New York Next Steps - A1468/S695-2011
Now that the Assembly Health Committee has voted in favor of A1468, the bill will at some point be sent to the Assembly floor for a full Assembly vote. (As of 1/25/11 it was sent to the Codes Committee, but from there it will be sent either to the Health Committee again for any suggested revisions, and then to the floor, or possibly directly to the floor). Section 2 of the bill (starting at line 37) purports to ban all sales of e-cigarettes in New York (unless and until approved by the FDA as a cessation product), while Section 1 only bans sales to minors.
For New Yorkers, the next step is to get a face-to-face meeting with your own Assembly member, when they are at home in their district office. This is usually on Thursday and Friday. Bring your e-cig, educate him or her, bring Dr. Siegel's letter and Journal article. Ask for an amendment striking Section 2 of the bill when it gets to the floor, so that the bill simply bans sales to minors!
For those anywhere who have plenty of energy and can continue contacting other Assembly members with letters, phone calls and faxes, please do. HOWEVER, please be aware that we still think the chances of actually beating this in the Assembly are slim, so don't do this if you don't have the staying power to seriously ramp up your efforts when it comes to the Senate Health Committee. For the Senate Health Committee IS where we have the better chance of prevailing and killing or amending this bill.
Here is a PDF containing contact information for all 150 members of the Assembly. It is the best we have, but be aware that it does not reflect new or departed members as of the last election. For example, Jonathan Bing is on this list, but he is now a Senator, so all the contact info for him on this list is not valid. Nonetheless, for the majority of the Assembly, this list is very useful. It can always be cross-checked with the Assembly website member list, found here, but as of this posting, it is not updated either!
The Assembly members who most importantly need to be reached are party leaders (both R and D, as they establish caucus policies to support or oppose various bills, and the Ds in leadership decide what bills to run and when), and all Rs in the Assembly, who are far more likely than Ds to oppose the bill and/or support amending the bill to only ban sales to youth.
UPDATE: While the bill is pending with the Codes Committee, it appears we should be targeting them for now; it's another chance (no matter how slim), to stop the bill from going to a full Assembly vote. So I'm adding phone, fax, and email contact information for Codes members below (the 5 with asterisks already voted for the bill in the Health Committee meeting last Tuesday).
Codes Committee Democrats
Chair
Joseph R Lentol
T:5184554477
fax:5184554599
Robin Schimminger *
T:5184554767
fax:5184554724
Helene E Weinstein
T:5184555462
fax:5184555752
James F Brennan
T:5184555377
fax:5184555592
Keith L T Wright
T:5184554793
fax:5184553890
James Gary Pretlow
T:5184555291
fax:5184555447
Vivian Cook
T:5184554203
fax:5184553606
Steven Cymbrowitz *
T:5184555214
fax:5184555738
Michele Titus
T:5184555668
fax:5184553892
Daniel J O’Donnell
T:5184555603
fax:5184553812
Charles Lavine *
T:5184555456
fax:5184555467
N Nick Perry
T:5184554166
fax:5184555478
Kenneth Paul Zebrowski
T:5184555735
fax:5184555561
Rory I Lancman
T:5184555172
fax:5184555479
Hakeem Jeffries
T:5184555325
fax:5184553684
Codes Committee Republicans
Philip Boyle
T:5184554611
fax:5184555258
Joe Giglio
T:5184555241
fax:5184555869
