While most city halls are closed in recognition of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the Legislature continues its work. The 105-day session includes holidays, so the Legislature works while also recognizing the importance of today’s holiday.
How it’s going
The first week of session was a bit of a blur. Everyone is still getting the hang of participating remotely. However, it seems that most committee hearings and remote testimony went relatively smoothly. Of course, a major hiccup occurred when a local
windstorm knocked out power, making it difficult for some to use their technology.
Due to new remote testimony options, more people than in prior years appeared to take advantage of the opportunity, which ultimately increased the length of some committee meetings. In most cases, committee chairs opted to limit testimony to just a couple
of minutes per person – and only 60 seconds in other cases.
Don’t let that discourage you! Legislative engagement is important. You can register to testify remotely or submit written comments on the legislative website.
If you do plan to testify on a bill, please let us know, we like to track which cities are weighing in.
If you want to learn how to sign up to testify remotely, AWC recorded this short video to walk you through it.
AWC’s Hot Sheet
AWC has begun producing our weekly Hot Sheet that highlights
bills of interest to cities during session. The Hot Sheet is a quick reference guide, updated each week, listing bills we support, are monitoring, or we oppose. Feel free to use it as you talk with legislators and to share it with them. You can also
use it to find bills you might be interested in testifying on.
If you need any help or additional information in navigating the legislative process, please feel free to reach out to the Government Relations team. We are always happy to help.
Register for City Action Days
AWC’s City Action Days conference is also going online. It will be
held February 10-11 and will feature the same great content as always on hot legislative issues from legislative speakers. Even though you can’t attend in person, it is still important to make plans to meet with your legislators. In normal years,
many who attend the conference plan dinners and get-togethers with their legislators. We encourage you to keep those traditions going–just move them to a virtual format. For example, you might consider hosting a virtual dinner or coffee.