Find Your

Voice
What is empowerment?
Taking control of your circumstances,
exercising power and achieving your goals

Helping yourself and others to improve the

quality of lives
What is advocacy?
Anything that works towards influencing others decisions for the better
Initiating change in society
Often advocacy is politically or socially goal-oriented
 GOALS

EDUCATE

The Power of
CREATE meaningful change

CHANGE minds

Advocacy TRANSFORM policy

Speaking Up on Your Own Behalf CHANGE lives

 ACTIONS
QUESTION the status quo

Becoming an EDUCATE yourself

Advocate
EXPRESS your views

INFORM the public about your

How do I make change? cause

PROPOSE alternative solutions

PARTICIPATE in policy change

 Advocacy vs Lobbying
Advocacy
General support for an issue or movement
Concerned with educating the public on certain
causes
Focuses on the community and creating
awareness about social causes
Often done by individuals, the public or
nonprofits
Lobbying
Support for specific legislation, rules or
agencies
Attempting to influence policy or impact
decision-making
Focuses on legislators and influence (i.e., taking
specific action such as calling members of
Congress)
Companies and agencies can hire lobbyists to
fight for a cause
 SHOW your support by volunteering
and spending time working towards

How to Support a solution

a Cause
EDUCATE yourself and others about
the issue at hand and why it is
important
Taking issues into your own
hands UNDERSTAND that not everyone
will agree with you and it is okay to
have differing opinions
Activity:
What is Happening Around You?
What issues are happening in your community/state/country/world that upset you?

How can you address this problem?

Who can you talk to that will support you?

Who can you contact that will help you?

What solution can you come up with that will address this issue?
Government
 U.S: the Three Branches of Government

Legislative: creates laws Executive: enforces laws Judicial: interprets laws

Congress President Supreme Court -

100 Senators (2 from Signs bills that have focuses on cases
each state) passed Congress into relating to the U.S.
435 Representatives law Constitution
(based on state Has power to veto bills Federal (state) courts
population) from Congress hear cases regarding
Voted into office by Appoints cabinet federal issues
state voters members with Congress 9 justices appointed by
Introduces bills which approval the President
must pass both the Can recommend Can overrule state
Senate and House to legislation to Congress court decisions
reach the President
 Iowa: the Three Branches of Government
Legislative: creates laws
Consists of a Senate and a
House of Representatives
50 senators (50 Senate
districts in Iowa)
100 representatives (100
House districts in Iowa; two
within each Senate
districts)
Senators - 2 year terms
Reps - 4 year terms
Executive: enforces laws
Carries out laws made by
legislative branch
Consists of Governor, other
elected leaders (i.e., Lt.
Governor, Secretary of
State, Auditor, Treasurer of
State, Secretary of
Agriculture)
Most state agencies fall
into this category
Judicial: interprets laws
Interprets & applies laws to
settle disputes in civil
cases
Determines guilt/innocence
in criminal cases
Includes 2 types of courts:
Trial courts (called
District courts)
Appellate courts
(Supreme Court and
Court of Appeals)
Legislative Branch
Iowa House of Representatives

Iowa Senate
Iowa House of Representatives
100 Representative seats that represent the 100 districts throughout the state

Representatives serve 2 year terms, with no term limits

The Speaker of the House is elected by the majority party and has more power
than the President of the Senate

Current Speaker of the House (2017) is Linda Upmeyer

There are currently 59 Republican seats and 41 Democrat seats, in 2017

Iowa Senate
There are 50 Iowa Senators representing the 50 districts throughout the state

Senators serve 4 year terms, with no limit on the amount of terms they can serve

Jack Whitver, the current President of the Senate, presides over the Senate

Currently there are 29 Republican seats, 20 Democrat seats, and 1 Independent

seat, in 2017
Iowa Executive Branch
Governor Kim Reynolds, is the head of the Iowa Executive Branch and is
ultimately responsible for state departments

The Governor has the power to veto or sign bills into Iowa law

Other members of the Iowa Executive Branch include: Lieutenant Governor,

Secretary of State, Auditor of State, Treasurer of State, and Secretary of
Agriculture

Most state agencies are the in the Executive Branch of government, including the
Iowa Department of Human Rights
Iowa Judicial Branch
The Attorney General is head of the state judicial branch and represents the
state in court

State courts handle cases that involve a violation or interpretation of the states
constitution or law passed by state legislature

All appeals from decisions in Iowas District Courts are filed with the Iowa
Supreme Court which is comprised of 7 justices; the Iowa Supreme Court is the
highest court of the state
How a bill becomes
a law
How a Bill Becomes a Law - School House Rock
 A bill is a written proposal for a law

Bills can be sponsored by a Senator,

Representative (or multiple) or
How a Bill committee

Becomes a Law All bills must be approved by the

Senate and House before being sent
to the executive branch for signing
In Iowa (Part 1)
Standing committees are made up of
legislators and are used to review
bills in regards to specific topics
(environment, education, etc.)
 Committee chairperson assigns a
subcommittee for a bill; subcommittee
consists of 3 members of the standing
committee

How a Bill Once the committee finishes working on

the bill, the committee can recommend
Becomes a Law to:

Pass the bill

In Iowa (Part 2) Pass the bill with amendment(s)
Refer the bill to another committee
for study
Postpone the bill indefinitely
Send the bill to the floor for debate
 The bill and its issues are debated in the
chamber

How a Bill If a majority votes yes then the bill

moves to the next chamber

Becomes a Law The bill is debated in the second

chamber and is put up to vote again
In Iowa (Part 3)
If the second chamber passes the bill
then it is sent to the executive branch to
be signed
Legislation
 Federal Statute State Statute

What Do They
United States Code (USC) Code of Iowa

Legislative Branch Legislative Branch

Mean When
They Say...
Federal Regulations State Rules

Code of Federal Iowa Administrative Code

Regulations (CFR) (IAC)

Executive Branch Executive Branch

What is State Iowa Code:
Code? https://www.legis.iowa.gov/law/io
waCode
 Iowa Administrative Rules:
https://www.legis.iowa.gov/law/ad
ministrativeRules

What are State Rule means each statement of

general applicability that
Rules? implements, interprets or
prescribes law or policy, or that
describes the organization,
procedure or practice requirements
of any agency. The term includes
the amendment or repeal of an
existing rule.
 This is when the General Assembly
meets to discuss and pass bills into

Legislative
law

Lasts approximately 100 days

Session The Republican party controls the
Senate, House and Governors
January - April
office
Advocacy in
Government
What is a Commission?
Consist of elected or appointed commissioners (or members of the public)
For oversight: can be used to oversee certain public aspects of society such
as safety, traffic, zoning, education, and many more
For advocacy
 Goals of commissions
1. Give communities a voice in government
2. Increase accountability - made up of a small group of elected officials or
local citizens
3. Allocate more power to citizens because commissioners are sometimes
easier to contact than elected officials and are more connected to the
community
 Commissions Within the Division of
Community Advocacy and Services
1. Commission of Native American Affairs
2. Commission on the Status of African Americans
3. Commission of Asian and Pacific Islander Affairs
4. Commission of Latino Affairs
5. Commission of Deaf Services
6. Commission of Persons with Disabilities
7. Commission on the Status of Women
How do I apply to be on a commission?

State Government County/City Government

To apply: Can be found on a city or
https://openup.iowa.gov/
county website
Openings:
DHR Resource:
https://openup.iowa.gov/openboard/
https://humanrights.iowa.gov/sites/d
efault/files/media/Guide%20to%20B
C%20for%20Women%202012.pdf