For many contract lobbyists, the weekly report is the most visible thing a client gets. It shows the client you were paying attention, explains what moved and why it matters, and tells them what is coming next week. It also takes hours every Friday during session. This guide covers what belongs in it, a template you can copy, and how to have the first draft written for you.
What clients actually read
A weekly report is read quickly, often on a phone, sometimes forwarded to a CEO or board. That shapes it:
- Two pages or less. One page of narrative, one page of bills, or a narrative with a sidebar.
- The week's actions first. What passed, what died, what was heard, what went to the governor.
- This client's bills. Every bill on the client's list with its current status and last action.
- What is next. Hearings on the client's bills, session deadlines, floor weeks.
- Your voice. Clients hire you for your read of the building. A plain narrative in your own tone is worth more than a data dump.
A two-page template
Header: your logo, "[State] Legislative Report", the week's date.
Page 1: This week in the legislature (narrative, 300 to 500 words)
- The big picture in two or three sentences: where the session stands, what dominated the week.
- Bills that passed a chamber or went to the governor, one sentence each.
- Hearings that mattered, with who testified and the chair's signal on next steps.
- Anything said about the client or its industry, with the quote.
Sidebar or page 2: Your bills
| Bill | Subject | Status | Last action |
|---|---|---|---|
| HB 2207 | Notice period for rate increases | In Senate committee | Hearing set March 3 |
| SB 112 | Catastrophe fund contributions | Passed Senate | Received in House |
(Example bills, fictional.)
Box: Upcoming important dates
- Committee hearings on the client's bills
- Session deadlines, such as the last day to pass bills out of the house of origin
- Floor debate weeks, adjournment
Footer: your firm, address and phone.
Between sessions, the same layout works with the news and interim committee work in place of bill actions.
How to write it faster
- Write the narrative once, then personalize. Most of the week's story is the same for every client. Write it once, then add the client-specific paragraph and bill list.
- Keep links, not just names. A link to each client's live bill list and to the moment in a hearing video lets the client check details without calling you.
- Fill the dates box from the legislature's calendar, not from memory. Session deadlines are published.
- Use your past issues as a style guide, so every issue sounds like you.
How to do it with Wysor
Wysor writes the first draft of the report for each client every Friday during session.
- Your letterhead and your tone. Upload your Word letterhead and a few past issues. Wysor takes your logo, layout and footer, and writes in the tone of your past reports.
- Written from the week's real actions. The narrative comes from the bills that moved and the hearings that happened, which Wysor already tracks: every new bill sorted by client, and every recorded hearing transcribed the same day.
- One PDF per client, with that client's bill list linked, an upcoming dates box that fills itself from the legislature's calendar, and your footer.
- A draft for you, never for your clients. It arrives in your inbox. Change anything by asking in chat, for example "drop the hearing on dental coverage from this client's report", then send it yourself.
See how it fits the rest of the week on legislative tracking for lobbyists.