Louis tobacco *
T:5184554495
fax:5184554501
Tony Jordan
T:5184555404
fax:5184553727
Michael Montesano
T:5184554684
fax:5184555477
Alfred Graf
T:5184555937
fax:5184554784
Edward Ra *
T:5184554627
fax:5184554643
lentolj@assembly.state.ny.us, SchimmR@assembly.state.ny.us, weinsth@assembly.state.ny.us, brennaj@assembly.state.ny.us, wrightk@assembly.state.ny.us, pretloj@assembly.state.ny.us, cookv@assembly.state.ny.us, cymbros@assembly.state.ny.us, titusm@assembly.state.ny.us, odonned@assembly.state.ny.us, lavinec@assembly.state.ny.us, perryn@assembly.state.ny.us, zebrowskik@assembly.state.ny.us, LancmanR@assembly.state.ny.us, JeffriesH@assembly.state.ny.us, boylep@assembly.state.ny.us, GiglioJ@assembly.state.ny.us, tobaccol@assembly.state.ny.us, jordanj@assembly.state.ny.us, grafa@assembly.state.ny.us, rae@assembly.state.ny.us, MontesanoM@assembly.state.ny.us
lentolj@assembly.state.ny.us; SchimmR@assembly.state.ny.us; weinsth@assembly.state.ny.us; brennaj@assembly.state.ny.us; wrightk@assembly.state.ny.us; pretloj@assembly.state.ny.us; cookv@assembly.state.ny.us; cymbros@assembly.state.ny.us; titusm@assembly.state.ny.us; odonned@assembly.state.ny.us; lavinec@assembly.state.ny.us; perryn@assembly.state.ny.us; zebrowskik@assembly.state.ny.us; LancmanR@assembly.state.ny.us; JeffriesH@assembly.state.ny.us; boylep@assembly.state.ny.us; GiglioJ@assembly.state.ny.us; tobaccol@assembly.state.ny.us; jordanj@assembly.state.ny.us; grafa@assembly.state.ny.us; rae@assembly.state.ny.us; MontesanoM@assembly.state.ny.us
Also for everyone, we are going to be working on trying to get the Senate Health Committee to hold a public hearing on their version of this bill - S695-2011. Here is the bill on the Senate Website. Whether to hold a public hearing is at their discretion, so that's why we have to work on them to do so. If one is scheduled, it will be critical to mobilize as large a gathering of people to attend as possible, whether you plan to actually speak at it or not. Such an event is really where we have to show our strength in numbers.
And also for everyone, below you will see the full contact list for the Senate Health Committee. There is no indication yet of when this session they will be considering S695-2011. We will be watching the Health Committee agenda closely, and will publicize any scheduled action on this bill widely. Please remember, a critical point to make in any contact is that we urge them to amend the bill, by striking Section 2. We support prohibiting sales to minors.
Here is a pre-written template letter suitable for faxing or mailing. Feel free to add content or modify as you wish. Be sure to insert the Senator's name at the beginning, and sign your name at the end! If you are a New York resident, be sure to include your address.
Click Here to Download Pre-written Word Doc Letter
Senate Health Committee - Republican Members
Chair: Kemp Hannon
408 Legislative Office Building
Albany, NY 12247
P: 518-455-2200
F: 518-426-6954
Martin Golden
188 State Street Room 504, Legislative Office Building
Albany, NY 12247
Phone: (518) 455-2730
F: 518-426-6910
James L. Seward
188 State Street Room 711B, Legislative Office Building
Albany, NY 12247
Phone: 518) 455-3131
F: 518-455-3123
Greg Ball
817 Legislative Office Building Empire State Plaza
Albany, NY 12247
United States
Phone: (518) 455-3111
Fax: (518) 426-6977
Hugh T. Farley
Room 706 Legislative Office Building
Albany, NY 12247
Tel: (518) 455-2181
Fax (518) 455-2271
Charles J. Fuschillo, Jr.
Room 615 LOB
Albany, New York 12247
518-455-3341
F: 518-426-6823
William J. Larkin, Jr.
