SB-23 Update
3/25/99
As most of you know, SB-23 passed in the Senate Public Safety Committee this week. We fully expected it to move easily through Committee levels. Some of you are concerned that the fight is over as a result of the Committee's actions. Let's understand the procedures of the legislature before you throw in the towel.
Public Safety Committee level approval was a forgone conclusion. The Assembly and Senate are required to get all bills with a financial impact out of Committee level by the end of the second week of April. The bill currently resides in the Senate Appropriations Committee where money is approved in order to pay for the bill if it eventually becomes law. Whether funds will be approved for the bill is unknown, but generally, bills of a political nature that support the party in majority are approved so that it may be debated on the floor.
This does not mean that we should sit back and not voice our opinion. All members of the committee end up voting for or against the bill once it hits the floor for full debate. How a committee member votes while the bill is in committee may not necessarily be what they vote for when it hits the floor, especially if they have been inundated with calls, faxes and letters while in committee. Some committee members believe it is not their role to kill a bill in committee without a fair debate by the full legislature.
If appropriations approves the bill it will go to the senate floor for debate, possible modification and a vote. If it is passed, it then is sent to the assembly for debate, modification and a vote. If modified by the assembly, which is a forgone conclusion at this time, it must then go back to the Senate for a concurrence vote, meaning they agree with the modifications.
In other words, this bill is a long way from being approved in its current form, if at all. However, the key to getting modifications that remove as much of the harmful elements from the bill or getting the bill dumped completely is 95% dependent on public opinion. This bill requires a 2/3 majority vote, not a simple 50%, before it can become law by both the Assembly and Senate. This is why we can win against this bill.
Public opinion, starting at the committee level, is monitored extensively by legislators on both sides of the aisle and is heavily weighed as modifications are submitted or efforts to dump the bill are made. If public opinion in opposition is light, you will be guaranteed a gun ban. If it sustained, loud and continuous, even gun banners will get cold feet if they perceive they have created a hornet's nest.
Don't stop now! You must rally your friends and relatives to speak out against SB23 and other gun control bills. This is only the beginning in the life of SB23 and to stop now will assure a new law on the books effective January 1, 2000. We can't allow that to happen! Your voice must be heard loud and clear at each phase of the bill's life, not just one time.
Remember, public opinion, not the NRA, not the CRPA, not a corp of lobbyists, has the most impact on whether a bill becomes law. You've beaten back anti-gun legislation before, but you must make an extraordinary effort this year due to the Democratic majority in the legislature. You must scare them with your outrage...and they can be made to fear the electorate if they perceive the issue is too hot!
Below is our political locator along with members of the appropriations committee. Contact those members of the committee today. They must move this bill to the floor within the next week or two so we have precious little time to make our voice heard at this phase of the bill's life.
Politician Locator
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE
Senator Pat Johnston (Chair) (Dem.) ** VOTED FOR SB-23 in PSC
State Capitol Room 5066
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: (916) 445-2407
Fax: NA
Senator.Johnston@sen.ca.gov
Senator Tim Leslie (Vice Chair) (Rep.)
State Capitol Room 4081
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: (916) 445-5788
Fax: NA
Senator.Leslie@sen.ca.gov
Senator Dede Alpert (Dem.)
State Capitol Room 5114
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: (916) 445-3952
Fax: 619-645-3094 (note 619 area code)
Senator.Alpert@sen.ca.gov
Senator Debra Bowen (Dem.)
State Capitol Room 4040
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: (916) 445-5953
Fax: 916-323-6056
Senator.Bowen@sen.ca.gov
Senator John Burton (Dem.) ** VOTED FOR SB-23 in PSC
State Capitol Room 205
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: (916) 445-1412
Fax: 916-327-7229
Senator.Burton@sen.ca.gov
Senator Martha Escutia (Dem.)
State Capitol Room 5064
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: (916) 327-8315
Fax: NA
Senator.Escutia@sen.ca.gov
Senator Ross Johnson (Rep.)
State Capitol Room 305
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: (916) 445-4961
Fax: NA
Senator.Johnston@sen.ca.gov
Senator Betty Karnette (Dem.)
State Capitol Room 3086
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: (916) 445-6447
Fax: 916-327-9113
Senator.Karnette@sen.ca.gov
Senator David G. Kelley (Rep.)
State Capitol Room 3082
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: (916) 445-5581
FAx: 619-675-8262 (note 619 area code)
Senator.Kelley@sen.ca.gov
Senator Bruce McPherson (Rep.) ** VOTED FOR SB-23 in PSC
State Capitol Room 3076
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: (916) 445-5843
Fax: 916-445-8081
Senator.McPherson@sen.ca.gov
Senator Richard Mountjoy (Rep.)
State Capitol Room 4052
Sacramento, CA 95814
Ph: (916) 445-2848
Fax: NA
Senator.Mountjoy@sen.ca.gov
Senator Don Perata (Dem.)
State Capitol Room 4061
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: (916) 445-6577
Fax:916-327-1997
Senator.Perata@sen.ca.gov
Senator John Vasconcellos (Dem.) **VOTED FOR SB-23 in PSC
State Capitol Room 4074
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: (916) 445-9740
Fax: 916-324-0283
Senator.Vasconcellos@sen.ca.gov