By: Kyle Packham, CSDA Chief Advocacy & External Affairs Officer
Your elected representatives really do WANT to hear from you. In the performance of their job, they have a duty to represent the interests of their constituents – that means you and the residents your district serves. Their job security depends on understanding what those interests are.
That’s especially important when they’re asked to vote on legislation and policy proposals that can impact how special districts operate and provide vital services.
You have the authority to lobby the State Legislature, other agencies, and individual decision-makers on legislation and other matters of interest to your district. Given that you also represent hundreds - if not thousands - of your legislator’s constituents, yours can be a powerful voice in convincing them whether a specific bill is a good or bad idea.
With so many bills moving through the Legislature at any given time, it’s a good idea for your district to adopt a legislative advocacy policy that governs its process for registering support or opposition on matters of interest. You can find a sample “Policy for Adopting Positions on State Legislation” on CSDA’s Take Action Page.
You can submit letters directly to your legislator’s office, however you should also submit them through the Legislature’s Position Letter Portal. It’s an effective way to take action for your district and a primary way you can participate in a CSDA Call to Action. Many offices will tag these letters and include them in the binder prepared for the legislator to take to committee or floor sessions.
Advocacy Alerts from CSDA can help keep you up to date on legislation, and you can access sample letters or use CSDA’s Automated Form Letter system by visiting our Take Action Toolkit, which also includes a checklist for a successful bill position letter.
Want to learn more? Check out these webinars in our CSDA resource library for CSDA members:
Special districts are addressing California’s biggest challenges every day. They are the backbone of California’s economy and infrastructure, and provide highly specialized services to virtually every Californian. Our elected leaders, our media, and our communities need to hear our story.
Let’s Take Action together!
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