CTCPA Advocacy Toolkit
Help protect your career, your company, and your clients by getting engaged in the legislative process with these simple steps.
Many issues related to how competitive our state is for our businesses and employees are decided by policy at the State Capitol. If more members become involved in these efforts, we can bring about far more meaningful change. At the same time, you'll be able to learn about the legislative process and grow as a leader.
If you have questions or are interested in becoming more involved, please contact Director of Operations & Advocacy Cindy Panioto at cindyp@ctcpas.org or 860-258-0213. She'd love to tell you more.
Stay informed with CTCPA updates.
CTCPA updates, including our Advocacy Updates, Member eNews, and legislative alerts and advisories bring you breaking news and identify the issues most important to the profession. Please be sure to read these alerts and reach out to your staff and colleagues to ensure they're doing the same.
Send messages with our simple action center when issues arise.
Grassroots advocacy – where a large number of constituents are mobilized and contact their legislators about a specific issue – is a vital part of the process and will often make or break a proposal's success. It's also the main action we simply can't implement without your help.
This level of involvement is extremely quick and easy. When an issue arises, we'll send you an alert explaining the situation and include a link to our VoterVoice Action Center, where we provide a pre-written message for you to send. All you need to do is edit it a bit with your own personal perspective or a little about yourself. Next, put in your address and hit “send message.” The system will automatically identify your districts and send the message directly to your legislators. That's all there is to it!
Take your involvement to the next level.
Get to know your legislators.
Visit www.ctcpas.org/ActionCenter and enter your address under the “Find Officials” heading to get contact information for your representatives and senators. A note, email, or phone call is a great way to introduce yourself and let your elected officials know that you and the CTCPA are here to answer any questions related to taxation, business, and the profession. Many officials will be happy to meet up with constituents for in-person or virtual meetings when possible.
Make a personal ask for help on important issues.
Large-scale contact through our VoterVoice Action Center is imperative to create a groundswell and bring attention to our issues and proposals. However, there are many competing interests and factions at the Capitol. Personal phone calls or other outreach to legislators you have taken the time to get to know personally can be extremely effective to further bring important issues to the forefront.
Write and submit testimony.
Each year CTCPA staff and members testify on bills important to the profession. You could help change a law or requirement that poses significant issues for your company or your clients. If there is a legislative matter you have in-depth knowledge of or that you feel should be addressed in the upcoming session, please reach out to us.