[ Thanks to Wayne
Slade for this link. ]
“The state legislative process appears consistent throughout the
United States. A citizen can petition a member of the house and/or
senate to introduce a bill if the issue addressed has merit. The
First Amendment to the US Constitution established one’s right to
petition Congress. The Supreme Court expanded the right beyond the
original wording.“In the electronic age, elected officials view the transmission
of faxes or e-mail as petitioning. If different constituents send a
letter of identical content, the receiving official views that as a
petition. That occurrence may compel the member to assess/address
the issue.“Other ways of initiating legislation exist. In the
circumstances of open-source legislation, sponsors’ constituents
began by presenting a business case. For example, I presented an
argument based on cost savings. My senator (Senator Carona of
Texas) liked the idea and moved forward. According to Carona’s
senator’s aide, I presented more research than was needed. Most
lobbyists or special interests achieve results with far less
information. Fortunately, Senator Carona knew about Linux and
open-source software as a businessperson…”