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Council discusses legislative strategy to raise childcare to 'crisis' status and back priority bills
Summary
Members recommended organizing council advocacy around major legislative vehicles and repeatedly framing childcare as a crisis to secure attention and resources during the 2025 session; potential legislative task forces and testimony roles were discussed.
Members urged the council to be strategic about legislative engagement in 2025 and to marshal testimony and other championing activities around major bills and task forces.
Peter Buckley said he hoped the council would organize around a high-attention vehicle (referred to in the meeting as the 'mom and bus' bill) and use repeated messaging that childcare is a crisis: "we have to raise this to a crisis level," he said. Chair Miller and staff noted the council's role could include testifying and meeting with legislators and that the governor's recommended budget (due Dec. 1) and ways-and-means presentations will provide data points for the council's advocacy.
Speakers also discussed legislative task forces and study groups as staffing models that have worked in prior years (for example, the 2020 child care task force) and suggested the council consider whether a legislative task force or co-chaired study group would be the best vehicle to move targeted recommendations.
