May 7, 2009
Action Alert! Big news on the Texas so-called "Puppymill" Bill today.
HSUS and Texas Humane Legislation Network pulled a fast one late last night
with the aid of Senator John Whitmire (D-Houston).
Senator Whitmire amended another bill HB 2310 (a sunset bill for the Texas
Department of Licensing) to include the misnamed "Puppymill" Bill. Rules
were suspended and the bill PASSED the Senate floor late last night with a
voice vote and no public hearings held. Don't ask us how a House bill
passed in the Senate. It just did.
As of this moment HB 3180 is still in the House Local and Consent Calendar
Committee and has NOT gone to the House Floor for a vote. We can still kill
this bill and can't reveal all that is happening right now. It's not over
until the fat lady sings.
What you can do:
Contact your personal representatives in both houses to ask how this can
happen and protest. They can be found on the state's web site in a search
box on the state's home page: www.capitol. state.tx. us .
Contact all Local and Consent Calendars Committee members below and tell
them:
1. DO NOT SET HB 3180 FOR A FLOOR VOTE.
2. The legislature has violated our trust in the legislative process by
suspending all rules yesterday in the Senate to amend and PASS the Whitmire
bill CSHB 2310 on the Senate floor with no public hearings.
3. Your committee is chaired by the bill's author Rep. Senfronia Thompson
which would seem to be a conflict of interest.
4. This bill is fundamentally flawed and cannot be fixed with amendments.
We'll have the substitute bills on our website later today or early tomorrow:
www.rpoatexasoutrea ch.org
We hope you're as angry as we are and will pull out all stops to contact legislators. All legislators have a web page at www.capitol. state.tx. us
where you can email all of them if you have the time - almost 200 legislators! AKC has put out an action alert without contacting us which
has good information but they left out the Local and Consent Calendar Committee where the bill is still pending.
Please fax, phone and email (all three!) to all members of the Local and Consent Calendar Committee below REPEATEDLY UNTIL WE SAY STOP:
