HB 2833 Update

[TColt]

CircleC- Making it public would make it easier because then when someone posts a link on here to LSWD I can just click on it and read what I need to read. That is what I do with TDHA, Im mostly a member on the TDHA forum because I am a member of TDHA. I should get on TDHA more to keep myself more updated, just hard to remember, especially when I get caught up in the fun stuff on this site.

Speaking of which, im not sure if it got over looked or I just didnt see the response. But I made a suggestion earlier about, during session, moving the Laws and Bills section of this forum to the top so that it is the first thing you see on here when you sign in. I get on and you cant even see Laws and Bills when you open the forums page without scrolling down. I think it would just help people remember to read this stuff and be active if it was the first thing they saw when they logged in. What do yall think?

[matt_aggie04]

We did something similar, left it as a sticky in the Hogs on Dogs , Hog Dogs, and General Discussion for a day or more to raise attention.

[Circle C]

Speaking of which, im not sure if it got over looked or I just didnt see the response. But I made a suggestion earlier about, during session, moving the Laws and Bills section of this forum to the top so that it is the first thing you see on here when you sign in. I get on and you cant even see Laws and Bills when you open the forums page without scrolling down. I think it would just help people remember to read this stuff and be active if it was the first thing they saw when they logged in. What do yall think?

   It's hard to say what works on this site.   I can tell you that of 6 boards in the Hogs&Dogs section, I only visit 3, the other 3 I have not even opened in months. Same for 2 of the 3 boards on the bottom of the page.  I don't think board placement really effects participation, but that's just my personal experience.  For the most part, the people that are "involved" will look at the boards they are interested in, regardless of placement.

  Same deal with Stickys. they get some attention when first placed as a sticky, but after a couple of visits, they get ignored.

I don't know the answer, but I am willing to try with some duplicate posts to see which ones get more views/ replies. Heck, we can possibly even experiment with duplicate boards, with one at the top of the page and another in the original position. 

All that said, this site has 3277 members.  TDHA and LSWDA probably don't have 500 combined, and less than 50 regulars. The real ticket, as you touched on earlier, is to get the larger organizations involved.

[jls41]

Just heard from the lobbyist and this is his report.  He told me yesterday that the State Capitol had a nuclear meltdown in the political world and that many things were at a stand still.  Not just HB 2833, but MAN MANY other bills.

Here's his report:

The democrats have spent, much of Friday, all of Saturday, most of yesterday, and all day today arguing about HB12, a bill that they all acknowledge will pass, submitting amendments, arguing and wasting time, just to prove a point. I'm not sure exactly what the point, but I am sure that we now have over a thousand bills backlogged and the vast majority of them will never be heard.

All this discussion has been about the Sanctuary Cities bill and we have at least three more bills which the Democrats have expressed their intentions of doing the same thing. I can assure you that only a handful of what I will call 'simple' bills will be passed in the closing days. These will be the pet bills of the members or the pet bills of some of the large special interest groups and I'm sorry to say that HB2833 is neither.

This is the third session that has ended with a complete meltdown over a single issue which resulted in hundreds and hundreds of very worthwhile bills never making it to the floor of the House to be discussed or voted on.

Our bill has had some opposition, but it's still a good bill. If everything else was equal and we just got passed over because of some opposition, I would understand, but I've been working on a couple of bills since way before the session that do not have a single bit of opposition that will die the same death.

He is working on a few more angles but with Austin at a standoff, it's not looking good.

[aladatrot]

That's fine. Hopefully 1451 will be another bill that will be dead as well. That would buy us more time until next session to get our guns lined out, work some fund raisers, and flood Austin with our voices. I would personally like to meet with my senator in person (likely with one of my dogs), but I can't do that until he is back in his office here.

I'm not looking at this as a failure, but as a warm up. Now we know exactly what needs to be done and the time frame to do it in.

Cheers
M

[uglydog]

Mandi I agree with you!

 Lance (the author) will/should soon be home and we can all support him and THANK HIM for taking the time and intiative to be brave enough to take this step forward and looking out for representing us all when writing it in the first place! (and thank him for also risking hios life in the name of freedom for all of us)
We can raise funds and more support to be able to work side by side with Lance and have this bill ready for next session, and all be a little more seasoned in our efforts to follow up the next round!

[jls41]

Mandi and Krystal, you 2 hit the nail on the head!!  This is by far any kind of failure.  Failure is when you don't try at all.  We are a lot wiser to the legislative circles and protocol now and we will be ready for the next one in 2 years!!!  

"Never let the fear of striking out get in your way." - Babe Ruth

WATCH OUT AUSTIN!!!

[got2catchem]

Sorry folks, it appears my questions have been taken the wrong way, I have been a big supported of 2833 from the start. I have asked questions because I have no behind the scene knowledge about what is going on with 2833 and was trying to find the best way to help this bill pass.

I am quite sure however that I have never supported a hsus bill, not sure what you are referring to M.

I will re-frame from any more question.

Thanks,
Paul T

I have tried to also stay out of this, but I just don't understand your quoted post above, when you unashamedly dogged HB 2833 in your previous quoted post below.

