Advocacy is a lot like gardening – it goes on year-round with each season requiring a different type of work. This time of year, many people are working their gardens. And if you’re a gardener, you probably started imagining your garden back in the dark of winter because you know there’s work to do all year long – just like advocacy. Start tending your advocacy garden!

For gardeners June is a busy time, but it’s also when you are seeing the benefits of the work – plants are blooming and you’re planning for the next gardening phase. June is similar in advocacy – we are seeing the outcomes of the last legislative session and starting to lay the foundation for the next session.

If you are looking for more information about city outcomes from the 2021 session you can check out our legislative outcomes summary and our session wrap-up webinar recorded last month. One thing to note is that bills without a specific effective date take effect 90 days after the end of session, which is July 25.

Recognizing our biggest supporters

We would also like to take this time to celebrate those who helped us through the legislative session. We are recognizing legislators who championed city issues and city officials and others who went above and beyond to advocate on behalf of legislation important to cities. This year we are pleased to recognize 11 legislators as City Champions and nine city officials and groups as Advocacy All-Stars for their work during the 2021 legislative session.

What’s next for 2022?

AWC has begun the work of identifying our legislative agenda for 2022 with the first meeting of the year for the Legislative Priorities Committee. The committee will continue to meet over the summer to develop recommendations to send to the AWC Board in September.

We would like to hear from you – Do you have an issue that would be appropriate for legislation in 2022?

We would like to hear from you – Do you have an issue that would be appropriate for legislation in 2022? Please let us know by July 5.

How should you tend your advocacy garden in June and July?

So, what should you be doing to grow your advocacy this summer? You can always find fertilizer (inspiration) on our advocacy tools webpage.

If you haven’t already done so, it’s not too late to reach out to your local legislators and ask them to provide your city with a legislative review from the 2021 session. They will appreciate the opportunity to fill you in on their work. This is also a great time to schedule tours of key projects in your community – show off some of your successes and highlight areas where you may need their help.

One big item left undone during the 2021 session is adopting a statewide transportation package – be sure to talk to your legislators about your city’s transportation needs and encourage them to support a new transportation package that supports local transportation as well as state projects.

Finally, please be sure to register for the AWC Annual Conference online on June 22-25! There are many great sessions you won’t want to miss on everything from open meetings to economic development. AWC is partnering with our friends at the National League of Cities to cover both national and state legislative advocacy in a conference session on Friday, June 25.

We look forward to working with you to advocate for cities this summer. In the meantime, get out there and water your gardens!