Two reasons to show up to public hearings
- Often it helps a bill simply to have people in the room showing community support.
- It can also help a bill to have community members volunteer to testify during public hearings.
CALL TO ACTION
- Make an impact on the Hill by attending a public hearing!
How? Show up at the appointed time and place for the public hearing, listed below. (FYI for the future – if you don’t know the time/location of a hearing, you can look up the bill by number and/or name on the le.utah.gov website). When the committee asks who in the room will testify, raise your hand and sign a register. You will be called in turn to approach the microphone and give a BRIEF testimony.
TIPS:
- Know what you want to say, and practice it ahead of time if you can. Some hearings limit testimony to as little as one minute. Others may give you 2-3 minutes.
- Be prepared to answer questions from the committee
- Offer up personal stories and heartfelt feelings that support your argument
- Offer up professional expertise/data to support your argument, if you have any (don’t worry — if you aren’t an expert it’s okay, data is not necessary)
- Be POLITE, calm and respectful
- Don’t be disappointed if your argument doesn’t sway the committee — sometimes having your argument on the record is as important as winning
SOCIAL POLICY BILLS:
If passed, this bill will help discourage discrimination based on past criminal conviction, which can cause a disparate impact against people with a mental illness, disability and/or people of color. We support bills that discourage discrimination and help the homeless or housing insecure population rent secure housing options, rather than finding themselves stuck in the shelter systems. “A New York study demonstrated that the use of state prisons and city jails dropped by 74 percent and 40 percent respectively when people with criminal records were provided with supportive housing.” ACLU — For more information, please find the attached ACLU FAQ flyer.
2. IN OPPOSITION! 4PM WEDNESDAY
We’re going to be showing up in our Moms Demand Acion shirts (I have extras if you need one!) and testifying against this bad bill. Please RSVP (or reply to this email) so we can prepare you with testimony. If you do not wish to testify, showing up is a powerful statement too! Please don’t let that hold you back.
Utah Moms Demand Action Speak Against Permitless Carry
Wednesday, February 1, 4:00pm
Utah State Capitol, 350 N. State Street, Salt Lake City
RSVP NOW
3. IN SUPPORT! WEDNESDAY
SB 89 Adoption Agency Amendments
Sen. Escamilla
Time: 2:00PM
Place: 250 State Capitol, Senate Judiciary, Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Committee (map here)
This bill focuses on reducing the sometimes predatory nature of adoption (“child placing”) agencies by creating ethics minimums for those agencies.
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