Becker Unveils His Inaugural “There Oughta Be A Law” Contest
SACRAMENTO – “If you’ve ever said to yourself, ‘There oughta be a law,’ well, now is your chance to put an idea out there and get a law enacted that will change how things are done in California,” said Senator Josh Becker (D-Menlo Park) in kicking off his inaugural “There Oughta Be A Law” contest.
An environmental leader who chairs the Senate’s Subcommittee on Clean Energy Future, Becker has spent his first two years in office authoring bills that predominantly deal with climate, justice, and economic opportunity issues, and is hopeful the ideas submitted as part of this contest will reflect one of those focuses.
“There are plenty of smart, thoughtful, creative people in this district and I’m really looking forward to seeing what folks come up with,” continued Becker. “Don’t worry if you’ve never done this before because you’re certainly not alone. I’ve also heard from people who think there are too many laws on the books, so repealing something you don’t think is working is certainly an option.” The rules for the contest are:
- Submissions are limited to people who live in Senate District 13. If people aren’t sure they live in Senator Becker’s district, they can look up their state senator on the Senate’s webpage.
- All entries must be submitted online.
- Please fill out the form as clearly and completely as possible. Well-researched ideas that come with plenty of information about the problem, the proposed solution, and why current law is insufficient are highly encouraged.
- Due to the expected volume of submissions, participants are encouraged not to call the Senator’s office to follow up on their proposal. Senator Becker’s staff will be in touch with participants as needed during the contest.
Senator Becker will select the winning entry, which will be introduced as a Senate bill prior to the deadline to introduce bills on February 17, 2023.
Although this is his first official “There Oughta Be A Law” contest, during his first two years in office, Becker has introduced bill ideas brought to him by people in the district that have been signed into law dealing with climate change, community college fees, healthcare, and privacy issues.
“I’m a fan of doing what I can to bring state government closer to people so I can generate more interest in what happens in Sacramento,” concluded Becker. “My goal is to show people what it’s like to have an idea go from the drawing board to the legislative playing field, so they can see for themselves what it takes for an idea to actually become law.”
First elected in 2020, Senator Becker represents the 13th Senate District covering portions of of Santa Clara and San Mateo counties and includes the cities of Menlo Park, Mountain View, Palo Alto, Redwood City, San Bruno, San Mateo, Santa Clara, South San Francisco, and Sunnyvale.
PRESS CONTACT: Evan Goldberg at evan.goldberg@sen.ca.gov or (916) 616-9811.
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