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April 2, 2007 LEGISLATIVE ALERT – Tobacco tax increase, Sudan Divestment legislationHelp is needed in resurrecting tobacco tax legislationAs we enter the final month of the Indiana General Assembly’s legislative session, we are entering a make-or-break phase for proposed legislation in order for it to become law. This Wednesday, the House Public Health Committee will amend and vote on Senate Bill 503, which is a bill to provide health insurance to low-income Hoosiers, particularly the “working poor.” This bill is part of Governor Daniels’ Healthy Indiana Plan [H.I.P.], but it does not presently have an increase in the state’s cigarette tax or funding for Indiana Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Agency, even though these two elements were part of H.I.P. as it was proposed. Please ask local partners, fellow coalition members, friends and family to contact their legislators in the House and ask them to support amending SB 503 to include a $1.00 increase in the tobacco tax and restoration of tobacco prevention program funding to a CDC-recommended minimum of $34.8 million. If you want to e-mail your legislators and you’re not sure who they are, you can simply go to the Hoosier Faith and Health Coalition’s Web site (http://www.hoosierfaithandhealth.org/) and click the blue “Take Action” button to send an e-mail that will automatically be sent to your legislators [please fill out the address fields on this page so the system can match you with your legislators]. We should urge House members, particularly those on the Public Health Committee members to add a $1.00 increase in the tobacco tax and funding for ITPC into SB 503 this Wednesday. House Public Health Committee:
Of course, contacting the House Speaker would be helpful as well, as he is the top legislator in the House. Speaker Pat Bauer’s e-mail address is h6@in.gov. If you want to e-mail your legislators and you’re not sure who they are, you can simply go to the Hoosier Faith and Health Coalition’s Web site (http://www.hoosierfaithandhealth.org/) and click the blue “Take Action” button to send an e-mail that will automatically be sent to your legislators. To send an e-mail now to your state representative and state senator, visit www.hoosierfaithandhealth.org/ and click the blue “Take Action” button. Again, ask your legislators to support a $1.00 increase in the state’s cigarette tax and to dedicate at least $34.8 million to the state’s tobacco prevention and cessation agency, specifically, in the House, by adding these provisions to Senate Bill 503. For more information about the benefits of a cigarette tax increase in Indiana or the importance of funding a comprehensive tobacco control program in Indiana, please click any of the following links to read facts sheets from the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.
We need legislators to act now to bring back the cigarette tax and to include tobacco prevention funding in this package, as it was proposed. The Healthy Indiana Plan is an important, visionary plan for the health of Hoosiers that will help guarantee our vulnerable populations in need of health care services will have access to those services in an efficient and timely manner. For more details about the proposed health plan, please check out the following FSSA Web site for more information: www.in.gov/fssa/transformations/healthplan.html. Sudan divestment bill killed, but idea very much aliveHouse Bill 1484 was killed in the Senate Pensions and Labor Committee hearing last week. Senator Kruse, as the Chair, decided not to take a vote on the bill, thereby allowing it to die in committee without a vote on the Senate Floor. Senator Walker authored a Senate Concurrent Resolution 74 (attached) which details the atrocities in Darfur and “encourages” PERF/TRF to engage companies and then consider divestment. As you know, a Resolution does NOT have the force of law. This Resolution passed the committee last week with a vote of 8-2. The two Senators that voted against (HB1484 co-sponsor Delph (R) and Tallian (D)) did so as a protest to not being given the opportunity to vote on the bill itself. Senator Delph and Senator Tallian, along with Senators Hume, Arnold and Deig ALL expressed outrage at not having the chance to vote on the BILL. Sen. Tallian held up a ream of paper to show the number of e-mails she’d received on this issue said she had another 350 e-mails in her inbox in addition! I can tell you that this is INCREDIBLE and all thanks to all of YOUR efforts! Many legislators in the confirmed that they NEVER got so many e-mails on an issue – that 700+ e-mails is unheard of! Here’s the very important GOOD NEWS:Although the BILL is dead – the language in the bill is ALIVE! Because the language in HB1484 passed the House, it is “ELIGIBLE” for insertion into another bill. So, although 1484 as a stand-alone bill will not become