Oppose SB 355 and SB 399 Emergency Powers Bills

URGENT ACTION NEEDED by 10:00 a.m. Monday 03/03/03

Contact Senate Committee to OPPOSE Public Health Emergency Bills SB 355 and SB 399!

Dear PROVE Texas Members and Texas Parents,

The Texas Department of Health has requested that legislators give them unprecedented expanded "public health emergency powers" and two bills, SB 355 and SB 399 are being considered Monday morning in the Senate Infrastructure Development and Security Committee.

We really need for you to take just a few minutes to either call or fax the committee members expressing your opposition to these bills before 10:00 a.m. Monday morning. (We are so sorry for the short notice - although we've been tracking these bills, we just found out about the hearing today.)

ACTION - CALL THE MEMBERS OF THE SENATE INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT AND SECURITY COMMITTEE IMMEDIATELY (leave messages if you have to)

Senator Steve Ogden, chair (512) 463-0105
Senator Gonzalo Barrientos, vice-chair (512) 463-0114
Senator Bob Deuell (512) 463-0102
Senator Rodney Ellis (512) 463-0113
Senator Jon Lindsay (512) 463-0107
Senator Frank Madla (512) 463-0119
Senator Florence Shapiro (512) 463-0108
Senator Eliot Shapleigh (512) 463-0129
Senator Jeff Wentworth (512) 463-0125

On all calls, please make sure to make the following points in your own words:

Introduce yourself and tell the aid from which city you are calling.

Please ask Senator __________ to vote against SB 355 by Senator Janek and SB 399 by Senator Van de Putte in today's Senate Infrastructure Development and Security Committee Hearing.

I AM STRONGLY OPPOSED TO SB 355 because:

Section 5 removes the public's ability to participate in changes to ROUTINE childhood vaccine schedule of mandates by removing the oversight authority by the Texas Board of Health and a public comment period and gives the Texas Department of Health the ability to just dictate the schedule. Since I don't have the legal ability to refuse a vaccine because I think it is unnecessary or unsafe for my child, I resent this attempt to further gut my rights to protect my child and limit my participation in the process.

I AM OPPOSED TO BOTH SB 355 AND SB 399 because:

They expand the power of the Texas Department of Health too much while offering no legal protections for me to be able to refuse a vaccination or drug treatment that could be harmful to me or my child. These bills also expand the quarantine power of the department but offer no protections to guarantee the right of my family to stay together or to reasonably limit the time we could be quarantined.

THANK YOU.

If you would like to see the letters being submitted by PROVE to the committee on these bills, please refer to the following.

SB 355 Committee 3-03-03.pdf
SB 399 Committee 3-03-03.pdf

If you are new to the issue of expanded emergency powers language being inserted in state law around the country and want some more background on the issue in general before you call or write, please visit our web site at  http://www.vaccineinfo.net/issues/emergencypowers/index.shtml.

If you want to read the bills, link to http://www.capitol.state.tx.us and enter SB355 or SB399 in the field for bill number and follow the prompts to read bill text.

April 5, 2008