Understanding PAC Classic's Legislative Tracking Modules

Metadata: Created November 2024, product PAC Classic

Overview

PAC Classic's Issues, Bills, and Votes modules offer comprehensive tools for legislative tracking and analysis. This document provides a detailed guide on utilizing these modules to efficiently manage legislative activities and engagements.

Issues, Bills, and Votes

Overview

• Issues Module: Organizational tool for categorizing legislative issues.
• Bills Module: Tracks legislation and associated legislators.
• Votes Module: Monitors legislators' voting records on tracked bills.

Adding Issues

1. Navigate to the Issues Tab and select New Issue. 
2. Enter the name of the issue, select relevant details such as bill type and category. 
3. Submit the issue to add it to the system.

Tracking Bills

1. Click on the Bills Tab and choose New Bill.   
2. Enter legislation ID following specific formatting guidelines. 

• Enter the Session Of Congress, i.e. 118
• Enter the Chamber, I.e H or S
• Enter the Type, i.e. B, R, RES, or JRES
• Enter the Bill Number, i.e 4923
• Here are some examples of what this looks like in a full string:
• Example 1: 110SRES265
• Example 2: 110HCONRES1234
• Example 3: 115HR4923
• Example 4: 110S5
• NOTE: A valid Bill Number must be entered. If it is not correct, the system will display a red error message with instructions that remind you about the format the tool is seeking to be entered.

1. Provide bill details, link to relevant issues, and set options such as sponsorship rating, type, category, introduction date, etc. 
2. Select Yes next to LinkService Update to make sure the bill is updated automatically. 
3. Submit the bill to add it to the system.

Running LinkService Jobs

• Scheduled updates: Check and edit scheduled jobs under Admin Tab > Jobs. 

  

• Manual updates: Add a job and select LinkService to update bills and votes immediately. 

  

• This will open the Job Wizard where you can Schedule the Job to run, or set it to run Now.  Click through the prompts and click Submit on the last screen.

Using Sentiments to Predict Vote Outcomes

• Enter sentiments based on intelligence gathered to predict vote outcomes.
• Update sentiments individually or in bulk.

Tracking Votes

1. Access the Vote Tab and choose New Vote. 

   

2. Enter roll call number and relevant details following specific formatting guidelines.
   
   

   -Enter the Chamber, i.e H or S

   -Enter the Year of the Vote, i.e 2016

   -Enter the Vote Number, i.e. 166

   Here is an example of what this looks like in a full string:

   Example 1: H20160166

   NOTE: A valid Roll Call Number string must be entered. If it is not correct, the system will display a red error message with instructions that display the format the tool is seeking to be entered.

   If the roll call number is only two or three numbers, you must add zeros so that the bill portion of the string is four characters. If the bill number is 166, you need to enter 0166

   
   
   
3. Provide vote details, link to relevant issues and bills, and set options such as viewpoint and publication. 
4. Submit the vote to add it to the system.

Relevant Queries and Reports

• Issues Queries: Search or edit issues, generate reports on related activities.
• Bills Queries: Find bills based on various criteria, generate reports on related activities.
• Vote Queries: Search for votes based on different parameters.
• Custom Reports: Create custom reports if standard reports do not meet requirements.

FAQs

1. Can I create multiple Scheduled LinkService updates?
   • Yes, schedule multiple jobs to run daily at different times.
2. What if LinkService is not in my available Jobs list?
   • Contact your Account Manager to activate this job.
3. Can I customize the Legislative Profile report?
   • Yes, customize reports with specific client information after scoping the project.
4. How are Issues different from Grassroots campaign Issues?
   • While related, not all Issues need associated campaigns. Contact support for more information.
5. Why are co-sponsors or votes not displaying after running the Job?
   • Double-check entered information and ensure correct formatting. If correct, check vote type and rerun the LinkService Job.
6. Why don't I see a place for Bills or Votes on my eAdvocacy site?
   • Contact your Account Manager to add this feature back to your site.

Notes:

• Efficient utilization of PAC Classic's modules enhances legislative tracking and engagement capabilities.
• Regularly update jobs and review reports to stay informed on legislative activities.
• Contact PAC support for assistance or customization requests.