law, we are still working to see that the LANGUAGE DOES become law. This is a different “set of hoops” to jump through – but we are feeling cautiously optimistic about the prospect of doing so successfully. We will continue to work diligently in the state house to find a “home” for our language – meaning, we will look for a bill (semi related having to do with pensions) that has moved successfully through the legislative process and insert the language during Conference Committee (mid-April). Although we can take a breath right now in the legislative process, we cannot let this issue leave the “radar screen” of any legislator or newspaper. Here’s what needs to be done in the next week 1) Write a letter to the editor and send it to BOTH your local paper AND The Indianapolis Star. Write a letter on behalf of your group – or yourself – we just need to keep this issue in papers consistently over the next couple weeks. Letter to Editor Talking Points – please nuance and add to accordingly:
2) Call or e-mail YOUR legislator – both Senator and Representative. If you don’t know who that is, visit www.in.gov/legislative. Here are some words to help you. Representative: “Thank you for your support of divesting from companies that support the genocide in Sudan by voting YES when HB 1484 was in the House; as you remember, it passed the House unanimously. Shockingly, this bill was killed in the Senate Pensions Committee, even though the support for this initiative is overwhelming. Divestment truly is our opportunity to DO something that will actually help END the genocide! PLEASE, do whatever necessary in these final weeks of the session to make sure the language of HB1484 becomes LAW. A resolution is not enough!” Senator: “Shockingly, HB1484 was killed in the Senate Pensions Committee on March 28. This bill passed the House unanimously and would have required PERF/TRF to divest from less than 2 dozen foreign companies that directly support the Sudanese government’s genocidal action. The support for divestment is truly overwhelming because Hoosiers, myself included, want Indiana to DO something that will actually help end the genocide. This is our opportunity – in fact, our obligation – to not “sit idly by” and let another genocide unfold before us. I am calling on you to PLEASE do everything necessary in these final weeks of the session to make sure that the language of HB1484 becomes LAW and the State mandates divestment. A resolution is not enough!” 3) E-mail all four Caucus Chairs (You can send ONE e-mail to all if you prefer):
“Dear Caucus Chairs: I was shocked to learn that HB1484 was killed in the Senate Pensions Committee on March 28. This bill passed the House unanimously and would have required PERF/TRF to divest from approx. 2 dozen foreign companies that directly support the Sudanese government’s genocidal action. The support for divestment is truly overwhelming because Hoosiers, myself included, want Indiana to DO something that will actually help end the genocide. This is our opportunity – in fact, our obligation – to not “sit idly by” and let another genocide unfold before us. I am calling on you in your critical positions of leadership, to PLEASE do everything necessary in these final weeks of the session to make sure that the language of HB1484 becomes LAW. A resolution is not enough! The lack of a state mandate would be shameful.” 4) E-mail the authors and sponsors of HB1484 (If you prefer, you can send ONE e-mail and include ALL legislators below; but Noe and Broden have been our BIGGEST supporters):
“THANK YOU for sponsoring House Bill 1484. I appreciate how much effort you have already expended to see that Indiana joins the growing list of those taking action to actually help END the genocide in Darfur. I understand that HB1484 was killed in the Senate Pensions & Labor Committee, but that the language is still alive. I am calling on you to continue to lead and PLEASE do everything necessary to see that this language becomes LAW. It would be shameful for the session to end without the state mandating divestment. A resolution is not enough!” Darfur Rally on the east steps of the Indiana State HouseSunday April 15 from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m.Four bands, numerous testimonies, informative speakers, an action alert Bring a bus or car load. A group of Darfurians will be coming from Fort Wayne A poster is online at www.inareaumc.org as a PDF document. It can be used as 11 x 7 inch post, 8.5 x 11 inch flyer, or 5.5 x 8.5 inch bulletin insert. Let us not forget the people of Darfur who need our support and prayers. For more information about Darfur, log on the www.savedarfur.org and a PDF bulletin insert about the South Darfur water project sponsored by United Methodist Committee on Relief at http://new.gbgm-umc.org/umcor/media/cbi-pdfs/march03%5Fsudanwater.pdf # # # e-HUM Alert copyright 2007 by Indiana Area United Methodist Communications. |
