Drafting Policy
Politics 101 — a step-by-step course on how California policy is written, with a builder you can use to draft a proposal for a legislator.
What is 'policy'?
Policy is a written plan that tells government what to do, who it applies to, how it is paid for, and how it is enforced. In California, policy ideas usually become law as bills (AB / SB), as budget items, or as rules adopted by state agencies. Good policy answers a clear problem with a clear, measurable solution.
Policy vs. a law vs. a regulation
A POLICY proposal is the idea and the reasoning. A BILL is that idea written in legal language and introduced by a legislator. A LAW is a bill that has been passed and signed. A REGULATION is the detailed rule an agency writes to implement the law. Citizens almost always start at the policy-proposal stage.
Who can propose policy?
Anyone. Individual veterans, nonprofits, local governments, unions, businesses, and coalitions all submit policy ideas to legislators. A legislator (or their staff) reviews the idea, decides if they will 'author' it, and then sends it to the Office of Legislative Counsel to be drafted into bill language.
What makes a strong proposal?
Five things: (1) a real, documented problem; (2) a specific solution stated in plain language; (3) who is affected and how; (4) an honest cost estimate and a funding source; (5) supporters who will show up to testify. Proposals that skip any of these usually stall in committee.
Why short, plain language wins
Legislators and staff read hundreds of pages a week. A one-page proposal that any reader can understand in two minutes is far more likely to get a meeting than a 20-page white paper. Save the detail for the appendix.