Legislator Develop, introduce, or enact laws and statutes at the local, tribal, state, or federal level. Includes only workers in elected positions.
Legislator is Also Know as
In different settings, Legislator is titled as
Education and Training of Legislator
Legislator is categorized in Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed
Experience Required for Legislator
A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.
Education Required for Legislator
Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
Degrees Related to Legislator
- Bachelor in Public Administration
- Associate Degree Courses in Public Administration
- Masters Degree Courses in Public Administration
- Bachelor in Public Policy Analysis, General
- Associate Degree Courses in Public Policy Analysis, General
- Masters Degree Courses in Public Policy Analysis, General
Training Required for Legislator
Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.
Related Ocuupations
Some Ocuupations related to Legislator in different industries are
- Chief Executives
- Political Scientists
- Judicial Law Clerks
- Treasurers and Controllers
- Public Relations Specialists
- Lawyers
- Education Administrators, Postsecondary
- Labor Relations Specialists
- Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers
- Equal Opportunity Representatives and Officers
- Executive Secretaries and Executive Administrative Assistants
- Social and Community Service Managers
- Social and Human Service Assistants
- Directors, Religious Activities and Education
- Patient Representatives
- Education Administrators, Kindergarten through Secondary
- Arbitrators, Mediators, and Conciliators
- Political Science Teachers, Postsecondary
- General and Operations Managers
- Court, Municipal, and License Clerks
What Do Legislator do?
- Analyze and understand the local and national implications of proposed legislation.
- Appoint nominees to leadership posts, or approve such appointments.
- Confer with colleagues to formulate positions and strategies pertaining to pending issues.
- Debate the merits of proposals and bill amendments during floor sessions, following the appropriate rules of procedure.
- Develop expertise in subject matters related to committee assignments.
- Hear testimony from constituents, representatives of interest groups, board and commission members, and others with an interest in bills or issues under consideration.
- Keep abreast of the issues affecting constituents by making personal visits and phone calls, reading local newspapers, and viewing or listening to local broadcasts.
- Maintain knowledge of relevant national and international current events.
- Make decisions that balance the perspectives of private citizens, public officials, and party leaders.
- Negotiate with colleagues or members of other political parties in order to reconcile differing interests, and to create policies and agreements.
- Prepare drafts of amendments, government policies, laws, rules, regulations, budgets, programs and procedures.
- Read and review concerns of constituents or the general public and determine if governmental action is necessary.
- Represent their parties in negotiations with political executives or members of other parties, and when speaking with the media.
- Review bills in committee, and make recommendations about their future.
- Seek federal funding for local projects and programs.
- Serve on commissions, investigative panels, study groups, and committees in order to examine specialized areas and recommend action.
- Vote on motions, amendments, and decisions on whether or not to report a bill out from committee to the assembly floor.
- Write, prepare, and deliver statements for the Congressional Record.
- Alert constituents of government actions and programs by way of newsletters, personal appearances at town meetings, phone calls, and individual meetings.
- Attend receptions, dinners, and conferences to meet people, exchange views and information, and develop working relationships.
- Conduct "head counts" to help predict the outcome of upcoming votes.
- Determine campaign strategies for media advertising, positions on issues, and public appearances.
- Encourage and support party candidates for political office.
- Establish personal offices in local districts or states, and manage office staff.
- Evaluate the structure, efficiency, activities, and performance of government agencies.
- Organize and maintain campaign organizations and fundraisers, in order to raise money for election or re-election.
- Oversee expense allowances, ensuring that accounts are balanced at the end of each fiscal year.
- Promote the industries and products of their electoral districts.
- Represent their government at local, national, and international meetings and conferences.
- Speak to students to encourage and support the development of future political leaders.
Qualities of Good Legislator
Tools Used by Legislator
- Computer laser printers
- Laptop computers
- Tablet computers
- Wireless desktop printers
Technology Skills required for Legislator
- Adobe Acrobat
- Adobe FrameMaker
- Antenna House
- Apple iWork Keynote
- Apple iWork Pages
- Apple Numbers for Mac
- Cisco AnyConnect
- Cisco Webex
- Corel WordPerfect Office Suite
- GoodReader
- iAnnotate
- IBM Domino
- Legislative Automative Workflow System LAWS
- LogMeIn GoToMeeting
- Mapping software
- Meeting scheduling software
- Microsoft Access
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft Exchange
- Microsoft Office software
- Microsoft Outlook
- Microsoft SharePoint
- Microsoft SQL Server
- Microsoft Visual Basic
- Microsoft Word
- Penultimate
- PTC Arbortext
- Rocket/Folio NXT
- Structured query language SQL
- Web browser software
- Windows Media Player
- XMetaL Author