THA4
A Few Steps Ahead Of You
Iowa Conservation Alliance Member Organizations –
I had a communication from Mike Heller tonight on the status of the Dove Bill.
Placement of the bill on the debate calendar and its subsequent passage are far from assured. Calls are running about 50/50 on the bill into the switchboard and among Senators that have heard from their districts. Mike says several Senators have not heard from anyone at all. This is likely to change as the national animal rights organizations get involved.
Senator Dearden is willing to let the bill percolate until it gets the necessary 26 hard votes for passage. However, we are not near that point. Unfortunately, we have a very short window to get this done. We need to get the Senate bill debated as soon as possible (the companion bill in the House did not get out of committee in time to beat the legislative funnel deadline). That means that the Senate has to send the bill over to the House to beat the next legislative funnel to be eligible for consideration this session. Voting constituents need to let their Senators know that this is an important issue for them.
The only way the Dove Bill will be considered is if Senators receive many calls asking for the chance to have this bill fairly debated and voted upon. If sportsmen do not make calls on this, it will not be considered. Contacts from within Senate Districts need to be made—callers need to provide your name and town, as well as your phone number, with each message left.
What do we need to do? Stop hitting the send button, and start picking up the phone. Emails are a poor substitute for a phone call.
· The Senate switchboard (515-281-3371) is not jammed up – At one point today, there were just 100 calls into the switchboard against the bill, and only about 50 in favor. What this means is that almost no one is calling -- it took me just 30 seconds to get a call in this afternoon, and I heard many similar stories.
· IS THERE ANY REASON AT ALL THAT WE CAN’T GENERATE 50 CALLS SUPPORTING THE BILL IN EVERY SENATORIAL DISTRICT? Think how many PF/DU/NWTF/WTU/etc chapters there are in every county that have committees that should vote for this—we know them, and we have to call them.
· Network! Designate a leader on each of your chapters or committees to carry the message to the remainder of the chapter committee and members. Make sure everyone on the committee makes a call in favor of the bill—most everyone has a cellphone, and if they are at work they can call on breaks or during lunch. Then make sure everyone on the committee calls a friend to make a call in favor of the bill. Spread the word………..
· Tell the Senate switchboard operator that you are calling about the dove bill, you support the bill, and you want it debated and voted on by the Senate right away.
· Then ask to be transferred to your Senator – most likely he/she will not be able to take your call, but they often will call you back. Leave them a message in support of the bill.
We have to show that we want this. We have to make the effort. We have to overcome the opposition and the politics. If we don’t make the effort, we really cannot expect the Legislators to do so.
Jim Wooley, President, Iowa Conservation Alliance
Pheasants Forever, Inc. and Quail Forever | 1205 Ilion Avenue | Chariton, IA 50049
p/f. (641) 774-2238 | m. (641) 203-1020 | jwooley@pheasantsforever.org or jwooley@quailforever.org
www.PheasantsForever.org ♦ www.QuailForever.org ♦ PF Blog ♦ On The Wing ♦ Fan Page
I had a communication from Mike Heller tonight on the status of the Dove Bill.
Placement of the bill on the debate calendar and its subsequent passage are far from assured. Calls are running about 50/50 on the bill into the switchboard and among Senators that have heard from their districts. Mike says several Senators have not heard from anyone at all. This is likely to change as the national animal rights organizations get involved.
Senator Dearden is willing to let the bill percolate until it gets the necessary 26 hard votes for passage. However, we are not near that point. Unfortunately, we have a very short window to get this done. We need to get the Senate bill debated as soon as possible (the companion bill in the House did not get out of committee in time to beat the legislative funnel deadline). That means that the Senate has to send the bill over to the House to beat the next legislative funnel to be eligible for consideration this session. Voting constituents need to let their Senators know that this is an important issue for them.
The only way the Dove Bill will be considered is if Senators receive many calls asking for the chance to have this bill fairly debated and voted upon. If sportsmen do not make calls on this, it will not be considered. Contacts from within Senate Districts need to be made—callers need to provide your name and town, as well as your phone number, with each message left.
What do we need to do? Stop hitting the send button, and start picking up the phone. Emails are a poor substitute for a phone call.
· The Senate switchboard (515-281-3371) is not jammed up – At one point today, there were just 100 calls into the switchboard against the bill, and only about 50 in favor. What this means is that almost no one is calling -- it took me just 30 seconds to get a call in this afternoon, and I heard many similar stories.
· IS THERE ANY REASON AT ALL THAT WE CAN’T GENERATE 50 CALLS SUPPORTING THE BILL IN EVERY SENATORIAL DISTRICT? Think how many PF/DU/NWTF/WTU/etc chapters there are in every county that have committees that should vote for this—we know them, and we have to call them.
· Network! Designate a leader on each of your chapters or committees to carry the message to the remainder of the chapter committee and members. Make sure everyone on the committee makes a call in favor of the bill—most everyone has a cellphone, and if they are at work they can call on breaks or during lunch. Then make sure everyone on the committee calls a friend to make a call in favor of the bill. Spread the word………..
· Tell the Senate switchboard operator that you are calling about the dove bill, you support the bill, and you want it debated and voted on by the Senate right away.
· Then ask to be transferred to your Senator – most likely he/she will not be able to take your call, but they often will call you back. Leave them a message in support of the bill.
We have to show that we want this. We have to make the effort. We have to overcome the opposition and the politics. If we don’t make the effort, we really cannot expect the Legislators to do so.
Jim Wooley, President, Iowa Conservation Alliance
Pheasants Forever, Inc. and Quail Forever | 1205 Ilion Avenue | Chariton, IA 50049
p/f. (641) 774-2238 | m. (641) 203-1020 | jwooley@pheasantsforever.org or jwooley@quailforever.org
www.PheasantsForever.org ♦ www.QuailForever.org ♦ PF Blog ♦ On The Wing ♦ Fan Page