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]