AAUW California Public Policy Committee Description and Member Responsibilities

Purpose

Determines, with member input, AAUW California’s biennial policy priorities and yearly legislative agenda. Formulates and administers a legislative advocacy program for branch members. Organizes Lobby Day for members to advocate with local legislators.  Conducts educational seminars and relevant social media campaigns and assists branches in developing robust public policy programs.

Contact

publicpolicy@aauw-ca.org

General Member Duties

All committee members will be asked to:

• Serve on the Legislative Subcommittee. Help develop a comprehensive legislative action agenda for each annual legislative cycle. Duties include reviewing proposed bills and assisting in selecting final bills for advocacy. Subcommittee is most active January-April. 
• Serve on at least one additional subcommittee. Subcommittee descriptions below. Committee members’ duties will vary depending on the subcommittees  on which they serve. 
• Submit subcommittee updates to chair(s), including suggestions for updated website content 
• Act as liaison to assigned branch-level public policy chairs
• Write one article per year for branch newsletters
• Serve in leadership role(s) on Lobby Day each April (in-person or remote) 

Subcommittee descriptions

• Lobby Day. Work with chair(s) and legislative advocate to recruit members and match with legislators. Develop a training webinar and materials to educate members on top bills. Collect feedback from teams and write a follow-up newsletter article. Subcommittee is most active January-April. 
• Website. Keep the Public Policy website updated. Identify outdated content and new interest areas monthly and make specific recommendations.  Subcommittee is active year-round.
• Special Project. Goals and committee roles vary depending on the project undertaken for the year. 
• Voter Education. Develop educational campaigns to assist branches with efforts to increase voter awareness of AAUW-related issues. Assist with planning, coordination and delivery of training events and social media campaigns. Subcommittee is most active in election years, August-November.

Time commitment

Time commitments vary depending on the subcommittee and the time of year, but in general:

• A day-long introductory meeting in August
• Three to five hours per month for general committee work with an additional three-seven hours specifically in January – April 
• A two-day in-person meeting in Sacramento in March