Hello everyone,
I need to clear up a couple of incorrect statements made about AB 363.
First, we definitely had the votes to pass the Appropriations Committee by a
large margin. The following Senators had pledged their support or voted for
our bill in a previous committee:
Alpert, Dills, R. Johnson, Karnette, Lee, Leslie, McPherson, Mountjoy and
Vasconcellos.
That's nine out of thirteen when we only needed seven, and we might have
even had the support of Senator Burton as well, but the fact of the matter
is that when the bill was referred to the suspense file on the
recommendation of the chairman, there was no vote in Appropriations.
The way the suspense file works is that any bill over 150,000 is
automatically a candidate. Each author prioritizes the bills they wish to
come off the suspense file and Jan put AB 363 as #1 out of his three bills
on suspense. Protocol usually means that the top priority bills by each
author are heard but Senator Johnston chose Jan's other two bills, ONE OF
WHICH WILL COST THE STATE MILLIONS, to come off suspense rather than AB 363.
Senator Patrick Johnston has behaved very unfairly on this issue. Not only
did he refuse to meet with us and hear the other side (and the facts), but
he was absent during all but a few minutes of our very lengthy hearing in
the Senate Natural Resources Committee, the policy committee that determines
the merits of each bill. He heard none of the debate or exchange and yet
was the only no vote. He clearly cares nothing for the facts.
We intend to put what pressure we can on him by visiting his district and
letting his constituents know how he treats good people, but Californians in
other districts should know that ANY ONE OF THE SENATORS ON THE
APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE CAN BRING AB 363 OFF THE SUSPENSE FILE. It would
mean standing up to the Chairman but it can be done. So rather than
"sitting back" and waiting until January, which will gain the effort
nothing, those of you in the districts of the Senators on the Appropriations
Committee should be arranging meetings with those Senators asking for their
help to get AB 363 off the suspense file.
You must also help get the grossly unfair way that decent people have been
treated by Senator Johnston and DFG into the press. Write letters to the
editors of your local papers. Call into local talk shows. Call up your
paper and volunteer to be interviewed anonymously. California's obscene
waste of taxpayer dollars and governmental goodwill spent fighting ferret
legalization must come to an end. But it is up to you.
AB 363 is not dead and it doesn't have to die but this isn't the time for
inaction, it's a time for renewed action. We have come too far not to see
this bill become a reality. If you are in one of the Senate Appropriations
Committee Districts and will organize a meeting with your State Senator
please give me a call and I will send some information your way. It is also
very important that you spread the word in your district about AB 363. You
can do this very effectively by manning a table outside a local pet store--
don't bother with PetsMart they have been very unhelpful even though they
sell tons of ferret products, but PetCo and independents have been great.
Have pre-addressed, stamped envelops with cards or letters in support of
removing AB 363 from the suspense file.
Golden State Ferret Society members and FA members in northern California
have been very effective in organizing such efforts. Questions about how to
organize such an event can be addressed to [log in to unmask] or
[log in to unmask]
And finally, please Californians, if you are not in a particular Senator's
district, do not contact them. It is appropriate to contact the Chairman of
a Committee since they are in a special position as well we know. But other
members are only interested in constituent mail which is fair and reasonable
since those are the people they represent. Senator Johnson is reported to
be upset by the barrage of e-mail messages from non-constituents. So
please, it is not helpful to do this. If your State Senator is not on the
Appropriations Committee, write to Governor Wilson and have your friends and
family do the same.
If you are from out of state, you can contact our Governor, Pete Wilson, at
Governor's Office, State Capitol, Sacramento, CA 95814, but please do not
contact our representatives. It does more harm than good.
I know there is talk of an iniative but I do not think it is time to divide
our efforts. We have a bill that is still alive and viable if we can
convince Senator Johnston to be fair, or we can motivate a member of the
Appropriations Committee to ask that our bill be heard. An initiative is
also a dangerous arena where money really counts due to heavy radio and TV
advertising. Ferret legalization efforts have not been known for their
large advertising budgets but our opponents are.
Our bill may be heard in January and in the best case scenario can be
amended to have an urgency clause. If amended, and if it passed the Senate
and Assembly by a 2/3 vote, it would take effect with the signature of the
Governor as early as a couple of weeks later-- another reason not to wait
until January to get moving!
Come on folks, you've earned this bill!
Jeanne Carley
Californians for Ferret Legalization (CFL)
410 Mountain Home Road Woodside, CA 94062
(415) 851-3750 <[log in to unmask]>
http://www.ferretnews.org-- CFL Website
CALIFORNIANS, OUR BILL IS DEFERRED 'TILL JANUARY! DON'T LET IT DIE, GET
INVOLVED!
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
For pure ferret fun, check out http://www.ferretcalendar.com
[Posted in FML issue 2059]
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