A member of the public can get involved in the legislative process in Ohio in several ways: 1. Suggest Legislation: Individuals can propose ideas for new laws or changes to existing laws. These ideas can be shared with members of the General Assembly, who can draft them into a bill. 2. Attend Committee Hearings: Public members can attend hearings held by standing committees after a bill has been assigned to them. This is an opportunity to provide testimony, either in support of or against a bill. 3. Submit Written Testimony: In addition to speaking at hearings, community members can submit written testimony regarding their opinions on proposed legislation. 4. Contact Representatives: Individuals can reach out to their representatives in the Ohio General Assembly to express their views on pending legislation. This could include providing feedback, lobbying in favor or against specific bills, and sharing personal stories or data related to the legislation. 5. Follow Legislative Processes: Citizens can track the status of bills and resolutions through a bill tracking service, which provides information about pending legislation, committee schedules, and legislative calendars. 6. Join Advocacy Groups: Many organizations work to influence legislation on various issues. Joining or supporting these groups can amplify an individual's voice on specific policy areas. 7. Participate in Public Forums or Town Halls: Many legislators host events where constituents can come and discuss issues, ask questions, and provide input on local and state matters. 8. Vote: Ultimately, participating in elections is a key aspect of influencing the legislative process. Individuals can vote for candidates whose policies align with their views on legislation.

Tracking bills is hard, especially if you rely on state legislature websites, which are often hard to navigate. Thousands of bills get filed in Ohio every year (and about 180,000 bills nationwide). If you want to be an effective advocate, you need to know where legislation of interest stands, and act quickly.

FastDemocracy's free version allows you to track an unlimited number of bills - no strings attached. We'll send you a daily or weekly email on your priority bills and give you tools to research bills and legislators.

FastDemocracy Professional is for anyone who tracks bills in a professional capacity. It features

• real-time bill, amendment and hearing alerts
• automated reporting
• team collaboration
• bill tagging for clients and stakeholders
• bill similarity detection
• ...and much more

1. Sign up here for a free FastDemocracy account.

2. Head to Tracked Topics to select issue areas you care about.

3. Use the search bar on top if you're looking for something specific.

4. Click "Track Bill" for any legislation you'd like to monitor a bit closer. That's how you add it to your Tracked Bills. You can also click on a bill to learn more, see the bill summary, most recent actions, votes, news and tweets. You can also contact legislators or share your bills on social media.

5. You can track an unlimited number of bills for free and we'll send you a daily or weekly email if your tracked legislation moves.

6. Do you need real-time alerts, outreach tools, bill lists, and professional functions? Then FastDemocracy Professional is the right fit for you.

7. Track bills on your smartphone using our free mobile app.

You can use the Find Your Legislators tool to find them, see their voting records, and contact them.