INVITATION TO SUPPORT VACCINE EXEMPTION BILL AT LEGISLATIVE HEARING

Wednesday, 4/11/01 from 8:00 a.m.-10:00 a.m.

Texas State Capitol, at 12th Street and Congress Ave., Austin Texas

Dear PROVE TX Members,

As anticipated, the bill that contains our conscientious exemption to immunization mandates, HB 1702, has been set for a public hearing on the morning of Wednesday, April 11^th at 8:45 a.m., sharp, in the hearing room E2.030 in the Capitol Extension. (Pre-hearing strategy meeting for bill supporters in conference room E1.018 at 8:00 a.m.)

Whether you partially vaccinate, don't vaccinate, or fully vaccinate and are concerned about future vaccine mandates for things like AIDS or cocaine use, please help stand for the rights of parents to have the ultimate control over what vaccines their children receive and when they receive them. Current Texas mandatory immunization laws don't allow for parents to delay or decline a vaccine that they feel is either unnecessary or unsafe for their child. Many parents are unaware that the laws apply to all children whether or not they are in school. You can show your support in the following ways:

1) PLEASE EVERYONE FAX OR EMAIL WRITTEN TESTIMONY to the legislators on the Health committee and the bill author and PROVE right away (Tuesday is the absolute latest, but the sooner the better) if you haven't done it yet. Sample letters and contact information sent in a previous ALERT are posted at

http://www.vaccineinfo.net/issues/2001/exemption_alert.htm)

2) COME TO THE HEARING BRIGHT AND EARLY!

We need your presence to show a strong support for this bill! A packed hearing room of our supporters will go a long way for our side.

We are having a pre-hearing instructional meeting starting at 8:00 a.m. sharp (please don't be late) in conference room E1.018 in the Capitol Extension. Try and be there by 7:50 a.m. so we can start right at 8:00 a.m. with no interruptions. We are going to be passing out witness affirmation forms for you to sign in favor of this bill, giving out nametags (so PROVE's presence at the hearing will be noticed), and talking about any last minute testimony strategy changes. We will leave to go and get our seats in the hearing room by 8:30 a.m.

Conference room E1.018 is reserved for us until 10:00 a.m. so if you need to walk out of the hearing room to nurse, change a diaper, etc., you'll have a place to do it!

Our bill author, Representative Green, has requested that our strategy be to strongly limit the number of people giving oral testimony to an absolute minimum if our indication from him is that we have a fair chance at getting the bill passed with no opposition testimony. We will be able to get a better handle on this as the hearing progresses. (This is why it is so important for you to fax and email your letters of support directly to the members of the committee ahead of time - please!) We are asking all of you for your respect of this request and to sign up in favor of the bill without giving oral testimony unless we ask you to at the hearing. Representative Green will be spending a good amount of time to lay the bill out and give background supportive information.

HOWEVER, the committee members have been told that we are reserving our side's right to provide any and all oral testimony necessary to refute any opposing or inaccurate testimony should it be given. It is up to the opposition to fire the first shot (no pun intended).

So if you are willing to help out here, please bring 2 copies of your written testimony that you previously emailed to Representative Green and copied to PROVE in case we need to put you up to read parts of it aloud as oral testimony to set the record straight. Please submit one to me at the pre-hearing meeting and keep one for yourself so you can be ready to testify. Oral testimony will be limited to 3 minutes per person, and since we've asked people to keep written testimony to no longer than one page, this will work out fine.

3) PLEASE LET US KNOW IF YOU ARE COMING - REPLY BY EMAIL TO THIS NOTE

4) VISIT THE OFFICE OF YOUR REPRESENTATIVE AND SENATOR AFTER THE HEARING

Well, you made it all the way to Austin, let's take the opportunity to build some more support for the bill. if you don't know who your current State Representative and Senator are, please link to http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/fyi/fyi.htm and follow the menu. Please plan on stopping by their offices to introduce yourself as a voting resident in their district who just came in to Austin to show your support for HB 1702 by attending the hearing. You can let them know why the passage of this bill is so important to your family. The more they hear from you on this issue - the better chance we have at a positive vote.

GENERAL INFORMATION:

Children are welcome, but we will most likely be done by 10:00 a.m. because the committee will adjourn and go to the House Floor for session, so please decide what works best for you and your family.   

Attire: Ladies - a dress or business suit (yes moms, it's time to pull out the pantyhose but don't forget comfortable walking shoes!)
          Gentlemen - Jacket (tie optional but preferable)
          Children - neat and comfortable
          Everyone - A PROVE nametag that we will supply so our supporters are easily identified
          Please dress conservatively - no wild jewelry or make-up

Parking: Parking is available in the Capitol Visitors Parking Garage located
between Trinity and San Jacinto Streets. Parking is free for the first two
hours and $.75 for each half hour thereafter (maximum charge: $6.00).
Metered spaces are available throughout the complex.

Directions to visitor parking garage: From IH-35 in Austin, take the 15th
Street Exit heading west toward the Capitol. A few blocks down, take a left
onto San Jacinto.  The entrance to the Capitol visitor parking garage is a
couple of blocks down on your left on San Jacinto. The Capitol grounds are
just 1 1/2 blocks due west from the front of the garage.  (just look up and
walk towards the dome of the capitol.)  When you get inside, because it will
depend on which door you go in, ask the security guards for the elevators to
go to the underground capitol extension building to floor E1.  The
conference room that we are initially meeting in is E1.018.

Please stay in touch with your email frequently and I hope to see as many of you as possible on Wednesday morning. And please - if you haven't sent faxes or email notes of your supportive letters yet, there is no time like the present. We need each and every one of you to make this work.

If you would like to see the bill for yourself, you can link to http://capitol.state.tx.us and enter HB 1702.

Thanks everybody - we are one step closer and see you Wednesday morning!
 

Sincerely,
Dawn Richardson

April 5, 2008