PCPA’s Legislative Affairs Committee (LAC) announces 2007 Virtual Budget Advocacy Day on Monday, July 2 – and it needs the help of ALL members to make it successful.During the June 5 Capitol Day legislators and the governor’s office commented once again on the effectiveness of PCPA’s past virtual budget advocacy days. The LAC apologizes for the short notice, but budget negotiations between the legislature and governor’s office have begun to form and calls must occur as close to Monday as possible. In fact, should members receive this message electronically over the weekend (June 29-July 1) they should feel free to begin making phone calls and sending email/facsimiles.
What
YOU Need to Do
Please set aside 20-30 minutes on Monday, July 2 to make
several phone calls – preferably, to your local legislators and the
governor’s office or to legislative leadership offices (Harrisburg telephone
numbers appear on the second page of this Legislative Alert). Since the General
Assembly will be in Session on Monday, the prime time for calls would
be between
10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
If you participated in Capitol Day on June 5, you may want to follow up with the legislators and staffers with whom you visited. If you wish to call your local legislators and do not know who they are, access the Legislative Affairs section on the PCPA web site and find the link www.capwiz.com/lwv/officials/state/?lvl=C&state=pa to secure information.
The
Message to Legislators and Governor Rendell
The message must be clear and succinct – whether speaking to the governor’s
office, a legislator, or a staffer:
- Hello, my name is [ ] and I am a provider/staff/consumer/client of [mental health/mental retardation/drug and alcohol (MH/MR/D&A) or children’s human services]. I live in [ ] county. I am a voter and a taxpayer and I live in your district (if appropriate).
- MH/MR/D&A services must have a minimum three percent cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) in the 2007/08 state budget in order to keep the system whole [if you were at Capitol Day and participated in delivering the cookies with the hole in the middle, consider mentioning this]. Budgeting an appropriate increase for the cost of doing business in the MH/MR/D&A system is necessary as MH/MR/D&A is an integral part of the public health system.
- Funding for CHIPPs must be at the proposed 200 slots for this year’s budget.
- Please fully fund the MR emergency waiting list.
- Thank you for your time, and I look forward to your support on these issues.
Governor and Legislative Leadership Contacts
Governor Edward G. Rendell: 800-932-0784 or 717-787-2500
Sen. Joseph
P. Scarnati III (R), President Pro Tempore: 717-787-7084
Sen. Dominic F. Pileggi (R), Majority Leader: 717- 787-4712
Sen. Robert Mellow (D), Minority Leader: 717- 787-6481
Sen. Gibson E. Armstrong (R), Appropriations Chair: 717- 787-6535
Sen. Gerald J. LaValle (D), Appropriations Minority Chair: 717- 787-3076
Sen. Edwin B. Erickson (R), Public Health & Welfare Chair: 717- 787-1350
Sen. Vincent J. Hughes (D), Public Health & Welfare Min. Chair: 717- 787-7112
Rep. Dennis
M. O’Brien (R), Speaker: 717- 787-4610
Rep. H. William DeWeese (D), Majority Leader: 717- 783-3797
Rep. Samuel H. Smith (R), Minority Leader: 717- 787-3845
Rep. Dwight Evans (D), Appropriations Chair: 717-783-1540
Rep. Mario J. Civera, Jr. (R), Appropriations Minority Chair: 717-787-3850
Rep. Frank L. Oliver (D), Health & Human Serv. Chair: 717-787-3480
Rep. George T. Kenney, Jr. (R), Health & Human Serv. Min Chair: 717- 787-8523
Additional
Resources Available
Refer to the Legislative Affairs
section of PCPA’s web site to access items such as 2007/08 budget position
and briefing papers on various topics. Please feel free to contact any PCPA
staff member with questions or concerns.
Follow-up
With PCPA
In order to track gubernatorial and legislative contacts, as well as the success
of PCPA’s virtual budget advocacy day, please contact the association
by emailing Melissa DiSanto Simmons,
director of legislative affairs, with the following information:
- Your name/title/agency.
- Time of your call(s).
- Whom you called and with whom you spoke (name of staffer).
- The message you shared.
- Comments made to you during the call.
- Does the governor/legislator support your issues? Will s/he vote to restore the cuts?
A legislative contact form, if you prefer, is also attached in PDF format. A Microsoft Word copy is available by contacting Melissa Simmons at PCPA.
Please follow-up with PCPA by Friday, July 6. The association thanks the membership for its support and hard work to secure funding for MH/MR/D&A in the 2007/08 state budget.
