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Re: MD House Bill 1507

From:

Bach-Watson Associates

Reply-To:

Bach-Watson Associates

Date:

Tue, 28 Mar 2006 12:55:02 -0500

MOS is a member of the Environmental Fund for Maryland. Through the 
Environmental
Fund we gain access to the Combined Charity Campaigns and the Federal 
Campaigns.
MOS receives significant donations through these campaigns.

There is currently a bill in the House that would guarantee access to 
county combined
campaigns. It is being fought tooth and nail by United Way.

The Gazette Papers carried an article this last week
http://www.gazette.net/stories/032306/eldenew151612_31985.shtml

I am pasting below some information on the bill.

PLEASE CONTACT YOUR REPRESENTATIVE IMMEDIATELY !!!!!!!!

As you can see from the text below time is of the essence.

Gayle Bach-Watson
MOS Board
Environmental Fund Board Member

PS I apologize if you do not receive this in a neat form - my server 
sometimes
totally alters what I have carefully laid out. GBW

****************************************

Monday, 27 MAR 06

*Here is your latest update and action alert to act on RIGHT NOW!! *

For all of you keeping score, things are still moving along. Yesterday 
was the crossover
deadline for bills to go from house to senate and vice versa. HB 1507 
ALMOST got in
for the third reading so it could smoothly pass into the senate, 
however, as our luck has
it, the printer didn’t print fast enough. So our bill went to the *Rules 
Committee* instead.
As soon as the 3^rd reading goes through in the rules committee, we are 
*full force* in the Senate.


The ‘favorable’ amendments made to the bill included exemptions of: QA, 
St. Mary’s,
Somerset, Washington, Wicomico, Worchester, Allegheny, Calvert, 
Caroline, Carroll,
Cecil, Charles, Dorchester, Garrett and Kent. The good news is that all 
of the large
counties have stayed in, including Baltimore, Anne Arundel, Howard and 
Harford.
This format, though not as perfect as it could be _is still_ very good 
as these are the
counties we want to be in anyway, and are the hardest to get in! They 
also give the
bill more of a chance to pass through!

*What we need from you now is: _Emails, calls and letters_! Please email 
your friends,
family and members and ask them to email or call their Senators 
especially the rules
committee members *(listed below) *to let them know that you are in full 
support of this
bill We are sticking with the same message “Choice is good, public 
campaigns should be fair” *

** *Senate Rules Committee*

Leo Green - Prince George's County

Nathaniel McFadden - Baltimore City

Ulysses Currie - Prince George's County

Brian Frosh - Montgomery County

John Hafer - Allegany, Garrett & Washington

Paula Hollinger - Baltimore County

Edward Kasemeyer - Baltimore & Howard Counties

Thomas Middleton - Charles County

Thomas Mike Miller - Prince George's & Calvert

Donald Munson - Washington County

Lowell Stoltzfus - Somerset, Wicomico & Worcester

*************************************************

**Reminder: ****Maryland**** ****State**** ****Legislators**** to vote 
soon on HB 1507
Email Key Lawmakers Today -- Urge Them to support having an
environmental choice in ****_ALL_**** public sector workplace giving 
campaigns!**


Dear Supporter of Maryland’s Greatest Resources,

We are contacting you today to let you know that the Maryland 
Legislators will be voting on HB 1507 shortly! HB 1507 is a measure to 
include an environmental choice in all public sector workplace giving 
campaigns. If you already emailed your representatives, we thank you -- 
but if you haven’t yet, please take a moment now to let them know that 
nonprofit organizations are working for a healthier environment and a 
healthier Chesapeake and it is only fair to give them equal opportunity 
to participate in public sector workplace giving campaigns! The House 
and Senate needs to know that you support public employees having a 
public campaign and CHOICE in what nonprofit agency they can support 
through workplace giving!

**EMAIL YOUR LEGISLATORS TODAY!! Find them here! <http://mdelect.net/> ***
**Urge them to "Support HB 1507: Workplace Giving Campaigns!"***

*Here is what you can do today:*
**1. Email your representatives today. Tell them to "Support HB 1507” 
Thanks to everyone who already sent emails -- but if you haven't yet, 
please take action today. **

**2. **Click here 
<http://www.gazette.net/stories/032306/sykenew151603_31959.shtml> to 
read an article recently published in the Gazette 
http://www.gazette.net/stories/032306/sykenew151603_31959.shtml

**3. Find out more about HB 1507 and key points for your letter by 
visiting ****http://www.efm.org/GetInvolved.html**** **** **

**4. Forward this email to friends, family and colleagues in 
****Maryland****. ***

* For more information please contact Environmental Fund for Maryland. 
<mailto:[log in to unmask]>

*CURRENT SUPPORTERS OF THIS BILL:*/
1000 Friends of Maryland * The Accokeek Foundation * Alliance for the 
Chesapeake Bay * American Chestnut Land Trust * Assateague Coastal Trust 
* Audubon Naturalist Society of the Central Atlantic States * Bay Ridge 
Trust * Chesapeake Audubon Society * Chesapeake Bay Foundation * 
Chesapeake Wildlife Heritage * Clean Water Fund * Eastern Shore Land 
Conservancy * Echo Hill Outdoor School * Future Harvest- CASA * The 
Howard County Conservancy * Irvine Nature Center * Lower Shore Land 
Trust * Maryland Ornithological Society * Mid-Atlantic Council of Trout 
Unlimited * National Aquarium in Baltimore * Scenic Rivers Land Trust * 
Valleys Planning Council * Wildfowl Trust of North America/

/Baltimore// //City/

/Earth Share/

/National //Alliance// for Choice in Giving/

Sincerely,
Your Friends at the Environmental Fund of Maryland

**********************

We received a phone call from one of the delegates around 5:00 pm.
today letting us know that she believes we have some strong opposition from
some of the Western MD and Eastern Shore delegates. They believe that the
county should be allowed to make the decision. Unfortunately, as we know,
particularly in some counties, the county is not really making an informed
decision. It is also strongly rumored that the committee will vote on our
bill sometime tomorrow morning. WE NEED YOU TO CONTACT THE FOLLOWING
LEGISLATORS (particularly if you are in their district or have had previous
contact ASAP) and let them know that you want their support on House Bill
1507. If you can get others in your organization to send a request for
support, it would also greatly help. DO THIS AS EARLY AS
POSSIBLE. Send an email or make a call. We are urging you to particularly
contact the following delegates:

McConkey - Anne Arundel
Jennings - Baltimore
Weir - Baltimore
Glassman - Harford
Sossi - Upper Shore
Hogan - Western MD
Stull - Western MD

************************************

IT IS CRUCIAL that you now begin to contact and solicit support from
delegates in your district so that when the bill moves out of committee,
your delegate is aware of the issue and primed to support us. Contact your
delegates by letter, phone, and email. WE NEED 72 YES VOTES TO MOVE OUT OF
THE HOUSE. Modify the attached original letter to state that House Bill 1507
should be coming out of committee soon and they should look for it and
support it. If you need more fact sheets, let me know. I have re-attached
the letter and fact sheet. in addition, I have reattached the list of
contacts in the House (ignore the House Interim addresses). I know the
original list from the board meetings are better - but I am unable to send
that format through email. If you know any other individuals, ie., your
board members, etc. who are willing to send emails or make phone calls, now
is the time!

You can also start targeting your Senators. Prime them that a bill on
equal access in workplace giving is on its way. There are far less of these
individuals to reach. We do not yet know what committee the bill will end up
in the Senate so at this point, a general "raising the issue" campaign is in
order with the Senate. I will keep you posted on those efforts. Continue to
refer to the bill as HB 1507. I have attached the list of Senators with
contact information (ignore the Senate Interim addresses.) If you know any
other individuals, ie., your board members, etc. who are willing to send
emails or make phone calls, now is the time!

**********************************


Please contact your legislators again NOW - and urge them not to accept
any amendments that exempt specific  counties from this bill thereby
weakening its effectiveness. It seems that this is the new tactic in trying
to derail us. Every county needs to have fair access for their employees. We
are not just protecting air, land and water in specific counties. They need
to realize this!

***********************************

 The bill was special
ordered on Friday which meant it was delayed because many questions were
raised by a particular delegate in Southern MD. The delay meant that the
bill was to be brought up on the floor for a vote today. Between last night
and today, someone got several (18) of the counties
to ask for an exemption from this bill - in other words, they want to opt
out and not be required to do as the bill says. These amendments led the
Env. Matters Committee to say that they may want to take the bill back into
committee to revisit which would probably have spelled disaster and the end
of the road. HOWEVER, there was one chance of keeping it alive. A handful of
the larger counties, mainly Montgomery, Ann Arundel, Harford, Prince Georges
and Baltimore had not joined the other counties. The chair is willing to
bring the bill to the floor for a VOTE on Monday if she gets direction from
her committee that the above named counties will not opt out. Dru, Ann, and
Mindy have talked to several of the committee members and the majority of
them want to continue to push this through. We feel it is worth the fight if
the major counties are still game.

What we need now is for you, particularly those of you who can influence
Baltimore County delegates to contact your legislators and ask them that
their counties NOT EXEMPT OUT OF OUR BILL and to continue to support the
idea of fair access and choice for employees in public sector campaigns.
Refer to the previous letters and fact sheets.