheet of legislators by town. This document includes an alphabetized list of towns to find the appropriate State Representative and State Senator. If you live in larger towns or cities like Chicopee or Springfield, please note that the various Wards and Precincts are also listed.
• Berkshire County Residents and Clubs, Please Note: While there are several State Representatives that represent the various towns of the County, there is only one State Senator; Adam Hinds.

Once you’ve located the Legislators you want to reach, follow the guidelines below.

The outreach:

• In the “To” bar of your email, type or paste the email addresses of your Representative and Senator.
• In the “Cc” bar, please type in the following address: [email protected]

For the introduction, please begin with the following:

• Your name
• Your town
• Your club
• How long have you been a member of SAM?
• Ask that the addressed Legislator to support their District’s snowmobilers by asking Senate Ways and Means Chairman Michael Rodrigues to favorably report out S538, “An Act Promoting Snowmobiling Sustainability”

Please copy and paste this portion to explain what the bill does

This bill includes a number of provisions that would help snowmobiling remain a part of life for me and my club, and would overall strengthen the sport across Massachusetts. Other states have a similar “free snowmobile weekend” to the one proposed, and it has helped bring tourists and their dollars into our community. Also, the wheeled vehicle fines will make it less likely that the trails our members work so hard on to open, groom, and maintain will be damaged. S538 will provide an opportunity for representation on the DCR Stewardship Committee. SAM members are active volunteers, and we also work very hard to maintain good connections with regulators and state officials. A seat at that table recognizes the importance of our membership, and will help us be a stronger voice on DCR’s policies. Additionally, eligibility for the 61B recreational land tax classification will not only promote the sport but benefit local landowners and taxpayers.

For the closing, please make it personal! Explain why snowmobiling is important to you, and why passing these measures are important to you. This portion must be personal in order to be taken seriously.

Closing

Thank the Legislators for their consideration, and invite them out to go snowmobiling some time! These are your links to State Government… USE THEM!