# How to Propose a Law as a Citizen: City, State and Federal Canonical: https://michaeljkram.com/blog/how-to-propose-a-law-as-a-citizen/ By Michael J. Kram · September 24, 2026 · 6 min read > You can't drop a bill in the hopper yourself. You can write it, find the member who will, and in 24 states go around them. Yes, a regular citizen can propose a law. You write it down and bring it to a city council member, a state legislator or a member of Congress who agrees to sponsor it. Only that elected member can formally introduce it. In about half the states (24, by the count of the National Conference of State Legislatures) you have a second road: a citizen initiative, where enough voters sign a petition to put your law on the ballot. The First Amendment protects "the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." A written proposal is a petition with the work already done for them. This is how it moves at each level. ## Short answer: who can file, and how a citizen gets there At every level the rule is the same. A member files. A citizen persuades a member. - City or county: a council member or commissioner sponsors an ordinance. - State: a legislator introduces a bill, or citizens file an initiative where the state constitution allows it. - Federal: a representative or senator introduces the bill. There is no citizen initiative for federal law. Start at the lowest level that has the power to fix your problem. A pothole ordinance doesn't need Congress. ## Local: city council and county commission Your city council writes ordinances, the local word for laws. The county commission or council does the same for unincorporated areas. Start with public comment. Your council very likely sets aside time at its regular meetings for residents to speak or submit written comments. Ask the city clerk how to sign up and what the time limit is. Use your minutes to name the problem and say you'll bring a written proposal. Then find a sponsor. Email or call each council member's office and ask for fifteen minutes. Bring the one-page proposal (template below). If one member agrees, the city attorney or staff will usually turn your plain words into ordinance language. It then goes on an agenda, often through a committee first, gets a public hearing and comes to a vote. Some cities require two readings before final passage. Your city's charter or rules of procedure say how many. Some cities and counties also let residents start a local initiative by petition. Your clerk or charter will tell you whether yours does. ## State: legislators and citizen initiatives The legislative road. Your state house and senate members are far easier to reach than anyone in Congress. Look them up on your legislature's website by address. Ask the office whether the member will carry your idea. Legislatures keep a drafting office that writes bill text for members. In Washington, where I live, that's the Code Reviser's office. The initiative road. The National Conference of State Legislatures counts 24 states with a citizen initiative process, about half the country. California, Oregon and Washington are three of them. Washington offers two kinds: an initiative to the people, which goes straight to the ballot, and an initiative to the legislature, which goes to lawmakers first. The Secretary of State's office posts the handbook and the petition templates for both. The steps differ by state, but the shape is common. You file the text with a state office. An official title and summary are written. You collect a set number of valid voter signatures before a deadline, the state checks them, and the measure goes on the ballot or to the legislature. Get your own state's handbook before you spend a dollar. Don't trust a 50-state summary, including mine. ## Federal: finding a sponsor in Congress You can't introduce a federal bill. Only a sitting member of the House or Senate can. Find your representative on house.gov with your ZIP code, and your two senators on senate.gov. Write to the office rather than the member. Ask which staffer handles your issue. That legislative assistant is the person who decides whether your letter reaches the boss. If a member agrees, the House or Senate Office of the Legislative Counsel drafts the actual bill text. Your job is to make that decision easy: a clear problem and a clear fix, plus proof that people in the district want it. Every bill on Congress.gov lists its sponsor. Look up who has sponsored bills near your idea before you write. That member is your first call. ## The one-page proposal template My book is built as a stack of proposals, and it carries its own Request for Proposals to readers. It's short and numbered, and that is the point. I'd give you the same advice for a council or a legislature. > REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS / this teaser / to save the 2026 election / invites the following proposals / 1. Manage relevant correspondence, etc. / 2. Set up and manage appropriate web site(s), etc. M. Kram, *Common Sense 2.0*, Request for Proposals That's my invitation to you, and it still stands after the vote. For a government, use this page: 1. Title. One line a reporter could print. "Saturday hours for the county library." 2. The problem. Two or three sentences and one fact you can back up. 3. The fix. What the new law would say, in plain words. 4. Who it affects. Residents, businesses, the agency that carries it out. 5. Cost and who pays. A rough figure, or "no new cost" if that's true. 6. Existing law it changes. The code section number, if you can find it. 7. Your name, address and phone. Proof you live there. One page. If it runs to two, you have two proposals. ## Check for conflicts with existing law first Before you ask anyone to sponsor anything, read what's already on the books. Your city publishes its municipal code online. Your state publishes its statutes; in Washington that's the Revised Code of Washington. Federal law lives in the U.S. Code at uscode.house.gov. Check two things. First, whether the law already exists and simply isn't enforced. That's a letter to the agency, not a new law. Second, whether a higher level already controls the subject. A city can't pass an ordinance that a state statute forbids, and a state can't override federal law where Congress has the final word. And mind the form. Washington's constitution, Article II, Section 19, says no bill "shall embrace more than one subject, and that shall be expressed in the title." Many states have a rule like it. One subject per proposal keeps you on the right side of it. The Notice in my book carries a four-word dare: "Please prove me wrong." A proposal works the same way. Put it in front of people who can say no, and let them try. *Common Sense 2.0* is written as a stack of proposals, numbered and blunt, with a Request for Proposals to readers built in. If you want to see the format at full length, the EPUB is $3.99, about 40 minutes of reading, and it's in your inbox as soon as you pay. ## Questions ### Can a regular citizen propose a law? Yes. You write the proposal and an elected member who agrees with it introduces it as a bill or ordinance. In 24 states you can also put a law on the ballot yourself with voter signatures. ### Can a citizen introduce a bill in Congress? No. Only a member of the House or the Senate can introduce a federal bill. A citizen's job is to bring the idea, in writing, to a member who will sponsor it. ### Which states allow citizen initiatives? The National Conference of State Legislatures counts 24 states with an initiative process, including Washington and California. Each state's secretary of state publishes its own rules. ### How do I write a proposal to my city council? Put it on one page, with the problem stated in two sentences and the fix in plain words. Then ask one council member to sponsor it.