By attending the fundraisers of local legislators, our members make themselves more visible and give TSPS a stronger presence in the legislative arena. To be effective, TSPS members need to contribute not only to SurPAC, but also directly to their local legislators. What is the most effective way to make contributions? Remember, there are many people and organizations with interests contrary to ours spending large amounts of money to either pass legislation detrimental to the surveying profession or to defeat our initiatives. This is simply the way the political process works we can choose to be an active participant, or we can opt out, but either way our profession is going to be impacted by whatever happens during the Session. That is why we must have a broad-based approach in our contribution efforts. We get put on the friends to help list when items come up that affect our profession. Recognition as a serious association when an individual legislator sees our name associated with a legislative initiative, and access to individual legislators when we need assistance or the opportunity to get our message across at the appropriate time. What does TSPS get for making contributions? Where political contributions come from, and what they may be used for, is strictly governed by law. Typically, contributions to legislators are used for campaign/election expenses and officeholder expenses. The "industry standard" for worthwhile or effective political donations is a minimum of $1000 for Senators and $500 for Representatives.
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This could be an influential committee chair or member, an individual legislator with a special interest in an area in which we are involved, a legislator we feel could carry a particular bill effectively, or a legislator we feel might oppose us without our support. The TSPS leadership and legislative counsel determine the legislators in the positions that are deemed necessary for support of our legislative initiatives.
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SurPAC provides TSPS the means to create and maintain a presence in the legislative process by providing financial contributions to those legislators who have helped us in the past and those we feel will be needed for future assistance. SurPAC is the political fundraising arm of TSPS that works in conjunction with the Governmental Affairs Committee and TSPS legal counsel.