Support and Opposition letters are due no later than 12:00 pm on the Wednesday prior to the day that the bill is set for a hearing. DO NOT WAIT UNITL A BILL IS SET FOR HEARING TO SEND US YOUR LETTER. Once a bill is referred to the Senate Housing Committee, even as the committee of second or third referral, please submit your letter directly to the Committee.
How to submit a letter on behalf of an organization
The Senate Housing Committee only accepts comment and position letters from organizations in two ways:
- Electronically to the Senate Housing Committee through the California Legislature Advocates Portal: https://calegislation.lc.ca.gov/Advocates/. This portal is available to individuals, advocates, and lobbyists. You will have to create an account. Please see the Advocates Portal Reference Guide for more information. Letters submitted to other committees will not be accepted.
- Physical copies may be mailed or dropped-off to the Senate Housing Committee Office, located at: 1021 O Street, Room 3330, Sacramento, CA 95814.
How to submit a letter on behalf of an individual
Individuals are also encouraged to use the Advocates Portal, but may also submit position letters or comments to the committee email address here: SHOU.Committee@senate.ca.gov. Please include your full name and address, including the zip code. Comments will not be accepted if they are sent to committee staff.
~*~Please do not email any comments or position letters to committee staff.~*~
Verified Letter Contents
Position letters and comments from organizations or elected officials engaging in their official capacity must be submitted using the methods above, and must contain the following to be considered a verified letter:
- Signature(s), AND
- Official organizational letterhead. You must be authorized to submit letters on behalf of the organization.
If a letter does not contain these two components, the letter will be rejected or, in the case of individuals or elected officials, will be included in the final tally with other “individuals.”
The Committee will accept letters addressed to the Author or previous committees of referral, in addition to our Chair or the Committee specifically. HOWEVER, the letter must be submitted to our Committee directly, in one of the above stated ways.
Coalition Letters
One representative may submit a letter on behalf of others in a coalition letter, however each organization must be “tagged” when submitting through the Advocates Portal. For the letter to be accepted by the Committee, only the signature of the representing organization is required. All other organizations must either include: (1) a logo, or (2) the name and signature of an individual representing the organization, or both. This policy is intended to ensure all organizations identified in fact share the position and statements on the letter.
Support and opposition letter deadlines
The Committee will only list organizations or individuals in the committee analysis if a position letter was received directly by the Committee through the Advocates Portal, physical copy, or for individuals, via email to the committee email address. Letters submitted to other committees will not be reflected in the committee analysis. This policy ensures the analysis does not mistakenly identify organizations who have changed positions as a result of ongoing negotiations or recent amendments.
Sponsorships
If your organization wishes to be identified as a bill sponsor, the position letter must clearly identify your organization as the sponsor at the beginning of the letter.
What if I miss the deadline?
Even if you miss the deadline to be included in the policy analysis for our individual hearings, we still highly encourage you to submit your letters to the Committee. All letters and comments are included in the official bill file for archiving purposes and will be included in the floor analysis if the bill is taken up on the Senate Floor in the future.
What positions will be listed?
Organizations or individuals will only be listed in the analysis as “support” or “oppose.” "Support if Amended" and "Letters of Concern" will be treated as no position and thus not reflected. "Oppose Unless Amended" will be listed as opposition.
Please note:
- Letters are not shared with committee members. It is not committee policy to share letters with individual committee members. Organizations and individuals may, however, share support or opposition letters individually with committee members and their staff. Please click the “Members” tab above for full contact details for each member of the Committee.
- Positions will be listed as reflected in the most recently verified letter submitted to directly to the Committee. If an organization or individual changes their position on a bill, it is the responsibility of the organization/individual changing their position to submit an updated verified position letter directly to the Committee. In the absence of an updated, verified letter, the Committee will assume the organization/individual’s position has not changed.
- We only accept verified letters submitted directly to the Committee. For letters submitted to the author’s office, it is the author’s office’s responsibility to provide the letters they received regarding their bill to our Committee directly, through the committee email, or the Advocacy Portal. The Committee does not accept letters submitted to other Committees.
- Floor Analysis (Third Reading and Concurrence) updates. Policy committees are responsible for the analyses of bills that reach Third Reading or Concurrence/Unfinished Business. These analyses reflect verified support and opposition submitted directly to the Committee. It is the responsibility of the author’s office and organizations/individuals to provide updated, verified letters to the Committee prior to bills reaching the Senate Floor. If updated letters are not provided, floor analyses will reflect the positions indicated by prior letters.
Still have questions?
- Please refer to the Advocacy Portal Quick Reference Guide, or the portal's Frequently Asked Questions page, for step-by-step instructions
- If you require assistance with Committee processes, please email the committee assistant at jacqueline.diaz@sen.ca.gov or call the main committee line at: (916) 651-4124.