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Committee Information

Senate Judiciary Committee
1021 O Street, Room 3240
Sacramento, CA 95814
sjud.fax@sen.ca.gov
Phone: (916) 651-4113
Fax: (916) 403-7394

Senate Judiciary Committee-Policy on Support and Opposition Letters

[Updated as of 5/13/25]

The bullet points below outline the Senate Judiciary Committee’s policy regarding support and opposition letters. Any letters received will be kept as part of the Committee's official legislative records and may be read into the record, reprinted, summarized, quoted, or cited in the Committee’s analyses.

Please read all bullet points thoroughly.

  • Our letter deadline is the Tuesday before the hearing at 12pm (unless otherwise stated). Letters received after the deadline may not be listed in the analysis. For example, if a bill will be heard on Tuesday, July 1st, the letter deadline is the Tuesday prior, Tuesday, June 24th, at 12 p.m. Letters submitted before the deadline are more likely to be substantively reflected in the Committee’s analysis, rather than just listed.

How to submit a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee

  • We encourage everyone to submit their position letters electronically via the California Legislature Advocates Portal: https://calegislation.lc.ca.gov/Advocates/. In order to use the Portal you will have to create an account. Please see the Advocates Portal Reference Guide for more information.
  • Individuals are encouraged to use the Advocates Portal to submit their comments or letters to the Committee, but you may also use the Committee email address here: sjud.fax@sen.ca.gov. Email your comments only through the Committee email address, not to the counsel or assistants.
  • You may also send us a fax at (916-403-7394).
  • Or mail a letter to us at: Senate Judiciary Committee, 1021 O Street, Room 3240, Sacramento, CA 95814.
  • If you email the assistants or the counsel a letter directly, you will be redirected back to these options. If you require assistance, please email sjud.fax@sen.ca.gov, or call the main Committee line at 916-651-4113.

How to ensure your letter is listed in our analysis

  • DO NOT WAIT UNTIL A BILL IS SET FOR A HEARING TO SEND US YOUR LETTER. Once a bill is referred to our Committee, even if we are the second Committee of referral, you should send us your letter through the Portal.
  • Your letter must be submitted directly to the Committee through one of the avenues listed above in order to be listed in the Committee analysis. You may submit a letter to the Committee that is addressed to a different committee or to the author, BUT it still must be submitted directly to this Committee. Letters submitted only to other Committees or the author may not be listed in the analysis.
  • Your letter should include: the bill number, the organization’s position on the bill, and a named representative whom the Committee can contact for questions regarding the organization’s position. Letters from individuals (not organizations) should also list the bill number and the position on the bill. Any letter that does not meet these criteria will be rejected and not listed in the analysis. 
  • Only positions in support of, or in opposition to, a bill will be listed in an analysis. “Oppose unless amended” will be listed as opposition. Positions of “Support if amended” will not be listed. Other positions of conditional support or conditional opposition will not be listed in an analysis. However, we will still accept these letters of conditional positions and review the content of the letters for our analyses, and these letters will become part of the Committee’s official bill file. 
  • 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 position letter to the Committee.
     
  • For letters from multiple organizations (coalition letters or “NASCAR” letters), the letter must include the name of each organization signing the letter, as well as a named individual responsible for that organization’s position on the bill in the signature section of the letter. An actual signature from each individual is not required – the name of each organization’s representative can be listed without a signature. An organization not listed in the signature section, or missing a named representative, may not be listed in the analysis.
  • For letters from multiple organizations submitted through the Portal, you MUST list each and every organization on the coalition letter individually when submitting letters through the Advocacy Portal. Organizations not listed in the Portal may not be listed in the analysis. Additionally, if you submit more than one letter under a single organization’s name to the Advocacy Portal, they will NOT be individually listed in the analysis. 
  • Committee staff are not responsible for distributing letters to Committee Members' offices, authors' offices, or other committees.