I talked to the aid that is in control of and writing HB 1451. We had a good long talk and I found her to be very engaging and full of questions. She is working today on changing the wording to our advantage and I had quite a bit of input. She is changing the numbers and requirement to where a commercial breeder will be classified buy number of litters whelped and number of dogs sold and not solely based on the number of intact females. This is good news.

I also talked with her about a "working Dog" exemption being added to HB 1451 and she was very receptive and asked me to send her some language. I have e-mailed her a TDHA "working dog" definition and hope she can use that information in the wording of HB 1451.

I mentioned HB 2833 and asked her opinion and how it could effect HB 1451 if it passed and she said that Mr. White and Mr. Comedy both realise that HB 2833 is going no where, her words, and that was a non-issue and that TDHA should work on getting exemptions added to proposed bills.

Please don't sit on your hands because you think HB 2833 is going to get passed and save us, because that is not going to happen. There are major problems with 2833 and I don't think it has any chance of even getting to committee.

How can you help?  Call Thompson's office, (512) 463-0720,  add tell the person that answers the phone that you want a working dog exemption to HB 1451.

More updates as I have them.

Thanks,
Paul T

It really seems like a blatant and obvious contradiction. Quite honestly, as a member of the TDHA and a board member of the LSWDA, I am concerned with this.

[Silverton Boar Dogs]

Richard, That was what I was told by everyone I talked to in Austin. The bill in the form it was filled had zero chance of passing. A committee substitute was going to be needed if it got to committee. It got to committee and a substitute was offered with some changes, the substitute was withdrawn because it also had some problems. Now there is another committee substitute with changed language that may or may not be able to get out of committee, and make it through calendars to the floor. Then the whole process again in the Senate, the Senate is tougher than the House. You (we) ran out of time because the language was not proper to begin with.

I hope y'all see why I was so concerned with the language being as perfect as it could be early on, before it was even sponsored by Mr. White. Bills with language problems like this get hung up and can't move fast, or can't move at all. Everyone in Austin has expected the Capitol to lock down about now, they have been telling me that was going to happen the first week of the session. So it not a surprise. That is why the push to get it right the first time.

I was concerned that many were sitting on their hands regarding calling about other legislation because they thought 2833 was as good as law and would save us from the bad bills.


Being a supporter to me means making the calls in support of a bill and voicing opinions on the language and possible pit falls that the bill might face. I voiced my concerns to Lance and JLS early on in private, it seams as if my warnings fell on deaf ears.

It seams that some are mad at me for bringing up the problems with wording and the warning that these problems would keep 2833 from getting out of committee in time. What I was afraid would happen has happened. I just wish the language would have been fixed early and we might now be working this bill through the Senate.

Don't shoot the messenger for trying to talk straight and to the point. I thought the goal was to get this bill passed.

[jls41]

If there is one thing that LSWDA has learned through this legislative process and session it is that there is no such thing as perfect language.  Someone will have issues with what is written in a proposed bill.  Also, no bill will skirt going through LegCouncil and be rewritten.  Their job is to make sure that a judge can read and enforce it, that it isn't unconstitutional, and that it does not contradict another law on the books.  All bills that are introduced get rewritten.  HB 2833's language was not that far off.  Our only fault would be that we got started late in this session.  But at least Lance and LSWDA made the attempt to be proactive and DO something to help working dogs and their owners in this legislative session instead of being consumed with a reactive stance and playing whack-a-mole with every anti-led legislation that came through this session.

It is amazing, if you stop and really think about it, that in it's FIRST year, what LSWDA has accomplished!!  We learned a tremendous amount in this journey and we will be ready for the next legislative session.  We have made some good allies and look forward to making more.  We can only grow from here!

Thanks goes to everyone that supported us in one way or another this first year.  We all did something pretty darn cool together!!  Let's get ready for the 83rd legislative session and do something amazing!!

[got2catchem]

I agree with jls41. Thanks to everyone who had in hand in creating and supporting HB 2833.Although it may not move to the senate,  I do not see it as a failure, but rather as a demonstration of what can happen, when individuals and an organization step up and “Walk the Talk” and not just rally everyone up only to fizzle out. Win or lose, when it comes to our rights with working dogs, I will fight to the end and I want to stand behind an organization that is willing to do the same.
 
If you have been hesitant to become actively involved or at least join an organization to show support in numbers because you are uncertain that it will have an impact, then this should be all the proof you need.

In less than a year Lance Falzone and the LSWDA with the support from many others, were able to get a bill sponsored that was worded to directly impact working dog owners in a positive way and keep us from having to comply with more restrictive and outright negative “pet bill” legislation.

You can be bet the LSWDA will come out swinging in the 83rd legislative session. I encourage everyone who is not a member to join up and stand with us. Point blank, the LSWDA has enough “stay” and “drive” to get things done and see it to the end.

Sign up here.
 
http://www.lswda.org/

Scroll down and on the left hand side you will see LSWDA Membership. There is a "yearly" or "lifetime" membership.