Every year, the League of Women Voters of California (LWVC) encourages local League members to interview their state legislators. Legislative interviews are a powerful tool—increasing League visibility, gathering information, and raising awareness among California's state representatives about our interest in policies they are considering. 

Legislative interviews allow legislators to share their priorities with local Leagues and develop an understanding of League positions and priorities. Local Leagues discover plans for state legislation that may impact their communities. Furthermore, the state League learns more about legislators and the interests of local Leagues, gaining valuable information in planning statewide advocacy and education.

This year, we asked the following questions to state legislators:

Question 1: What can we learn about open meetings from the pandemic?

During the recent pandemic, California's open meeting laws were modified to comply with public health regulations to protect our public officials and public health. This "shutdown" period had unexpected side benefits: electronic access to meetings enhanced accessibility for the public and officials and increased public

participation. At the same time, the move to online meetings reduced transparency and accountability by allowing public officials to avoid being present at a physical location where the public can directly engage.

• What changes would you like to see to our public meeting laws, and, more importantly, what process should California use to review these laws to ensure that we have a thoughtful and coordinated set of reforms that reflect the interests of the public and government agencies?
• How do we maintain increased accessibility and public participation in meetings without significantly diminishing transparency and accountability?

Question 2: What legislation would you introduce or support to mitigate the health effects of climate change, notably air pollution and extreme heat? 

To reduce the effects of climate change, we need to move away from fossil fuels. Although urgent, doing so will take time. Meanwhile, the health impacts of climate change are being felt today and will only continue to worsen. The Centers for Disease Control reports that the health effects related to climate change include increased respiratory and cardiovascular disease, injury, and death due to extreme weather events, including prolonged heat events, food insecurity, mental illness, and an increase in vector-borne illnesses and other infectious diseases. California is already experiencing the adverse health effects of climate change related to air pollution and prolonged extreme heat events. What kinds of legislation would you bring or support to mitigate the health effects of climate change, notably air pollution and extreme heat?

Question 3: Housing underproduction has been identified as one of California's most significant problems. According to one estimate by McKinsey Global Institute, to end the shortage, we need to build 3.5 million housing units by 2025. How do we make substantial progress to increase housing and decrease homelessness? 

A key to solving the problem of homelessness is to increase the number of housing units available throughout the state—from urban/cities to rural/small towns to coastal/vacation locations. Each community has a different approach to zoning, accessible government response to builders, and a broader approach to community needs regarding air, water, transportation, and access to schools and greenspace. Several options have been proposed to address the dilemma. What approach would you support to help resolve the problem? Which would you lead with as a starting point? 

• Roll back property zoning or land-use regulation. 
• Financial bond measures for local communities. 
• Increased reduction of CEQA by the Legislature. 
• State-funded fees for builders of low- and moderate-income housing. 
• State-funded grants to communities to reduce the time delay in granting building permits. 
• Other ideas?

Question 4: Personal Priorities of Legislator 

What other significant issues must the Legislature deal with in 2024? What are your priorities? 

Question 5: Local Issues Local League Question(s) related to issues of particular local concern.

The League of Women Voters of South San Mateo County participated in the interview of 

Diane Papan, Assembly District 21 

Marc Berman, Assembly, District 23 

Josh Becker, Senate, District 13 

Click on the links above to read a summary of their interview.