Each year, the CFT sponsors several legislative
bills. Ideas for legislation may come from a number of
sources, but typically members communicate their issues through
CFT governance meetings and resolutions passed by Convention and
State Council. Once the CFT adopts a sponsored bill program,
staff lobbyists work to secure legislators who will author the
bills, and see the bills through the legislative process and
onto the governor’s desk.
Legislators need to hear from you! It’s important for them
to hear about your first-hand experiences at work. Your
testimony may be key to a bill’s success. The resources
here provide the information you need to succeed in personal
visits with your legislators and letter writing.
How to Lobby Successfully at the Capitol and at Home
We encourage you to meet with legislators during our
union-sponsored Lobby Days at the
State Capitol and in
their district offices. Learn the basic protocol
quickly with these concise tip sheets prepared by
the CFT Legislative Department.
How to have successful in-person visits with your elected officials
More tips for in-district and local visits with your legislators
How to write effective (and proper) letters to your legislators
Know the Legislative Calendar
Legislative
Calendar and Deadlines prepared by the California
Assembly.
California Assembly
Find daily updates from the state Assembly, committee hearing
schedules, and get to know California’s 80 assemblymembers,
California Senate
Find daily Senate updates, committee hearing schedules, and
get to know California’s 40 senators.
Making Sense of the Legislative Process
The
Legislative Process, A Citizen’s Guide to
Participation is prepared by the California
Senate. Learn how legislative bills get named, how to decode
bill prefixes, how the committees of the Legislature work,
and so much more.
California
Legislative Information
Use the go-to site (simply known as “leginfo”) for finding the
language of a bill, amendments, and tracking a bill’s progress
through the Legislature. This site also contains California
government codes, including the Education
Code.
Glossary
of Legislative Terms
Use this “definitive guide” to legislative
terminology prepared by the California Legislature.
Legislative Analyst’s
Office
Find reports from the Legislative Analyst’s Office (commonly
referred to as the LAO) which provides nonpartisan fiscal
and policy advice to the state Legislature.
