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Updated August 19, 2010
Advocacy-Public Policy Update Western Region By Rachel LaForest, National Public Policy Director
Central Region Update Eastern Region Update
SB810 Final Step Take Action! California's Single payer legislation SB810 continues to move through the final stages of passage before it gets to the desk of the Governor. It is expected that the bill will go to the full Assembly some time during the week of 8/23 - 8/27. There is a good chance it will pass but the bill still needs more support from key elected officials. Once again, you can step up to ensure that California gets one step closer to seeing a Single Payer health care system. What You Can Do Below is the list of the full California state Assembly complete with contact numbers and where they stand or are expected to stand on this issue. Some are co-authors of the bill and can be relied on to vote YES. Others still need a push. Please take a moment to contact your Assemblymember and either tell them how proud you are or that they need to step up.
California State Assembly The following members are not co-authors but are likely YES's (at least 7 of these votes must be YES to pass):
1.
Arambua 2.
Buchanan 3.
Caballero 4.
Calderon 5.
Carter 6.
Fuentes 7.
Furutani 8.
Galgiani 9.
Gatto 10. Hall 11. Hernandez 12. Huber 13. Perez J. 14. Perez M. 15. Portantino 16. Saldaña 17. Torres
SENATE PASSES NEA INCREASE Thanks to your efforts… …on Wednesday, August 18, 2010 the U.S. Senate passed the Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, which provides $161.3 million in funding for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), a $1.3 million increase over last year's funding! Earlier this year, the House passed a version of the bill H.R.2996 with a $170 million appropriation for the NEA. The bill now goes into conference committee to reconcile the differences between the two Chambers.
Stay tuned for future Take Actions to ensure that the NEA receives the most adequate funding possible.
Prop 8 Declared Unconstitutional On Wednesday, August 04, in the case of Perry v. Schwarzenegger, U.S. District Chief Judge Vaughn R. Walker said Proposition 8, passed by voters in November 2008, violated the federal constitutional rights of gays and lesbians to marry the partners of their choice. The next stop will undoubtedly be an appeal to the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals and then up to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The U.S. House Designates "Arts in Education" week in September! On Monday, July 26th, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.Con.Res. 275, legislation designating the second week of September as "Arts in Education Week." Authored and introduced by California Representative Jackie Speier (D-CA), this resolution is the first Congressional expression of support celebrating all the disciplines comprising arts education. This is a very positive showing of support for arts education and comes at a key time when Congress is making plans to overhaul federal education policy. The resolution seeks to support the attributes of arts education that are recognized as instrumental to developing a well-rounded education such as creativity, imagination, and cross-cultural understanding. H.Con.Res. 275 also highlights the critical link between those skills and preparing our children for gaining a competitive edge in the global economy. This is an important message for policy makers to acknowledge as they prepare to reauthorize federal education policy. We salute Rep. Speier and the more than 101 original cosponsors for their support of arts education and for this truly special recognition of the value of culture for our country's students. Click here to read a copy of the resolution http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:H.CON.RES.275:
The new Consumer Information Website, HealthCare.gov, has been launched! The comprehensive web portal required by The Affordable Care Act went up July 1. It replaces existing websites that provided information on the law and its interpretation. Its primary purpose is to help individuals and families navigate health care, e.g., unemployed workers looking for coverage to replace employer coverage that they lost. It contains information on all applicable federal laws, links to state government resources, and a huge amount of information on private health plans (currently 5,100 plans) with pricing information scheduled to be added in October.
California Arts Plates “One Million Plates for the Arts” fundraising campaign The California Arts Council has launched a new initiative to raise money for the arts during tough economic times. Their Promoting the Arts License Plate program has a goal to sell one million license plates to California business owners, which would provide $40 million for the arts in California (Arts Plate fees may be considered charitable contributions to the California Arts Council under IRS regulations). The Arts License Plate funds and promotion of the plate to California drivers are seen as key to keeping arts programs alive in the state. California is currently the lowest in per capita funding in the arts nationwide, at just about 12 cents per person. And given the state's fiscal crisis, obtaining General Fund monies seems next to impossible any time soon.
Are you a business owner interested in putting California Arts License Plates on your fleet? Contact Mary Beth Barber at mbarber@cac.ca.gov or 916-322-6588 for more information.
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