‘I no longer need staff to read bills all day long’: How PolicyNote Transformed this Government Affairs Team’s Efficiency
Mid-States Distributing Company
Discover how PolicyNote boosts efficiency and impact for Mid-States Distributing.
Managing complex policies across 32 states is a daunting task for Duke Grimes, Mid-States Distributing Company's public policy manager. This farm, ranch, and home retail cooperative spans 800 locations in the U.S. and Canada.
Grimes tackles issues surrounding retail, firearm regulations, supply chain, climate, agriculture, HR legislation, and more. With all these issues competing for attention and heading up Mid-States's new government affairs function, Grimes has his work cut out for him. Enter PolicyNote: with lightning-fast summaries, chat-based insights, and alerts, PolicyNote’s AI assistant allows him to move beyond bill tracking and focus on more strategic efforts.
I don’t have the hours in a day to track everything singlehandedly. It used to take a lot of time and staff to do that, but with PolicyNote, I can quickly summarize, put the issue in context, and see if the bill is being duplicated in other states.
Duke Grimes, Public Policy Manager
Mid-States Distributing Company
Optimizing Resources with PolicyNote
Grimes has considered adding staff members to focus on tracking, monitoring, and understanding complex policy. However, when he started using PolicyNote, he realized he might be able to allocate his valuable resources in a more optimal way. Instead of hiring legislative researchers to wade through bills, Grimes is anticipating making hires that can do more strategic, issue-specific work.
PolicyNote's ability to quickly summarize bills, identify duplication across states, and assess risks or opportunities streamlined his daily routine.
“I don’t have the hours in a day to track everything singlehandedly,” Grimes says. Since he is more of a political strategist than a technical expert, Grimes relies on PolicyNote for its short summaries of proposed bills. He's able to ask questions to quickly determine if an issue is a risk or liability or something Mid-States should support. “It used to take a lot of time and staff to do that, but with PolicyNote, I can quickly summarize, put the issue in context, and see if the bill is being duplicated in other states,” he says.
PolicyNote saves me a tremendous amount of time on researching and getting political context, which is critical because there are thousands of bill drafts in state sessions for all the states I monitor.
Duke Grimes, Public Policy Manager
Mid-States Distributing Company
The Fastest Path from Bill Alert to Briefing
PolicyNote significantly reduces the time Grimes spends on these tasks to as little as one-tenth of what it used to be. Its sophisticated yet user-friendly interface allows him to synthesize information rapidly and communicate effectively with lobbyists and consultants across different states. “I haven’t seen functionality like this anywhere else,” Grimes notes.
The tool is interactive and easy to learn, even for someone “not tech savvy.” PolicyNote’s user-friendly interface makes it easy and quick to integrate into Grimes’ existing workflow. “I don’t have to be an IT expert or hire a software expert to work with me on it — it’s even fun to use,” he says.
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Streamlining Legislative Research and Analysis
Recently, Grimes noticed a legislator in Washington drafting a bill on extended producer responsibility (EPR) similar to another Minnesota law. The bill wasn’t yet on Grimes’ members’ radar, and he wanted to see other bill drafts that might impact his members.
“Using PolicyNote’s AI assistant, I typed in ‘show me all the bill drafts about EPR from 2024 sessions’ and filtered those 1,000 results down for the states I was interested in,” he explains. This provided a quick view of the big picture and let Grimes “go deep to decide if it’s something I need to prioritize.”
While ordinarily, researching a bill, hunting down similar pieces of legislation, and discerning whether it could impact his members might take an eight-hour day, PolicyNote makes this possible in an hour. The extra time gives him a headstart to determine how to fight back and strategize behind the scenes.
“PolicyNote saves me a tremendous amount of time on researching and getting political context, which is critical because there are thousands of bill drafts in state sessions for all the states I monitor,” Grimes says. “Instead of spending an entire day on an issue, which I have done regularly, it’s down to an hour for me to decide whether to move forward or pass on an issue.”
I’ve been more engaged in policy discussions despite not specializing in some issues full-time. PolicyNote’s research capability made it quicker for me to find and compare relevant legislation and be more involved in the broader conversation.
Duke Grimes, Public Policy Manager
Mid-States Distributing Company
Gaining Strategic Insights and Collaborating with Industry Leaders
PolicyNote helps Mid-States’ government affairs team punch above its weight and collaborate alongside industry giants. The New York Fashion Act and similar legislation in other states are likely to have significant impacts on Mid-States members. Grimes has had conversations with big retailers, like Macy’s and Target, bringing insights from PolicyNote that make him a more valuable contributor.
“I’ve been more engaged in policy discussions despite not specializing in some issues full-time,” he says. “PolicyNote’s research capability made it quicker for me to find and compare relevant legislation and be more involved in the broader conversation.”
How PolicyNote Can Change the Way You Work
PolicyNote is an AI-powered platform designed to empower government affairs professionals with the tools they need to monitor policy more efficiently than ever.
It speeds up the tasks of tracking, monitoring, and understanding complex policy – all things that stand in the way of taking action. Designed with busy government affairs professionals in mind, this tool lets you track and manage policy changes effortlessly, courtesy of its intelligent AI assistant.
Your team will spend less time digging through documents and more time generating the insights that drive the advancement of your agenda. It's perfect for government affairs teams who need to do more without growing their headcount.
Request a demo today to see how PolicyNote can help your team go beyond bill tracking.
We'll Read the Bills. You Read the Room.
Designed for busy government affairs professionals, PolicyNote speeds up the tasks of tracking, summarizing, and briefing on policy. Get out of your inbox and into the rooms where decisions happen. Go beyond bill tracking with PolicyNote.