Attention ECF members and CASAA members!! Call to Action for New York!!

[JayDar82]

JayDar, Alesi is my Senator as well, even though I live in Rochester. I think it would be a great idea for us both to talk to him together, if you think so.

Yah sounds good. I just found out he is in town mostly on thursdays and fridays. I will call monday and see if we can get into see him next week.

[Bill Godshall]

VaporMadness inquired:
"Is there any explanation for how completely one-sided this vote is?"

The likely explanation is that no Assembly member offered an amendment to the bill, nor objected to the bill, when it was brought up for consideration on the Assembly floor.

[Drummel]

I have placed my snail mail in the box to New York.

I've used my own prewritten "Other state" email piece and sent them to
all the listed New York Leg's.

Lets get em!

[Ragamuffin]

Just wanted to share that I just finished e-mailing the New York senators, even though I reside in Maryland and it's after the vote. I want them to know another person opposes it as well. I will do the same for the Maryland ones as well tonight if I can find the list somewhere. I can't believe this has gone so far. Banning e-cigs, but alcohol kills people every darn day, as well as drunk drivers, prescription drugs doctors pass out like candy, and weak gun laws. But lets spend our time on THIS?

Ragamuffin

[kristin]

I'm confused - did they hide that this was being voted on and slip it in while we were focused on the senate committee??

[r8ross]

Here is the schedule for the weekend for the Assembly session from the 21st. Its on channel 120 in my area. Lets see what was actually said and if they even knew what they were voting on.

Friday April 23
11:45pm Rebroadcast of Assembly Session from Wednesday, April 21
Saturday April 24
8:15am Rebroadcast of Assembly Session from Wednesday, April 21
4:45pm Rebroadcast of Assembly Session from Wednesday, April 21
Sunday April 25
12:45am Rebroadcast of Assembly Session from Wednesday, April 21
9:15am Rebroadcast of Assembly Session from Wednesday, April 21
5:45pm Rebroadcast of Assembly Session from Wednesday, April 21

Also I was able to get 102 letters sent out to the Senators on Health Committee today.

[aubergine]

I live near Ithaca. I'm beating my head against a wall as I can't see how to get to Albany - I'm not going to be able to get off work I don't think, it's a day when I'm badly needed at both jobs and I just had some time off. But maybe.
Who is going to be there? Anyone from CAASA? Has anything been organized? I'll write letters tomorrow. I knew this was coming of course, but it's happened very quickly. Ah damn it. Our particular state government is in chaos and has been; the budget is impossible and they won't give this one much time, they're busy trying to figure out how to win the next election when the state is falling apart. I know someone who knows Gildebrand, but dunno if I can make a liason.

[aubergine]

kristin - I'm confused, too.

[yvilla]

Aubergine, and Kristin too, although I think she's already got the information, it was the Assembly that passed its version of the bill.

However, the Senate version of the bill is still assigned to the Health Committee, as we've been talking about here, and we still have time to work on the 17 committee members.

As for the Health Committee meeting on Tuesday, as I posted earlier, the agenda has been published, and the bill we want to defeat is NOT on it. We can't say for 100% sure that it could not get slipped in for Tuesday, but it is likely not going to be discussed then. In any event, I plan to call the Chair's office again on Monday to try to get someone to verbally commit to me that in fact the bill won't be called, if it is still not showing on the published agenda as of Monday. That's the best I can do about Tuesday.

We will keep watching the Health Committee carefully, and still plan to try to get as many people as possible to Albany for their meeting when the bill IS on the agenda. And in the meantime, keep on with calls, letters, faxes, emails, and even trying to get meetings with Health Committee members.

[r8ross]

Here is a link to the video of the NY Assembly
Sorry about the quality, my TV tuner card bit the dust, but you can hear everything.

YouTube - NY Assembly A9529 = Banning Electronic Cigarettes