Contacting Your State or Federal Legislator:
An effective way to communicate your concerns with your legislator is by writing a letter, either as an individual or as a Maine business. E-mail messages, while 'tallied', are not necessarily read by your senator or representative. Phone calls are the quickest method of communication, but unless your legislator is available to speak with you, your concerns will be relayed to him or her through a staff member or note. In this way, neither your message nor your personal touch reaches your legislator directly.

When drafting a letter or calling a Legislator, please bear in mind these few basic suggestions:

Be Direct: State the purpose of writing your legislator in the first paragraph of the letter.

Contact Information for Maine State Legislators (Augusta):  To contact your State of Maine Legislators: 

Maine House of Representatives - Call 1 800 423-2900 or click here to send your representative an e-mail with a Subject Line of 'Message for Rep. '  or write to State House Station #2, Augusta ME 04333 or their home address

Maine State Senate - Call 1 800-423-6900 or e-mail by clicking here http://www.maine.gov/legis/senate/senators/writesen/write1.htm or write to State House Station #3, Augusta, ME 04333 or their home address - see our contact your legislator page.    For State of Maine legislation, identify the Legislative Document number (L.D.)  in the communication.  Please visit the State's website to find the bill, look at the actual language and identify the sponsors.  www.state.me.us/legis/session/

Contact Information for Maine's Congressional Delegation (Washington):  If your letter concerns a specific piece of Federal legislation, identify it as such, e.g., House bill:  H.R. (number), Senate bill:  S. (number). 

United States Senate: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm?State=ME

U.S. House of Representatives: http://www.house.gov/house/MemStateSearch.shtml,

The Library of Congress provides a website that will assist you in researching a House or Senate bill number. Please visit the Library of Congress at  http://thomas.loc.gov/. 

Be Concise: Keep the letter to one page, if possible.

Be Efficient: Faxing your letter, as opposed to mailing it, is also recommended. Mail typically takes four to six weeks to reach your legislator's desk. Legislators' fax numbers can be obtained by clicking on the Find Your Legislators link.