Room 406, Legislative Office Building
Albany, NY 12247
(518) 455-2770
F: 518-426-6923
Catherine Young
Room 513 Legislative Office Building
Albany, New York 12247
(518) 455-3563
fax: (518) 426-6905
Roy J. McDonald
188 State Street Room 306, Legislative Office Building
Albany, NY 12247
Phone: (518) 455-2381
Fax: (518) 426-6985
Senate Health Committee - Democrat Members
Thomas K. Duane
430 State Capitol Building
Albany, NY 12247
Tel: (518) 455-2451
Fax: (518) 426-6846
Velmanette Montgomery
711 Legislative Office Building
Albany, NY 12247
Tel: (518) 455-3451
Fax: (518) 426-6854
Andrea Stewart-Cousins
805 Legislative Office Building
Albany, NY 12247
(Tel.) (518) 455-2585
(Fax) (518) 426-6811
Malcolm A. Smith
188 State Street Room 909, Legislative Office Building
Albany, NY 12247
Phone: (518) 455-2701
Fax: (518) 455-2816
Eric Adams
188 State Street Legislative Office Building, Room 915
Albany, NY 12247
Phone: (518) 455-2431
Fax: (518) 426-6856
Michael Gianaris
310 Legislative Office Building,
New York 12247
Phone: (518) 455-3486
Fax: (518) 426-6929
Gustavo Rivera
420 State Capitol Building,
New York 12247
Phone: (518) 455-3395
Fax: (518) 426-6858
Semicolon delimited emails:
Hannon@senate.state.ny.us; golden@senate.state.ny.us; seward@senate.state.ny.us; gball@senate.state.ny.us; farley@senate.state.ny.us; fuschill@senate.state.ny.us; larkin@senate.state.ny.us; cyoung@senate.state.ny.us; mcdonald@senate.state.ny.us; duane@senate.state.ny.us; montgome@senate.state.ny.us; scousins@senate.state.ny.us; masmith@senate.state.ny.us; eadams@senate.state.ny.us; gianaris@nysenate.gov; jrivera@nysenate.gov
Comma delimited emails:
Hannon@senate.state.ny.us, golden@senate.state.ny.us, seward@senate.state.ny.us, gball@senate.state.ny.us, farley@senate.state.ny.us, fuschill@senate.state.ny.us, larkin@senate.state.ny.us, cyoung@senate.state.ny.us, mcdonald@senate.state.ny.us, duane@senate.state.ny.us, montgome@senate.state.ny.us, scousins@senate.state.ny.us, masmith@senate.state.ny.us, eadams@senate.state.ny.us, gianaris@nysenate.gov, jrivera@nysenate.gov
Final Note: For updates on needed action in New York, you can always check CASAA's Call to Action page on New York, as after a short while I will no longer be able to edit this post. It is here:
http://www.casaa.org/cta/article.asp?articleID=114&l=a&p=
Now that the Assembly Health Committee has voted in favor of A1468, the bill will at some point be sent to the Assembly floor for a full Assembly vote. (As of 1/25/11 it was sent to the Codes Committee, but from there it will be sent either to the Health Committee again for any suggested revisions, and then to the floor, or possibly directly to the floor). Section 2 of the bill (starting at line 37) purports to ban all sales of e-cigarettes in New York (unless and until approved by the FDA as a cessation product), while Section 1 only bans sales to minors.
For New Yorkers, the next step is to get a face-to-face meeting with your own Assembly member, when they are at home in their district office. This is usually on Thursday and Friday. Bring your e-cig, educate him or her, bring Dr. Siegel's letter and Journal article. Ask for an amendment striking Section 2 of the bill when it gets to the floor, so that the bill simply bans sales to minors!
For those anywhere who have plenty of energy and can continue contacting other Assembly members with letters, phone calls and faxes, please do. HOWEVER, please be aware that we still think the chances of actually beating this in the Assembly are slim, so don't do this if you don't have the staying power to seriously ramp up your efforts when it comes to the Senate Health Committee. For the Senate Health Committee IS where we have the better chance of prevailing and killing or amending this bill.
Here is a PDF containing contact information for all 150 members of the Assembly. It is the best we have, but be aware that it does not reflect new or departed members as of the last election. For example, Jonathan Bing is on this list, but he is now a Senator, so all the contact info for him on this list is not valid. Nonetheless, for the majority of the Assembly, this list is very useful. It can always be cross-checked with the Assembly website member list, found here, but as of this posting, it is not updated either!
The Assembly members who most importantly need to be reached are party leaders (both R and D, as they establish caucus policies to support or oppose various bills, and the Ds in leadership decide what bills to run and when), and all Rs in the Assembly, who are far more likely than Ds to oppose the bill and/or support amending the bill to only ban sales to youth.
