<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body dir="auto"><div dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">Greetings Kansas Federation family and friends,<br><br>The hard work that you have put in over the last couple of months is finally paying off. As the subject field indicates, Senate bill 276 is scheduled for hearing this Tuesday morning, March 15 at 1:30 PM before the House committee on children and seniors in room 152 south at the state house. It would be good to arrive there at approximately 1<span dir="ltr"> PM to 1:15</span>. Please read carefully below, as there is vital information as to what to do when submitting written and oral testimony to the committee.<br><br>Written testimony should be submitted in PDF format and sent via email to committee assistant Fran Lusk at fran<span dir="ltr">.lusk@house.ks.gov</span>. If you have never produced a PDF document format, do not let that be a barrier to your testifying in writing . In most cases, it is possible to convert an MS Word file on saving to PDF format. If this is not possible for some reason, there are several individuals in the Kansas affiliate who can assist you with this.<br><br>The deadline for submitting written testimony is Monday, March 14 by no later than 5<span dir="ltr">:00 PM</span>. If you are planning on testifying before the committee either in person or via zoom, you are not required to submit written testimony. However, written testimony will provide a permanent record of your comments on the bill.<br><br>If you wish to testify by zoom rather than coming to the state house in person, you need to let me know by no later than noon on Monday, so I can get your name and email addresses to Ms. Lus k who will then send you the zoom invitation with the link to join the meeting. Your physical presents in a hearing room will be a very powerful visual for the committee members. However, everyone understands the need to remain safe and view of these latest Covid outbreaks.<br><br>Now here are guidelines for how your written testimony needs to be formatted.<br><br>• The words ”written testimony only” should appear at the top of your page.<br>• date your letter.<br>• State that you are in support of SB 276.<br><br>• List your legal name, city, county, state, and House district. You can find your district on the web at</div><div dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><a href="https://ksleglookup.org/"> https://ksleglookup.org/</a>• Address your letter to “Chairman Concannon and House Committee Members”</div><div dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><br></div><div dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">• keep your written testimony limited to 2 pages at most. However, one page is even better.</div><div dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><br></div><div dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">• if you are concerned about privacy, you may sign with your first name and last initial. However, the more you reveal about yourself, the more committee members will be assured that you are a legitimate Kansas resident. However, you are cautioned that any information reveal about yourself becomes a permanent part of the official record.</div><div dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><br></div><div dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">• Each adult in your household may submit a separate testimony.</div><div dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">• personalize your testimony. In other words, do not write your testimony on behalf of the Federation.</div><div dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">Finally, below is a template for submitting your written testimony.</div><div dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><br></div><div dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">Written testimony only</div><div dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">Date</div><div dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">I am a proponent of Senate bill 276.</div><div dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><br></div><div dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">Chairman Concannon and Committee Members:(Your testimony goes here)</div><div dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><br></div><div dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">Sincerely,</div><div dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">First and last name</div><div dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">City, county, state</div><div dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">House district</div><div dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">Remember that the goal here is to tell the most compelling but true story that you have regarding blind parenting in order to gain at least A simple majority of votes on the committee so that the bill can move to the floor of the House. Happy riding, and let us know if you need any further guidance.</div><div dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><br></div><div dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">Best regards,</div><div dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">Rob Tabor | first vice president/legislative Director national Federation of the blind of Kansas</div><div dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span dir="ltr">(785) 865-9959</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span dir="ltr">Rob.tabor@sbcglobal.net</span> </div><div dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><br></div><div dir="ltr"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">sbcglobal.net </span></div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><div dir="ltr"></div></body></html>