Making the Most of Your State Legislative Program
April 2025
Chemical management may not sound like a hot topic to most people, but for members of the American Cleaning Institute (ACI), proper regulation is critical for their businesses.
Twenty years ago, ACI would have turned to Capitol Hill to advise on proper regulations for chemical management. But over the past 10 years, those decisions have been increasingly taken up in the states, and ACI found it needed to have a presence in key states to ensure that new laws and regulations took its members’ needs into account. Today, ACI has a government affairs presence in eight states and New York City.
ACI is just one of the many associations that have expanded their state strategies in the past decade. During that time, Congress has passed less legislation and with less consensus year after year. Meanwhile, states have assumed a greater regulatory role. Now, as federal spending and regulation are changing rapidly, the trend toward state-level policy and regulation will accelerate to fill many of the gaps left by federal changes.
“States are where the action is because things move so fast and they are able to impact operations in a real-world way today,” explains Pierce Haley, partner at Serlin Haley, which provides a full spectrum of lobbying services across all 50 states.
Whether you’ve been building a state program for years like the American Cleaning Institute, or are just getting started, here are some ideas and tips for building and strengthening your impact at the state level.
An Opportunity to Be the Expert
While every state legislature is different, one thing that most of them have in common is that they’re considerably less resourced than their federal counterparts. Most state legislatures aren’t full time, and state politicians may not have much familiarity with the highly specialized issues that affect your industry. Unlike a congressional committee, which might have a dozen expert full-time staff members, most state lawmakers are lucky to have one or two full-time staff in their office — at most.
This presents an opportunity to position your industry or association to fill those knowledge gaps as a trusted adviser. “There’s a lot of opportunity to be the subject matter expert,” says Jon Potter, chief strategy officer at RXN Group, which works with clients in states to advance policy. “Maintain your credibility by always telling the truth and be candid about what the other side is going to say about the issue.”
A good state lobbyist can also help enhance your credibility and ensure that your expertise on an issue helps to shape the outcome. “In Washington, D.C., you have many lobbyists who are pure subject matter experts. But in the states, substance is often second to relationships for the lobbyist,” explains Potter.
He advises associations to hire a state lobbyist who has trust, credibility and terrific relationships. That lobbyist in turn will rely on the expertise of the association for fact sheets, memos and policy analysis.
Getting to Know Your State
“Every state legislature or state government has its own set of norms and rules and timelines,” says Potter. And it’s critical to know the ins and outs of the state where you plan to be active.
One key consideration is party control. A state that has one-party control will require different tactics from a state with split control, and a state where one party has a supermajority will also require a different approach.
But while party control is an important factor, state legislators tend to be more in tune with their constituents and sometimes split along unorthodox lines. “In states like Maine, legislator voting patterns tend to break down along rural versus urban lines rather than Democrat versus Republican,” warns Haley. Understanding the breakdown of the legislature and what motivates each member is key.
Each state also has its own unique session schedule and deadlines, and understanding these is critical in order to engage at the right time. In some states, the legislature meets only every other year for a few weeks. Others meet year-round. Those schedules will inform whether to be in a state capitol year-round or just at key times, when to meet about legislation or budget issues, or when and whether you’ll be able to testify.
Keep an eye on legislatures that are in session, which often move quickly. “The first part of the year is sleepless,” warns Brennan Georgianni, ACI’s associate vice president, government affairs and strategy. “There are key deadlines in each state when things need to be filed or moved in or out of committee. It becomes a full-time job very quickly.”
Don’t forget to factor in the executives at the state level, too. Governors and attorneys general can kill the work you’ve done in the legislature, so be sure to have a strategy for ensuring that those key officials understand your legislation and why it’s important.
Deciding Factors
The biggest issues the states are taking on right now include technology, energy and climate, consumer protection and the economy. From regulating AI to rules about new data centers to responding to economic uncertainty, states are often on the front lines of responding to the issues everyday people are most concerned about.
They’re also increasingly stepping in on the regulatory front where they might see inaction from federal regulatory agencies.
If any of these issues concern your industry or association, you might want to ramp up your state policy program. But how to decide when and where to get involved?
For Georgianni, the decision is member-driven, and there needs to be a clear reason that ACI should lead. All 150-plus members of ACI, which represents the U.S. cleaning products industry, get a say in what issues are most pressing to them. Then, Georgianni looks at the states most likely to move legislation on those issues and decides whether ACI needs to lead the lobbying effort or whether it can support an existing effort.
“It’s got to be pretty specific to your industry and your industry alone,” he advises. For example, ACI cares about issues like packaging or recycling, but so do many other consumer goods industries. In those cases, ACI may decide to support those already leading the effort, rather than try to take the lead itself. On the other hand, if ACI doesn’t lead on issues like chemical management, no one will. “If an issue flies under the radar but is very important to our industry — impacting specific cleaning product ingredients — that’s when we’ll get ultra involved.”
The state’s size and influence can also influence the decision to get involved. Rules and regulations adopted by large states can end up becoming de facto national standards because the market is so big. For example, California is the world’s fifth-largest economy, and when it sets energy standards or digital privacy rules, most industries will meet those standards rather than risk losing access to California customers.
Evaluating the national impact of a state’s policy can help determine whether it’s worth the time and expense to engage.
Start Small
If state work is new to you, rest assured: You don’t need to jump into all 50 states at once. “Start small and expand from there,” Georgianni advises. “You don’t need to reinvent the wheel immediately.”
He recommends starting with one state where a priority issue is being legislated but no one else is taking the lead. Over time, as you build expertise, you can add states to your portfolio.
Because each state is unique, take the time to really get to know and understand the workings of that state. Hire a lobbyist or counsel who has experience working with the committee or committees you’re most likely to face. If that lobbyist has experience with your industry or issues, that’s even better.
And don’t forget to invest in a state legislative tracker. “You definitely have to have a tracking system. We’d be lost without ours,” Georgianni says. “There are a lot out there, so find one that works for you.”
All Politics Is Local
We’ve all heard the adage “all politics is local,” but it’s especially true at the state level. State legislators tend to be more aware of the people they represent and their needs. They see them at Little League games, school concerts and worship services, and it’s much harder for state officials to dodge their constituents when they’re interacting with them in their home communities.
Being sensitive to this dynamic, and being explicit about how new legislation will help or hurt their constituents, is key to being effective. Also key: mobilizing grassroots and grasstops support. Whereas directing emails to members of Congress has become less effective over the years, state legislators are very receptive to feedback from their constituents.
“Getting even 10 emails from constituents moves the needle — if those emails are from real constituents in their own words,” says Potter. “Your lobbyists work inside the building and the grassroots work outside. When they work together, it’s very powerful.”
Local media can also help to move the needle. “Letters to the editor and opinion pieces in the paper or online can motivate a voter to call their legislator on the issue’s behalf,” advises Haley. “You can then reproduce these articles and amplify their effect by email blasts to listservs on the issue.”
State-level races can easily be won or lost by very few votes, and legislators recognize this. Hearing from motivated constituents can sometimes be enough to reach agreement on your issue.
“Find ways to connect your member companies with state legislators,” says Georgianni. “Those are valuable relationships that can really influence outcomes at the state level.”
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[In the past decade], Congress has passed less legislation and with less consensus year after year. Meanwhile, states have assumed a greater regulatory role. Now, as federal spending and regulation are changing rapidly, the trend toward state-level policy and regulation will accelerate to fill many of the gaps left by federal changes.
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