Every Legislative body has its own official terminology as well as its own lingo. Many terms are the same across most if not all jurisdictions but some terms are unique to a particular state and others mean different things in different venues.
To be a successful lobbyist, one MUST become familiar with all the key terms as they are used in his or her particular jurisdiction. Why is this true? If you are going to succeed you must know what people mean when they use specific words in specific ways. Likewise, it is important that you are able to communicate so that others understand precisely what you mean. Also, if you are not using terms as they understood in your jurisdiction, you are, in effect, placing a sign on your back that says: ” I am a rookie, please take advantage of me.”
Let’s look at a single example. In Congress & in most state legislatures, legislators who introduce bills are called sponsors. In California, a sponsor is the entity who requested a legislator to introduce a bill while that legislator is referred to as the “author”. You can imagine the confusion that results when someone unfamiliar with that practice either asks who the sponsor is when they mean the author or responds to such a question.
Wherever you are lobbying, it is critical to locate a high quality glossary & to become familiar with its definitions. That doesn’t mean you have to memorize every term & definition but you do have to develop that working familiarity.
My experience shows that most glossaries are not worth the paper they are printed on. Finding a good glossary is critical. Almost every jurisdiction that I’ve researched has at least one that is the gold standard for that venue. Find it & use it!
How to Lobby 