Talking Business With Your State Legislators

Being in business means you wear many hats. Your days are filled with the needs of your employees, customers, along with marketing and maintaining the products or services you provide. Another element that's equally as critical to thriving businesses but which many overlook, is building a good working relationship with your local legislators. If you have thought about taking action on a bill that may impact your business but have struggled making time to get your thoughts heard, then we have some great tips for you.

Guest Eric Gjede, Vice President of Government Affairs at CBIA, chats with Avon/Canton Chamber of Commerce Executive Director, Lisa Bohman, about the easiest and best methods for connecting with your state legislators. Eric shares simple ways to learn about and track proposed bills, how to automate following a committee or individual legislator's bills, easy ways to craft and provide testimony in-person or virtually, along with general do's and don'ts to effectively communicate and build a relationship with local lawmakers.

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Eric Gjede is vice president for public policy with CBIA, Connecticut’s leading business organization. He represents the views of Connecticut businesses on labor, employment, and transportation issues. He serves as CBIA’s state ethics compliance counsel. He also directs CBIA’s Labor and Employment Law Council and helps support the organization’s Taxation and Finance Committee. Gjede serves as an appointed member of the Connecticut Department of Labor’s Employment Security Advisory Board. He also serves on the Second Injury Fund Advisory Board. He is a member of the Connecticut Bar Association and the Association of Connecticut Lobbyists. Prior to CBIA, Gjede was an associate legislative attorney with the Legislative Commissioners’ Office, the nonpartisan legal office of the Connecticut General Assembly. In that position, he provided legal counsel to the members of the General Assembly’s committees on Commerce and Labor and Public Employees. He also drafted all the legislation and amendments considered by those committees. Gjede earned his J.D. at the University of Connecticut School of Law and also holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Connecticut.

Eric’s handles:

Twitter - https://twitter.com/egjede

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/eric-gjede-b4ba0b138/

Website: https://www.cbia.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/cbianews/

Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/company/cbia/

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/CBIAfb

Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/@CBIAvideos

Additional Resources:

CBIA Membership benefits: https://www.cbia.com/benefits/

CBIA Events: https://www.cbia.com/events/

CBIA Action Center: https://cbia.com/action-center/