Advocacy
Take action in Texas
You do not need a title, a talking point memorized, or a trip to Austin. You need to know who represents you and be willing to spend ninety seconds on the phone.
Find out who represents you
You have one Texas state representative and one state senator. They are not the same people as your members of Congress, and for almost everything we work on — Medicaid, the Preferred Drug List, insurance rules, a Rare Disease Advisory Council — the state officials are the ones who decide.
Enter your home address and Texas will tell you who they are:
Call the district office, not Austin
Between sessions — which is most of the time — members are home. The district office is quieter, the staff have more time, and a constituent call there carries further than one to the Capitol.
Ask for the staffer who handles health care. Then:
- Say your name, your town, and that you are a constituent.
- Say what you are calling about in one sentence.
- Make one specific ask.
- Leave your number and ask for a written response.
“Hi, my name is [your name] and I live in [your town] — I am a constituent. My [son / daughter / husband / I] live[s] with hemophilia.
I am calling because Texas is one of the few states without a Rare Disease Advisory Council. HB 3554 passed the House last session and the Senate never took it up. I would like to know whether Representative [name] will support it when it comes back in 2027.
I am happy to be a resource on this — there are about 3,000 Texans living with hemophilia and I would be glad to talk to whoever handles health care in the office. My number is [number].”
Ask for a meeting while they are in district
Email the scheduler at the district office. Keep it to five lines: who you are, where you live, what you want to talk about, who is coming, and when you are free. Confirm about a week before — schedules move constantly.
Bring one page. Leave it behind. Send a thank-you the same day, and answer anything you promised to look up.
Come to Austin Days — February 22–23, 2027
Once a session, the Texas bleeding disorders community goes to the Capitol together — families, treatment center staff and chapter leaders, in scheduled meetings all day. It is the single most effective thing you can do, and you will never be sent into a room alone.
The next one is Monday and Tuesday, February 22 and 23, 2027, at the Texas State Capitol. That is about six weeks into the session and before the bill filing deadline — so the people you meet can still file and amend legislation based on what you tell them.
Wear red in March
March is Bleeding Disorders Awareness Month in Texas, declared in perpetuity in 2019 through the work of Rep. Tom Oliverson and Sen. Eddie Lucio, Jr. Ask your legislator to wear a red tie, scarf or bandana and post it.
Tag us and use #RedTieChallenge and #BleedingDisorders.
The advocacy calendar
| When | What happens |
|---|---|
| Nov 9, 2026 | Prefiling opens. Bills for the next session can be filed from this day. |
| Jan 12, 2027 | The 90th Legislature convenes. Bills are referred to committee. |
| Feb 22–23, 2027 | Austin Days at the Texas State Capitol. Two days of scheduled meetings with legislators and their staff. |
| Mar 3–5, 2027 | Washington Days in Washington, DC — the federal equivalent, for anyone who wants to carry this to Congress too. |
| Mar 12, 2027 | Last day to file bills. After this, nothing new can be introduced except in emergencies — which is why Austin Days comes first. |
| Spring 2027 | Committee hearings — where public testimony actually changes bills. |
| May 31, 2027 | Sine die. The session ends and the veto period begins. Anything not passed waits two years. |
| Interim | Agency work: Drug Utilization Review Board meetings, Preferred Drug List decisions, interim charges. Open to the public, and thinly attended. |
Before you go
Print the toolkit. Page one is what you hand to the staffer; page two is what you read in the hallway first.
Where to next
Before you pick up the phone
We will let you know when a hearing, a comment period or a vote needs your voice — and exactly what to say.