Higher Education Committee Members

Q. Where can I find UUP's Legislative Agenda?

A. The UUP Legislative Agenda is available on the UUP website (see link above). It is updated by the Outreach Committee and approved by the Executive Board annually. UUP members can obtain hard copies of the Legislative Agenda brochure by calling the UUP main office (800 342-4206) and asking for Tom Kriger, Director of Legislation, or Robert Trimarchi, Coordinator of Research and Legislation. Each year the UUP Legislation and Political Action Committees and the Legislation Department put together a Political Action Manual that contains information on New York State politics, UUP's legislation agenda and UUP's Albany and district lobbying campaigns. UUP members can obtain a copy of the Political Action Manual by calling the UUP main office.

Q. Where can I find information on my state representatives?

A. The UUP Legislation Department can assist you with information on your state representatives. We maintain a legislative database with local and Albany addresses and telephone numbers for all the members of the New York State Legislature. Another convenient way to find out who represents you is to use the NYSUT website (www.nysut.org). On the left-hand side of the NYSUT website under the Resources heading, click on the link Contact Your Elected Officials. You can then follow the simple directions on the screen to find which state and national legislators represent your district, and to fax and e-mail your representatives or the governor regarding a number of issues relevant to UUP members. You simply type in your zip code and select the letters relevant to higher education.

Q. How else could I contact my representatives?

A. One of the best ways to contact your representatives is through the State Assembly, State Senate or Congressional websites. The Assembly and Senate both have an online version of their directories (www.assembly.state.ny.us) (www.senate.state.ny.us). If you know the name of the legislator you wish to contact, you may click on his or her name and you will see his or her district, a bio, committee assignments and other important information. To contact your local member of the U.S. Congress, you may visit (www.senate.gov) or (www.house.gov). Some members of Congress have webpages, while others have only a directory listing.

Q. How do I get a copy of pending legislation in New York State?

A. For information on bills in the New York State Legislature, you can call the Legislation Department, which has access to this information through the Legislative Retrieval System. You can also check the Assembly and State Senate websites. For Congressional legislation, both the House and Senate have links for researching bills on their websites. You may also use the website Thomas for national legislative information, which gives you access to the Congressional Record and other congressional information (thomas.loc.gov).