Legislative floor action continues through March 9 when bills must pass their house of origin – House bills in the House and Senate bills in the Senate. That day marks the halfway point of the 105-day session. Last week we reminded you that the current period of floor action is “crunch time” for advancing and stopping bills. To be effective in these crucial moments, we need your engagement and your voice to impact policymaking.

To be effective in these crucial moments, we need your engagement and your voice to impact policymaking.

AWC encourages you to use the information included here in the Legislative Bulletin, on our website, and from our weekly Hot Sheet to assist your conversations with legislators. Nevertheless, with or without these materials, the most effective city advocate is the one who makes their voice heard.

Throughout session we use our Bulletin articles to regularly provide action items and ask you to contact legislators and share the city perspective. When you see our calls to action, please act. You can’t assume that someone else will make the call, send the email, or set up a meeting. Each city official is responsible for speaking up and representing the city message. AWC’s Government Relations team can’t do this alone – we need you to magnify the city voice. With nearly 2,000 elected city officials in our state, the city voice is powerful.

With nearly 2,000 elected city officials in our state, the city voice is powerful.

We recognize that legislators don’t always agree with the city position—it is a natural part of the process. What is important is that they hear you and your reasoning for supporting or opposing legislation. The conversation is still important even if consensus isn’t the outcome. Legislators who understand your city’s perspective will be better able to represent you, even when they don’t agree with you.

We urge you to remind legislators that you are the government closest to the people. In survey after survey, city government is consistently identified as more trustworthy than the state or federal government. In fact, a January statewide poll conducted at the request of AWC confirmed that Washington residents have a higher level of trust for local government than for state and federal government and they believe you are better stewards of taxpayer dollars than state government. This is consistent with national polls that publish the same finding. Yet, we continue to hear from legislators who consider it their job to protect residents from local decision-making. They believe they know what your community needs better than you do.

Don’t let the state act without hearing your voice. You are best situated to know what your community wants and to understand how legislation will impact the well-being of your residents. Stay engaged by communicating regularly with your legislators to ensure they are listening to you and advocating for you. Cities are much more than another special interest group—cities are the legislators’ partners in good governance and in serving your shared constituency.

Don’t just take it from us. Read this takeaway from City Action Days where one legislator said it best:

“You are elected by your community and we respect that and give power to that. Tell us what your community issues are. We want to hear those stories and work together.”

As always, if you have questions about the legislative process or a particular bill, or want help determining how best to talk to your legislator, don’t hesitate to reach out to the Government Relations team. We are always ready and willing to help.

If you need some more tips and tricks for working with your legislators, watch our Advocacy Academy recording from City Action Days earlier this month.