Did you know that only 10 U.S. legislatures operate full-time? The rest function primarily from January through June, meaning many state policy initiatives slow to a crawl when fall hits.
Throughout the off-season, RAINN’s policy experts continue to work closely with dedicated policymakers to draft legislation, digest the latest research, nurture key relationships, and prepare for the coming year. Here’s a glimpse of what it takes to keep critical state bills alive and advancing:
9 Hours with a RAINN Policy Advocate
Hi! I'm Mollie Montague, RAINN's director of state legislative affairs. I lead our efforts nationwide to improve access to justice for survivors by changing state laws.
Here’s a look at an off-season workday in my life as a RAINN policy advocate:
8 AM. Coffee. We’re not superstitious or anything, but mug selection does impact what kind of day you have.
8:15 AM. Time to touch base with the policy team! We’re a small department that works closely to support each other's work on the grassroots, state, and federal levels.
9 AM. I follow up with legislators who will sponsor/carry our legislation next year. Today, this means sending a few emails to legislators and staffers. Other times, I’m pitching policy ideas and answering questions in virtual meetings.
10 AM. RAINN often drafts language for legislators to pass on to their state drafters; other times, legislators send their drafts to RAINN for our feedback and recommendations. All this back-and-forth involves lots of reading and reviewing. Reviewing legislation before it gets introduced is essential because each new bill lays the groundwork for the committee meetings and hearings where the legislation will be assessed and discussed by lawmakers.
11 AM. I check in with our Policy and Grassroots Coordinator, Zoey Brewer. We need to determine how best to include student groups, coalitions, and survivors in our work in a given state. After a summer of nonstop outreach, now is the time to prepare all the relevant parties for the coming session. We also look ahead at any potential hearings and evaluate who should attend.
11:45 AM. I connect with RAINN’s Senior Legislative Policy Counsel Sandi Johnson, and as usual, I learn a small college-course-load about one of the policies we’re working on: how it will play out in real life and how it ties into other aspects of the law. We review several bills together, discuss the finer policy points of our priority issues, and outline our plans for some new policy memos.
1 PM. I talk with a RAINN Speakers Bureau member who’s working with us on legislation in her state. I ask how she’s faring, update her on our work with the bill’s sponsor, and discuss how she wants to engage with the bill’s journey over the coming year.
Partnerships with survivors are tremendously important to policy work. I try to represent survivors in every conversation I have with legislators, but nothing affects lawmakers like hearing directly from a survivor about a policy's real-life impact.
2 PM. I don’t have any more meetings today, so I pivot to preparing materials for session. During the legislative season we send, distribute, and enter into the public record hundreds of letters or memos of support, testimony, one-pagers, and talking points. To the extent that we know what legislation we aim to push in the coming year, I can prepare some of these materials in advance.
Distilling complex policy into a few short, clear, and convincing sentences takes more time than you may think. Some of these materials may only be glanced at for seconds; others will be relied on by sponsors and advocates for the lifetime of a bill. Either way, they need to be strong, factual, and attention-grabbing.
Mollie Montague during RAINN’s Congressional Day of Action in Washington, D.C., 2024
2:17 PM. Surprise! One of our few contract lobbyists calls me in the middle of my day to tell me they spoke about our bill to someone who needs a question answered ASAP—AND they’re asking me to attend a hearing in November. Now I’m planning travel to that state’s capital.
These unexpected updates are a normal part of my work, and they occur frequently during session. The nature of legislation and the condensed state legislative calendar means I need to be on my toes and ready to act quickly. In most cases, I interact directly with legislators and staffers, providing resources, following developments, and establishing meaningful connections between lawmakers and survivors.
3 PM. What was I working on before that call? Oh yes, preparing for session.
In addition to prepping materials for session, I also work on building systems for tracking legislation during session and sharing critical information with other parts of RAINN. (It's common knowledge among my colleagues that I love a good spreadsheet!) We also use software to track key bills as they are introduced nationwide. Sandi, Zoey, and I work together to ensure we have a system for reviewing bills and reacting to them well in advance of the start of session.
Mollie Montague leads a policy discussion with RAINN partners in Washington, D.C., 2024
4 PM. We do have a few bills in session that we’re continuing to work on, so I check in on those and prepare any action needed. I meet with a legislator who will be a key decision-maker, then I touch base with a sponsor’s staff to discuss strategy. As these state sessions near their busy and chaotic ends, we get creative about ways to fit our priorities into the bills that are most likely to pass.
