btrent Posted July 14, 2009 Report Share Posted July 14, 2009 http://saveourdogs.net/2009/07/13/assembly...50-easy-letter/ The saveourdogs.net folks have created an easy letter format. All you have to do is fill in your information and a letter will be faxed for you to the Appropriations committee. See the link above. Act fast--the committee meets on Wednesday. THANK YOU Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alaska Posted July 14, 2009 Report Share Posted July 14, 2009 Done. ETA (after I saw the letter they wrote in my name): Dang! That was one fine letter - succinct and to the point, with just the right amount of supporting arguments. Made me look like a lot better writer than I really am. Anyone else here in California (I know, I'm supposed to be in Alaska, but I'm not) should definitely jump on this RIGHT NOW. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btrent Posted July 16, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 16, 2009 Huge thanks to all who helped! Copied from saveourdogs.net: SB 250 was heard today in the Assembly Appropriations Committee. Senator Florez waived his right to present his case. The Chair allowed for 2 speakers in support and 2 in opposition. NO ONE spoke in support of the bill. Cathie Turner (Concerned Dog Owners of California) and Angie Niles (NAIA) presented the opposition’s fiscal case. Two of the Democrats on the committee expressed serious reservations about the bill. Assemblymember Mike Davis (D-Los Angeles) showed a very short stack of support letters and and very tall stack of opposition letters. Nice job getting those letters sent, it makes a difference! Assemblymember Charles Calderon (D-Montebello) said: I hope that legislators will STOP bringing these bills. They don’t need the state to get involved or to intervene. This bill may be about euthanasia … but … this bill just doesn’t die!! Right on, Assemblymember Calderon! SB 250 was put into the Appropriations Committee “Suspense” file, a kind of holding pattern which is required for bills with a significant fiscal impact to the California state budget. We need to keep contacting our assembly members and ask them to kill SB 250. Letting a bill die by never taking it out of the Suspense file is the easiest way for the majority party to kill an unpopular bill that originated from one of their own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sea4th Posted July 16, 2009 Report Share Posted July 16, 2009 Wow. There actually is some common sense floating around the CA legislature. Hope it takes root and spreads. So some bozo can introduce an unrealistic bill but a groundswell of opposition can grow and also become a force to be reckoned with. Others need to take note. It would be nice to see this spread throughout the country. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btrent Posted July 16, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 16, 2009 Done. ETA (after I saw the letter they wrote in my name): Dang! That was one fine letter - succinct and to the point, with just the right amount of supporting arguments. Made me look like a lot better writer than I really am. Anyone else here in California (I know, I'm supposed to be in Alaska, but I'm not) should definitely jump on this RIGHT NOW. Yes, the save our dogs folks are really the hero and heroine in all of this...they deserve huge thanks. thanks for your help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btrent Posted July 16, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 16, 2009 Wow. There actually is some common sense floating around the CA legislature. Hope it takes root and spreads. So some bozo can introduce an unrealistic bill but a groundswell of opposition can grow and also become a force to be reckoned with. Others need to take note. It would be nice to see this spread throughout the country. It is very difficult politically and career-wise for the assembly members (especially; the senators seem to have a bit more freedom) to cross party lines. The bill is sponsored by a Democrat. So when a Democrat speaks against it that is a really huge deal. We keep working and hoping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btrent Posted July 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 17, 2009 Update: we need to continue to contact the Appropriations Committee. See the letter below and share with all your California friends. The easy letter offer still stands - check the saveourdogs.net website. thanks, Billy -- PLEASE CROSS POST --- Like ALL bills in the California state legislature that advance to the Assembly Appropriations Committee and are determined to cost the state budget at least $150,000, SB 250 was put into the committee's suspense file this week. This is basically automatic, as per the rules of the state legislature. A bill can come out of suspense with as little as 2 days notice and be voted on by the Appropriations Committee. "The brakes" were not put on SB 250 as some are claiming. Many are being lulled into inaction. They falsely believe that SB 250 is mortally wounded. It most certainly is not. SB 250 is unfortunately alive and well. We saw the exact same reaction when SB 250 was temporarily put into the Senate Appropriations Committee suspense file in May, where the same rule applies. Many on our side were declaring SB 250 "dead" at that time. We let our guard down at the worst possible time. When a bill is in one of the appropriations committee's suspense files, it is critical to TURN UP THE PRESSURE. That's because killing a bill by never letting it come out of suspense is the easiest way for the majority party to kill an unpopular bill that was sponsored by one of their own. They don't have to go on the record with an up or down vote if they simply let a bill expire in suspense. We let our guard down in May, and exerted very little pressure on the Senate Appropriations Committee while it was in suspense. SB 250 came out of their suspense file, and it advanced easily from there on to the full Senate -- where it passed. We need to TURN UP THE PRESSURE NOW, and keep it up until the Assembly gets the message that SB 250 is unpopular with tens of thousands of Californians. This is no longer just about making good arguments -- they've heard them all. It's not about petitions, which are a waste of time. This is about delivering an avalanche of calls and letters to the Assembly members that is sufficient to counter both Mancuso's calls to her people for more support calls and letters AND the huge piles of money that Mancuso is tossing into the campaign coffers of California state legislators. The offer from Save Our Dogs still stands. Californians can get a letter in their name faxed at no charge to each of the 16 Assembly members on the Appropriations Committee simply by entering their name and contact info. into our Easy Letter form, which is here: http://saveourdogs.net/ This is as easy to fill out as an online petition, but a lot more effective since your No on SB 250 letter will be delivered to each committee member. We've been told that AB 1634 died last year mainly because Californians drowned the legislature in letters and calls. We can do it again. Let's make it happen. Laura Sanborn http://saveourdogs.net/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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