[Jayhawk-Chapter] Preparing for Tuesday’s hearing on senate bill 276

[Rob Tabor]

Good afternoon Federation family and friends,

First, thanks to everyone who took the time on this day of a big Kansas City Chiefs game to join our conference call in preparation for the hearing at 8:30 AM on Tuesday morning. On the call it was suggested that I send out one last email with a few refresher points, so here they are below.• The hearing on the bill is before the Senate public health and welfare committee and will be held Tuesday morning at 8:30 AM in room 142 in the south wing of the state house.
• we should arrive on the state house grounds at around 8:00 AM to make sure we can find parking, get into the building, be processed by state house security personnel, and locate the committee hearing room.
• when you reach the state house security booth, you will need to present your drivers license or official state ID card.
• unfortunately, you will need either to wear a mask or have one readily available in case you were asked to put one on.
• your written testimony must be in PDF format. You may write your testimony in word and then converted to PDF. However, I advise you to save your file in Word first so that it will be available for you to use again and make appropriate changes when the bill comes over to the house after it passes the full Senate.
• to create a PDF file from your word file do the following
1. Press F12 to bring up the file save dialogue.
2. Type alt+t to get to the file types list.
• Arrow down to PDF and click OK or alt+S.
• if you’re planning to testify and writing only the words “written testimony only” should be at or near the top line of your document.
• your documents should state that you are a proponent of SB 276. This will enable committee members to count supporting and opposing letters.
• your file name should include your last name and SB 276, as this will unable to Committee secretary to efficiently distribute your testimony to senators on the committee.
• your greeting line should read ” chairman Hilderbrand and members of the committee:“

Your document should include your first and last name, city, county, state, and senatorial district if you know it.
• your PDF file containing your testimony should be sent to the committee secretary whose email address is
Donola.fairbanks at senate.ks.gov
• personalize your testimony. You do not need to testify on behalf of the Federation but simply tell your own story, whether it is a battle story or a success story. The parenting battle stories document that there is a real problem right here in Kansas, while the success stories assure legislators they are doing the right thing by passing SB 276.
• even if you have never been a parent or legal guardian of a minor child, you still have something to contribute. You may simply write one or two paragraphs expressing how you support SB 276.

Last but not least, please reach out if you need help. Several of us will be available on call.

Good luck with the writing, and I look forward to seeing you either in person or via zoom on Tuesday morning. Also, let me know if you wish to testify via zoom so I can get your name and email address communicated to the committee assistant. Thanks in advance for your persistent advocacy.

Best regards,
Rob Tabor | first vice president national Federation of the blind of Kansas
(785) 865-9959
Rob.tabor at sbcglobal.net