Maintaining the voice and protecting the interests of community associations in California is the job of the Community Associations Institute’s California Legislative Action Committee (CAI-CLAC). Advocacy, also called lobbying, is one of the main goals of CAI, and is the process of educating legislators. The California Legislative Action Committee (CLAC) executes the very necessary advocacy portion of CAI’s objectives.
CLAC acts specifically on behalf of the eight CAI Chapters in California. The decision-making body is made up of two delegates from each chapter, as well as at-large delegates appointed by the committee.
Each year, between two and three thousand bills are introduced into the state of California legislative houses (State Senate and Assembly). CAI-CLAC’s advocate digs through these bills to determine which bills might affect community associations in California. The advocate and our CAI-CLAC delgates then decide which bills need action and communicate CAI-CLAC’s position to the legislature.
The probability of a legislator reading every bill they vote on is low. Consequently, it is necessary to draw their attention to a specific bill, give them the community association perspective, and an education on the potential effects of the bill. This helps them understand how best to vote. It is often the only way our legislators will understand the community association industry’s perspective on any issue. This is what CLAC does for you.
There are other interests out there doing this as well. If a legislator goes to vote with only an opposing interest’s information at hand, communities don’t stand a chance. The only way we can continue to speak up on behalf of communities in California is with the support from the people who benefit – community associations in California.
Through the Buck-A-Door donation program, community associations contribute one dollar per residence in their community (or more) per year. These continued contributions are critical to allowing CAI-CLAC to work on behalf of California’s communities.
Answers to questions that may come up in your community:
• CLAC is not a PAC.
• CLAC does not contribute to any political campaigns.
• CLAC is not politically motivated, but participates in the legislative process in order to educate legislators.
• The money collected goes to pay for the advocate, the administrator, printing, postage and other items needed for the day-to-day functioning of the committee.
To help your community understand the benefits of CAI-CLAC’s advocacy, we ask that you put time in each agenda for a discussion about the importance of donating and the importance of the legislative education being provided by CLAC.
The following resources are also available to help create awareness of CAI-CLAC’s efforts under the “Donate” tab on CLAC’s website:
• Buck-A-Door Pledge Form – contains information on how to support CLAC via the Buck-a-Door program.
• Board Resolution for CLAC Contributions – To support a board decision to add a Buck-a-Door donation to the annual budget. Click the link under donation and download the resolution.
• What is CLAC? flyer – includes information about CLAC, its mission and goals.
• 12 Reasons to Donate to CLAC– contains information on what CLAC is and what it does.
• CLAC Accomplishments – describes recent activities and successes CLAC has had impacting legislation for the benefit of California’s community associations.
Please ensure the work of CAI-CLAC by encouraging participation in the Buck-A-Door donation program.
To encourage you to spend some time with our resource-rich website and investigate the tools for the Buck-a-Door donation program, CLAC is holding a contest. Please share the opportunity with your association and community members.
To be eligible to win the $25 gift card, visit the CAI-CLAC website. Find the online donation page. Once you find it, write down the 5th word in the headline. We are counting “CAI-CLAC” as one word. Send that word to us in an email addressed to: PRchair@caiclac.com. Submissions with the correct information will be entered into a drawing for the $25 gift card.
Good luck!
All entries must be emailed no later than Friday, July 29, 2016. The gift card will be mailed or presented at a chapter meeting. All decisions regarding winners are the PR Chair’s. All decisions are final. Rules are subject to change. No cost or purchase necessary. An unknown number of people may participate. You must be over 18 to enter.