The training session was "the best ever" in the opinion of "veterans" of this annual event. Rod Wright (above left), a member of the state Assembly from 1996 through 2002, kicked it off with an entertaining presentation on how to approach a legislator. Laura Foote Reiff, CLCA's lobbyist for comprehensive immigration reform, then updated the audience on that issue and explained how individual members could make a difference. She was followed by Pete Navarro (above center), chairman of the association's Legislation Committee, who gave an update on a recent CLCA grass roots lobbying trip to Washington, DC on behalf of immigration reform. Next, CLCA's lobbyist in Sacramento, Parke Terry, urged individual members to get involved with local candidates for political office. Terry was followed by Clyde MacDonald (above right), the chief consultant to Assemblyman John Laird (D-Santa Cruz). MacDonald summarized the report generated by last year's AB 2717 Task Force, Water Smart Landscapes for California, and updated the audience on plans to implement some of those recommendations in Assemblyman Laird's Assembly Bill 1881.

The training session's last speaker was Robert Wade, CLP and CLIA, the association's director of legislation, who went over two CLCA issue papers that legislative conference participants were to give their legislators the next day. One of those papers presented arguments in favor of comprehensive immigration reform and asked California's legislators to influence the positions of their counterparts in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. The other paper asked legislators to do more to curb the underground economy. Specifically, it asked for their votes in support of Assembly Bill 1833 by Assemblyman Hector De La Torre (D-South Gate), which would crack down on underground employers who fail to obtain workers' compensation insurance, and Assembly Bill 3051 by the Committee on Labor and Employment, which would require the Labor and Workforce Development Agency to submit an annual report to the Legislature on the overall effectiveness of the Joint Strike Force on the Underground Economy Program

Two legislators joined the CLCA group for dinner that evening: Assembly Member Shirley Horton (R-Chula Vista) and Assembly Member Keith Richman (R-Northridge). Richman, who is running for state treasurer, treated the group after dessert with a stirring talk about the deplorable condition of the state's finances.

The Legislative Day at the Capitol also boasted a stellar program of speakers and topics. Adrienne Monroe from the California Coalition for Construction in the Classroom covered career technical education. Reiff made a plea for construction associations to follow CLCA's example by working for comprehensive immigration reform. Jack Molodanof, the lobbyist for the Construction Industry Legislative Council, covered the "Do's and Don'ts of Legislative Appointments." State Senator Joseph Dunn (D-Santa Ana) updated the audience on his indemnity reform efforts. Julianne Broyles provided information on the proposed heat stress regulations and reviewed recent legislative proposals of interest to business. Steve Sands, the registrar of contractors, updated the conference participants about Contractors State License Board activities and issues. Last to speak was Assembly Member Roger Niello (R-Fair Oaks), who discussed efforts by the Schwarzenegger Administration and the Legislature to repair California's aging infrastructure.

After lunch the conference participants walked to the state Capitol for CILC-arranged meetings with their own legislators.

Following a reception that evening in the Capitol, most conference participants were exhausted, brimming with new information, and anxious to develop their newly made Sacramento contacts, according to Larry Rohlfes, CLCA's assistant executive director.