UPDATE: While the bill is pending with the Codes Committee, it appears we should be targeting them for now; it's another chance (no matter how slim), to stop the bill from going to a full Assembly vote. So I'm adding phone, fax, and email contact information for Codes members below (the 5 with asterisks already voted for the bill in the Health Committee meeting last Tuesday).
Codes Committee Democrats
Chair
Joseph R Lentol
T:5184554477
fax:5184554599
Robin Schimminger *
T:5184554767
fax:5184554724
Helene E Weinstein
T:5184555462
fax:5184555752
James F Brennan
T:5184555377
fax:5184555592
Keith L T Wright
T:5184554793
fax:5184553890
James Gary Pretlow
T:5184555291
fax:5184555447
Vivian Cook
T:5184554203
fax:5184553606
Steven Cymbrowitz *
T:5184555214
fax:5184555738
Michele Titus
T:5184555668
fax:5184553892
Daniel J O’Donnell
T:5184555603
fax:5184553812
Charles Lavine *
T:5184555456
fax:5184555467
N Nick Perry
T:5184554166
fax:5184555478
Kenneth Paul Zebrowski
T:5184555735
fax:5184555561
Rory I Lancman
T:5184555172
fax:5184555479
Hakeem Jeffries
T:5184555325
fax:5184553684
Codes Committee Republicans
Philip Boyle
T:5184554611
fax:5184555258
Joe Giglio
T:5184555241
fax:5184555869
Louis tobacco *
T:5184554495
fax:5184554501
Tony Jordan
T:5184555404
fax:5184553727
Michael Montesano
T:5184554684
fax:5184555477
Alfred Graf
T:5184555937
fax:5184554784
Edward Ra *
T:5184554627
fax:5184554643
lentolj@assembly.state.ny.us, SchimmR@assembly.state.ny.us, weinsth@assembly.state.ny.us, brennaj@assembly.state.ny.us, wrightk@assembly.state.ny.us, pretloj@assembly.state.ny.us, cookv@assembly.state.ny.us, cymbros@assembly.state.ny.us, titusm@assembly.state.ny.us, odonned@assembly.state.ny.us, lavinec@assembly.state.ny.us, perryn@assembly.state.ny.us, zebrowskik@assembly.state.ny.us, LancmanR@assembly.state.ny.us, JeffriesH@assembly.state.ny.us, boylep@assembly.state.ny.us, GiglioJ@assembly.state.ny.us, tobaccol@assembly.state.ny.us, jordanj@assembly.state.ny.us, grafa@assembly.state.ny.us, rae@assembly.state.ny.us, MontesanoM@assembly.state.ny.us
lentolj@assembly.state.ny.us; SchimmR@assembly.state.ny.us; weinsth@assembly.state.ny.us; brennaj@assembly.state.ny.us; wrightk@assembly.state.ny.us; pretloj@assembly.state.ny.us; cookv@assembly.state.ny.us; cymbros@assembly.state.ny.us; titusm@assembly.state.ny.us; odonned@assembly.state.ny.us; lavinec@assembly.state.ny.us; perryn@assembly.state.ny.us; zebrowskik@assembly.state.ny.us; LancmanR@assembly.state.ny.us; JeffriesH@assembly.state.ny.us; boylep@assembly.state.ny.us; GiglioJ@assembly.state.ny.us; tobaccol@assembly.state.ny.us; jordanj@assembly.state.ny.us; grafa@assembly.state.ny.us; rae@assembly.state.ny.us; MontesanoM@assembly.state.ny.us
Also for everyone, we are going to be working on trying to get the Senate Health Committee to hold a public hearing on their version of this bill - S695-2011. Here is the bill on the Senate Website. Whether to hold a public hearing is at their discretion, so that's why we have to work on them to do so. If one is scheduled, it will be critical to mobilize as large a gathering of people to attend as possible, whether you plan to actually speak at it or not. Such an event is really where we have to show our strength in numbers.
And also for everyone, below you will see the full contact list for the Senate Health Committee. There is no indication yet of when this session they will be considering S695-2011. We will be watching the Health Committee agenda closely, and will publicize any scheduled action on this bill widely. Please remember, a critical point to make in any contact is that we urge them to amend the bill, by striking Section 2. We support prohibiting sales to minors.
