AB 1213, The Bobcat Protection Act Update: ACTION NEEDED‏

I received this update today

URGENT ACTION NEEDED  ENDS EITHER APRIL 16th OR THE 30th

PLEASE SHARE WITH ALL YOU KNOW, THANX

Encluded are the e-mail addressess for the Assembly Members.  Please be polite when contacting,thanx

THE UPDATE ENDS AT The 4th District includes:

AB 1213 got its first committee hearing April 2nd. The vote didn’t happen and instead was held over until either April 16th or the 30th.

Our side had three witnesses testifying in favor along with multiple support statements from others in the audience. The trappers were well organized and out in force, with many speaking. While it seemed like we still had the vote count to pass out of committee, a recurring question raised was “what is the Department of Fish and Wildlife’s position?” The Department of Fish and Wildlife did not have any reps there and officially has no position (yet) on the bill. A couple of the likely “yes” votes wanted to delay until the Department of Fish and Wildlife had a chance to weigh in, and also for there to be a chance for further discussion on possible amendments to the bill.

Over the next few days it will be determined if the next hearing is on the 16th or 30th. There will be a lot to do between now and then to shore up support for the bill. Originally it seemed that it would be best to hold off mobilizing folks from JT to go to Sacramento until a lobby day later in the process, but we may want/need more supporters up there for the next hearing, so if you have the capability of making such a trip, try to keep those days open.

http://www.change.org/petitions/california-state-lawmakers-ban-trapping-of-bobcats-in-morongo-basin-near-joshua-tree-national-park?utm_source=supporter_message&utm_medium=email

What you can do:

We need to keep generating support letters from individuals and businesses, not just in the Joshua Tree area, but throughout the state. Make sure to copy any letters you write or generate to the committee chair, and also to other members of the committee. Please email a copy of all letters to Brendan Cummings to: bcummings@biologicaldiversity.org.

Three committee members who are particularly important to target with letters, emails and phone calls are Frazier, Gray and Yamata. If you know people in their districts who can call or visit them, that would be most helpful.

Assembly member Jim Frazier 11th District:
Capitol Office:
State Capitol
P.O. Box 942849
Sacramento, CA 94249-0011
Tel: (916) 319-2011
Fax: (916) 319-2111
http://asmdc.org/members/a11/

The 11th Assembly District encompasses portions of Solano, Contra Costa and Sacramento counties and includes the following cities, towns and areas: Antioch, Bethel Island, Birds Landing, Brentwood, Byron, Collinsville, Discovery Bay, Fairfield, Isleton, Knightsen, Locke, Oakley, Pittsburg (partial), Rio Vista, Suisun City, Travis AFB, Vacaville and Walnut Grove.

Assembly member Adam Gray 21st District:
Capitol Office:
State Capitol
P.O. Box 942849
Sacramento, CA 94249-0021
Tel: (916) 319-2021
Fax: (916) 319-2121
http://asmdc.org/members/a21/

The 21st Assembly includes: Merced, Riverdale Park, Los Banos, Irwin, Atwater, Patterson, Newman, Volta, Merced national Wildlife Refuge.

Assembly member Mariko Yamata:
Capitol Office:
State Capitol
P.O. Box 942849
Sacramento, CA 94249-0004
Tel: (916) 319-2004
Fax: (916) 319-2104
http://www.asmdc.org/members/a04/

The 4th District includes: Sacramento Napa, Rohnert, Clearlake, Lakeport, Woodland.