The CAI-California Legislative Action Committee (“CLAC”) Legislative Day at the Capitol was held on April 8-9 in Sacramento. This event provides CAI members the opportunity to attend educational sessions, meet CLAC Delegates from around the state, as well as meet with and educate their legislators about pending legislation and how it affects community association. One hundred and ten (110) people participated in Leg Day 2019 which allowed us to visit all 120 members of the California State Legislature this year. Special thanks to Chapter Executive Director Richard Ybarra, Chapter Board President Racheal Robenolt and CLAC/LSC members Craig Combs, Kimberly Lilley, Pamela Richardson, Robert Riddick, Natalie Stewart, and Robert Ward for their great work on our behalf.
Why You Should Never Skip Leg Day:
1. Let your Voice be Heard: One of CAI’s greatest strengths is the diversity of its membership which is comprised of homeowners, community managers and service providers who live in and work with community associations. While CLAC Delegates are diligent, hardworking, experienced professionals, no one knows how a pending bill will affect you, your community or your business better than you do. Your unique input can make an important difference, but only if you make your voice be heard.
2. There is Power in Numbers: You may think analyzing and shaping pending legislation is the job of CLAC delegates and CAI’s legislative advocate, Louie Brown. You are right. However, input from constituents, whether in the form of an in-person visit, social media post, email or hard copy letter can be extremely influential on elected officials. Why? Because your vote literally may determine whether someone is re-elected, so you have greater power than you may think and need to use it!
3. Be a Resource: There were over 2,000 bills introduced in 2019 and it’s extremely challenging for a legislator and their staff to understand them all. Take advantage of this opportunity to educate them not only on whether a draft bill does what its author says it’s trying to accomplish, but also what are the unintended consequences of the bill. For example, a bill may increase public safety, but be so expensive to implement that the individuals whose homes it’s proposing to make safer may lose their homes in paying for the measures required by the bill.
4. Relationships Matter: Politics is the art of the long game. Legislators will meet with constituents and people with business before their committees over anyone else. If a legislator evaluates the pros and cons of a bill to be fairly equal, their vote generally will go to the person or organization they have a relationship with. So it’s very important to cultivate those relationships now; and, your participation in Leg Day is a great way to do just that.
Your role in the process is important! Thank you to everyone who joined us this year; and, we hope to see as many of you as possible at Leg Day 2020.