Here is a pre-written template letter suitable for faxing or mailing. Feel free to add content or modify as you wish. Be sure to insert the Senator's name at the beginning, and sign your name at the end! If you are a New York resident, be sure to include your address.
Click Here to Download Pre-written Word Doc Letter
Senate Health Committee - Republican Members
Chair: Kemp Hannon
408 Legislative Office Building
Albany, NY 12247
P: 518-455-2200
F: 518-426-6954
Martin Golden
188 State Street Room 504, Legislative Office Building
Albany, NY 12247
Phone: (518) 455-2730
F: 518-426-6910
James L. Seward
188 State Street Room 711B, Legislative Office Building
Albany, NY 12247
Phone: 518) 455-3131
F: 518-455-3123
Greg Ball
817 Legislative Office Building Empire State Plaza
Albany, NY 12247
United States
Phone: (518) 455-3111
Fax: (518) 426-6977
Hugh T. Farley
Room 706 Legislative Office Building
Albany, NY 12247
Tel: (518) 455-2181
Fax (518) 455-2271
Charles J. Fuschillo, Jr.
Room 615 LOB
Albany, New York 12247
518-455-3341
F: 518-426-6823
William J. Larkin, Jr.
Room 406, Legislative Office Building
Albany, NY 12247
(518) 455-2770
F: 518-426-6923
Catherine Young
Room 513 Legislative Office Building
Albany, New York 12247
(518) 455-3563
fax: (518) 426-6905
Roy J. McDonald
188 State Street Room 306, Legislative Office Building
Albany, NY 12247
Phone: (518) 455-2381
Fax: (518) 426-6985
Senate Health Committee - Democrat Members
Thomas K. Duane
430 State Capitol Building
Albany, NY 12247
Tel: (518) 455-2451
Fax: (518) 426-6846
Velmanette Montgomery
711 Legislative Office Building
Albany, NY 12247
Tel: (518) 455-3451
Fax: (518) 426-6854
Andrea Stewart-Cousins
805 Legislative Office Building
Albany, NY 12247
(Tel.) (518) 455-2585
(Fax) (518) 426-6811
Malcolm A. Smith
188 State Street Room 909, Legislative Office Building
Albany, NY 12247
Phone: (518) 455-2701
Fax: (518) 455-2816
Eric Adams
188 State Street Legislative Office Building, Room 915
Albany, NY 12247
Phone: (518) 455-2431
Fax: (518) 426-6856
Michael Gianaris
310 Legislative Office Building,
New York 12247
Phone: (518) 455-3486
Fax: (518) 426-6929
Gustavo Rivera
420 State Capitol Building,
New York 12247
Phone: (518) 455-3395
Fax: (518) 426-6858
Semicolon delimited emails:
Hannon@senate.state.ny.us; golden@senate.state.ny.us; seward@senate.state.ny.us; gball@senate.state.ny.us; farley@senate.state.ny.us; fuschill@senate.state.ny.us; larkin@senate.state.ny.us; cyoung@senate.state.ny.us; mcdonald@senate.state.ny.us; duane@senate.state.ny.us; montgome@senate.state.ny.us; scousins@senate.state.ny.us; masmith@senate.state.ny.us; eadams@senate.state.ny.us; gianaris@nysenate.gov; jrivera@nysenate.gov
Comma delimited emails:
Hannon@senate.state.ny.us, golden@senate.state.ny.us, seward@senate.state.ny.us, gball@senate.state.ny.us, farley@senate.state.ny.us, fuschill@senate.state.ny.us, larkin@senate.state.ny.us, cyoung@senate.state.ny.us, mcdonald@senate.state.ny.us, duane@senate.state.ny.us, montgome@senate.state.ny.us, scousins@senate.state.ny.us, masmith@senate.state.ny.us, eadams@senate.state.ny.us, gianaris@nysenate.gov, jrivera@nysenate.gov
Final Note: For updates on needed action in New York, you can always check CASAA's Call to Action page on New York, as after a short while I will no longer be able to edit this post. It is here:
http://www.casaa.org/cta/article.asp?articleID=114&l=a&p=
Last edited: