Legislative Analysis
The goal of a bill analysis is to provide a recommendation to the Legislation Committee, along with the information necessary for them to make a decision about potential support for or opposition to a particular bill. The analysis is also the basis of letters and statements about the bill, descriptions in the LWVC News, and other action materials.
If the analysis is of a ballot measure, then the Legislation Committee makes its recommendation to the LWVC board for a final decision on the position on the measure.
The Basics
Learn how the responsibility for advocacy is divided and shared across the different levels of League: local, regional, state, and national. By following these guidelines, we can effectively coordinate our advocacy efforts to ensure we have the strongest impact.
In this webinar, we took League leaders on a deep dive of how we take action at the state level. The linked slides contain speaker notes that cover the most relevant content. They also contain several graphs that illustrate our growth trajectory, showing that over the last decade we have more than doubled the number of bills on which we advocate.
A comprehensive guide for understanding legislation, writing your analysis, and composing a powerful advocacy letter.
Download this form to write your legislative analysis. Please do not write the analysis on the linked version of the form itself! Explain how this bill impacts current law and provide your recommendations on taking a position.
This is the standard legislative analysis form in PDF format. You can fill it out using Adobe Acrobat Reader. Adobe Acrobat is available as a free download here.
More Tools to Help Decode and Analyze Bills
View an annotated version of AB 84 to help learn how to read a bill.
Read a letter of opposition written to voice the League's concerns with AB 84.
Download and complete this blank letterhead template when writing a letter in support or opposition of a bill.
A one-page annotated bill to help learn how to read a bill.
The purpose of the People First Language Guide is to help League volunteers and staff use people-first language and avoid terminology with negative, dehumanizing connotations when writing on a broad range of advocacy topics.
Sample Legislative Analyses
An approach to analyzing a bill provided by the Senate Committee on Government and Finance.
This guide uses fabricated bills to exemplify how to provide just the right amount of information to back up your recommendation.
Watch our webinar about researching and writing a legislative analysis. Please note that while the content is current, this video includes speakers in roles from the 2018 LWVC Board of Directors.
Resource Directory
This detailed database links to state government agencies, advocacy groups, researchers, and news outlets. It provides access to in-depth information to help develop a broad understanding of particular advocacy areas. It's also useful as you research issues in specific bills.
Find sources for substantive information across many policy areas in California.
Have resources you would like to share? Fill out this form.
Advice on how local Leagues can join, build, and work in a coalition for advocacy and voter service work.
Following Bills Through the Legislative Process
View the legislation LWVC has taken a position on and their current status in the legislature.
View the California legislature's online database of all current bills and legal codes.
View today's hearings in the Assembly.
View today's hearings in the state Senate.
Going to the Capitol: Preparing and Presenting Testimony
This guide covers how to prepare statements for short and long testimony as well as how to present your testimony either in person or remotely. Please note that only those deputized by LWVC staff may give testimony on behalf of LWVC.