5 PM. I shoot a text off to a coalition partner just to check in and see how they’re doing. As a former state senate staffer myself, I know caring outside of session really matters—especially as a nonprofit advocate.
As I walk away from my desk for the day, I get a news alert with an article covering a state’s efforts to address statutes of limitations reform. I make a mental note to reach out to that legislation’s sponsors tomorrow—if we haven’t already.
Help Promote These 4 Priority Policy Measures
Action Needed: SHIELD Act
>>> READ THE SHIELD ACT
STATUS: The SHIELD Act passed the Senate; now it must pass the House
SPONSOR: Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) with extensive bipartisan support
THE ISSUE: Sharing private, sexually explicit, or nude images without consent should be a crime. You may know these types of images as “revenge porn;” RAINN calls them nonconsensual intimate images (NCII).
WHY DOES THIS BILL MATTER? The SHIELD Act would establish a federal criminal penalty for individuals who spread NCII. The act would also expand the definition of an “intimate image of a minor” and criminalize exploitative images of children that may not meet the current legal definition of CSAM.
GET INVOLVED: Urge your representative to support the SHIELD Act in the House.
>>> FIND AND CONTACT YOUR REPRESENTATIVE
Action Needed: TAKE IT DOWN Act
>>> READ THE TAKE IT DOWN ACT
STATUS: The TAKE IT DOWN Act passed the Senate; now we must push the House to pass it, as well
SPONSOR: Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) with extensive bipartisan support
THE ISSUE: To prosecute someone for a crime, that person’s actions must have violated a law. No law = no prosecution. RAINN is working with legislators nationwide to criminalize a rapidly emerging threat: online sexual abuse using NCII and AI-generated “deepfakes.”
WHY DOES THIS BILL MATTER? The TAKE IT DOWN Act would criminalize the distribution of nonconsensual intimate images (NCII) and AI-generated “deepfakes.” Once law, TAKE IT DOWN would also require online platforms to implement processes for reporting NCII and removing it within 48 hours.
GET INVOLVED: Urge your representative to support the TAKE IT DOWN Act in the House.
>>> FIND AND CONTACT YOUR REPRESENTATIVE
Action Needed: DEFIANCE Act
>>> READ THE DEFIANCE ACT
STATUS: The DEFIANCE Act passed the Senate; we must push the House to pass this bill
SPONSOR: Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), with bipartisan support
THE ISSUE: The creation and distribution of AI-generated explicit images is increasing exponentially as AI technology becomes more accessible to the public. The overwhelming majority of this AI-generated material is sexually explicit, and it is produced and distributed without the consent of the person depicted. These images represent an insidious new sexual abuse threat, and children are particularly vulnerable.
WHY DOES THIS BILL MATTER? The DEFIANCE Act of 2024 seeks to stop the spread of AI-manipulated explicit images (also known as “deepfakes”) by creating a way for victims who can be identified in a digital forgery to seek a civil remedy—in other words, giving survivors the ability to sue offenders.
GET INVOLVED: Urge your representative to support the DEFIANCE Act in the House.
>>> FIND AND CONTACT YOUR REPRESENTATIVE
Action Needed: Statute of Limitations Reform in Indiana
>>> READ INDIANA SENATE BILL 151
STATUS: This bill has not yet been introduced
AUTHORS: Sen. Scott Alexander (R-IN-26), Sen. Michael Crider (R-IN-28), Sen. Stacey Donato (R-IN-18)
THE ISSUE: Legislation to eliminate statutes of limitations (SOLs) is vital to providing survivors with a pathway to justice—whenever they are ready to come forward.
WHY DOES THIS BILL MATTER? SB 151 would eliminate the statute of limitations (SOL) for level 3 felony rape and child molestation. Furthermore, the bill specifies that if prosecution for an offense is previously barred due to the expiration of a statute of limitations, it may still be commenced if new evidence is discovered or if there is a confession.
GET INVOLVED: Do you live in Indiana? Please urge your legislators to support SOL reform like SB 151!
>>> FIND AND CONTACT YOUR INDIANA LEGISLATORS
Comments? Questions? Policy tips?
Contact RAINN’s policy team at [email protected].
If you or someone you know has experienced sexual assault, you are not alone. RAINN's National Sexual Assault Hotline offers free, confidential, 24/7 support in English and en Español at 800.656.HOPE (4673) or online at hotline.RAINN.org.