 Please Continue
your efforts.
The House has Meets today and tomorrow-Help keep SB 679 from
passing or even be heard.
CONTACT HOUSE MEMBERS NOW! EMAIL AND PHONE NUMBERS CLICK HERE
SB 679 - Your Letters and E-Mails to House Members
must continue-They are working!
Senator Chaisson SB 679 author, won't send this
bill for a vote on the House floor without the needed votes and
it appears our efforts and strong opposition to ending treatment
are working! We need you to write, call, and e-mail your
representatives, and all others you can, to ask them to oppose
SB 679- ask them for a commitment to support mandated Treatment
and thank them for their support and focus on a real and
effective solution proven to work!
 Yesterday
May 17th-
No Action-Still on SB 679 is on the "To be Called"
list in House for final vote....
The Legislative process can be a little confusing, and sometimes, I
think they like it that way!
SB 679, the bill that will end treatment for 3rd and 4th DWI offenders,
has now cleared its third day of waiting to be heard by the full house
for final passage into law. By all accounts, it should have been
heard by now, it was on a fast track to become law. But then
you, and about a thousand others in Louisiana did something no one
expected. You spoke up!
For the7th day SB 679 has lost momentum and has not have
enough support on the house floor to be called to vote and passed!
The Bill's proponents are trying to stop our actions and are working
hard to convince law makers they need to do away with treatment that is
working.
TODAY....Please Continue your efforts.
(CONTACT
HOUSE MEMBERS NOW! EMAIL AND PHONE NUMBERS CLICK HERE)
We are making a difference, but the moment we look away they will push
this bill to the floor for a vote.
Please continue to call, fax, e-mail, and visit your representatives.
Keep in mind, organizations like MADD are working the phones to see to
it that treatment ends! Our continued action matters in
forming public policy. So please pick up your phone and call your
members of the House, just tell them you are opposed to SB 679.
Leave a message if you can't reach them directly.
 LA Legislature Live-In
Tuesday.
Outside of Baton Rouge? Can't Get off work to
attend and support efforts?
Watch the Video Online
HB 549-Adding Drug Courts to Current DWI LAW
HB 549 will move forward only after SB 679 is
voted on (that is what Rep. Baldone told me Wed while I was at
the Capital)
So mention that you support the HB 549 in your
emails.
Also, Don't forget to mention a Support for HB549 by
BALDONE. This
legislation sustains mandatory treatment for all 3rd and 4th DWI
offenders and gives judges the option to sentence offenders to Drug
Courts.
Drug Courts are viable and productive in our
state in both treating substance abuse, and reducing recidivism.
Baldone's bill will simply expand on the success of the current
law mandating treatment for 3rd and 4th offenders producing
these results:
68% of the people who have undergone treatment in this program
since 2001 have stayed sober, and productive for Louisiana. Those
who could not, or would not, are now in jail.
Louisiana Links to Legislature:
http://www.legis.state.la.us/
Find Your
House
Member By |
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House Standing
Cmtes
House Member's
E-mail
House Switchboard, 225-342-6945
ask for your members of The Louisiana House of
Representative's Desk at the State Capital |
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SB
549- That provides for Substance Abuse
Parity for Louisiana
Insurance presently is "subject to call" in the Senate.
This means we need to let the Senate know of your disire to see
SB 549 passed out of the full Senate.
 Senator Paulette
Irons authored SB 549 (she authored the same bill for us last
year but it did not pass to the full Senate and died in
committee) to remove
disease discrimination with Health Insurance and coverage for
Substance Abuse Treatment. Senator Irons advocated strongly
against paid lobbyist for business and Insurance. It is
important that we now begin to write our Senators, a list of
your senators is located a the very end of this message.
Tell your Senators you would like their support for SB 549
that if you and your family had a heart disease, you
would be covered, so why not be covered for America's number 1 health
problem, addiction?
 Let
them know that it will save the state, and employers in the
state monies and only cost the average insurer $1.00 more per
year per employee by providing
Louisiana with the Insurance Coverage
for
substance abuse treatment in the same way as other insurance
coverage.
Contact Your
Senator and all Senators ask them to Support SB 549, Ending
Disease Discrimination in Healthcare Coverage.
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