The California Legislature re-convened Jan. 5 for the second year of the 2025-'26 legislative session and ACWA distributed a toolkit to encourage and support member agencies' legislative outreach.

Just as ACWA's State Relations Department continued to meet with legislators during the winter recess to advance the association's goals, ACWA encourages member agencies to make similar contact.

ACWA's "Outreach Handbook" provides a summary of the state and federal legislative processes, ACWA's policy process, an explanation on how to read bills from both bodies, and outreach tips - ranging from how to write letters to legislators and comment letters to regulators to infographics that visually break down complex legislative and regulatory processes. The resource also includes dozens of links that connect readers to ACWA toolkits and state and federal agencies.

A new handout, "Educating the Public about Legislative Issues" provides tips for educating the public about legislative issues and includes an overview of legal guidelines between education and advocacy. These resources are available online. Member login is required.