Thanks to donors, we’ve started to roll out a new legislative tracking and advocacy service to the public as well as to those who partner with us.
We recently contracted with BillTrack50 a national legislative database and tracking service that will allow us to manage bill data related to adoptee-related equal rights legislation in all fifty states as well as in the US Congress. We’ve already put together AU’s initial legislative tracking page here, but we will also be rolling out additional new features from the service very soon.
This will allow us to provide near real-time updates on pending legislation. On top of that, it will allow us to work with our state and national partners to provide bill data, legislative contacts, geospacial data, and bill actions quickly, accurately, and professionally. We’ll be able to help with building rapid responses to pending legislation as well as build databases that allow us to engage thousands more advocates and people on the issue of equal rights for adult adopted people. This is a priority goal of Adoptees United.
Some of the features we will be rolling out or providing to our partners include:
- State-level bill tracking that updates on our website in real-time;
- Legislative scorecards that show legislative support for or opposition to equal rights legislation;
- Comprehensive legislative contacts that will give us and our partners social media links for legislators as well as important contact information for legislative staffers across the country;
- Federal bill tracking, whether that relates to intercountry adoptees or bills that impact adoptee rights nationwide;
- Maps that show geographic support for bills in each state as well as where where there is support for federal bills in each U.S. Senate and House district.
We will provide more focused services to state-level organizations who commit to the unrestricted right of adult adoptees to obtain their own original birth certificates. For national legislation, we will work with allies on issues that directly impact adult adopted people in the United States, particularly US citizenship, immigration, and issues with basic identity documentation.
Sample Simple Bill List: Massachusetts
The following is a simple bill list that provides historical data on bills that have been filed in a specific state (or on a specific topic), including the most recent bills. It updates automatically whenever a new bill is filed that meets our search criteria. For demonstration purposes, this list shows bills from Massachusetts, including the two equal rights bills that are currently pending in the legislature.
Sample Map: New York
We will also create maps based on voting records and sponsorships of bills. The following map relates to the New York Assembly’s vote and sponsorship of A5494, the equal rights legislation that recently passed overwhelmingly in New York. It can quickly show where there is support and where there is current or prior opposition.
Stakeholder Pages
We will also provide partner organizations direct access to legislative data, which they can embed on their websites or use for pending legislative actions. This includes bill tracking, legislative scorecards, mapping, and access to the comprehensive contact information for legislators. If you are an organization that commits to equality for all adoptees and is interested in working with us to secure that equality, get in touch with us.
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