We started this all-virtual legislative session in the cold of winter, unsure of what to expect from online hearings, zoom votes, and more. Now spring is here, we are past the halfway mark of the Washington State legislative session, and our nimble teams are adapting every week – navigating “virtual Olympia” and ensuring our Priority bills are alive and well.
We’re happy to say that our priorities have survived each critical deadline this legislative session, including the Opposite Policy Cut-off date last Friday. In preparation, two weeks ago we led the Environmental Priorities Coalition in a Digital Week of Action to make our voices heard loud and clear before last week’s cutoff.
We rallied our activists, members and coalition partners on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to advocate for healthy communities and a thriving environment. Building on the success of last month’s all-virtual Environmental Lobby Week of Action, trained constituents tagged, tweeted and advocated on social media.
Morning to evening, EPC spread the word about important actions to protect and restore Washington’s environment. We used our favorite digital platforms to inspire neighbors, friends, family, peers, and more to act for healthy communities. On Tuesday we kicked off the week of action advocating for Climate Action, pushing for a Clean Fuel Standard and Clean and Just transportation, both key priorities of EPC! Wednesday, the focus was Environmental Justice, pushing the HEAL Act and updating the Growth Management Act with the #WACantWait campaign. Thursday, we decided to #FollowTheMoney and advocate for Conservation Works budget and a Working Families Tax Rebate, wrapping up the week on Friday with advocacy for Voting Rights Restoration (HB 1078) and the Worker Protection Act.
We’re confident this effort caught the attention of legislators – we estimate that throughout the week, over 500 tweets were sent on behalf of these priorities, and countless Facebook and Instagram posts!
Our Digital Week of Action was accessible to anyone, allowing folks to amplify the campaigns with a post or two every day. We gathered for “lunch time office hours” and at volunteer text banks to answer questions.
With your help, we can build a climate-resilient community here in Washington and beyond. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram to amplify our work. Get to know your legislators names and platforms, help us inspire them to do the right thing, join us in keeping the pressure on through the end of session, and make every week a digital week of action!
