<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body dir="auto"><br><br><div dir="ltr"><div>Best!<span style="font-size: 13pt;">Melissa R Green and PJ </span></div><div><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Scentsy consultant readerlissa.scentsy.us </span></div><div><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><br></span></div><div>Sent from my iPhone</div></div><div dir="ltr"><br>Begin forwarded message:<br><br></div><blockquote type="cite"><div dir="ltr"><b>From:</b> Dan Burke via Colorado-Talk <colorado-talk@nfbnet.org><br><b>Date:</b> February 10, 2023 at 11:23:16 AM MST<br><b>To:</b> NFB of Colorado Discussion List <colorado-talk@nfbnet.org><br><b>Cc:</b> Dan Burke <burke.dall@gmail.com><br><b>Subject:</b> <b>Re: [Colorado-Talk] Day at the Capitol Monday, Feb. 13</b><br><b>Reply-To:</b> NFB of Colorado Discussion List <colorado-talk@nfbnet.org><br><br></div></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><div dir="ltr"><span>Here's an update with some earlier times to be seated. Attaching the</span><br><span>Memorandum we'll be giving to the General Assembly members, and also</span><br><span>pasting at the end. Please read before Monday morning.</span><br><span>* We will meet in the Old Supreme Court Chamber, which is the 2nd</span><br><span>Floor of the Capitol, on the north end of the building.</span><br><span></span><br><span>* We will begin our organizing promptly at 9:00, so please arrive</span><br><span>between 8:30 and 8:50. We have a tight schedule to start the morning,</span><br><span>but we will get ourselves into groups and all will have assignments as</span><br><span>in years past.</span><br><span></span><br><span>* At 9:40 or or earlier, we will begin to make our way to the Senate</span><br><span>chamber for a tribute to Scott LaBarre by our long-time friend, Sen.</span><br><span>Jessie Danielson. This will be entered into the record of the Senate.</span><br><span></span><br><span>* The Senate is on the opposite side of the Capitol from the Old</span><br><span>Supreme Court Chamber, or on the south side. Most of us will need to</span><br><span>go to the 3rd floor to take seats in the gallery. A few, including</span><br><span>Anahit and family, will be ushered onto the floor of the Senate for</span><br><span>the tribute.</span><br><span></span><br><span>* The Senate session begins at 10:00 that morning, and so we need to</span><br><span>be settled in our seats by 9:50 if possible.</span><br><span></span><br><span>* Afterwards, we'll get our groups back together and march off to</span><br><span>deliver our message to all 100 members of the Colorado General</span><br><span>Assembly!</span><br><span></span><br><span>* In the basement of the Capitol is Nate Hecker's vending site. You</span><br><span>can get lunch there, bottled water, and Nate has a brand-new espresso</span><br><span>machine. So, be ready to support our blind vendor at the Capitol on</span><br><span>Monday! Wahoo!</span><br><span></span><br><span>Our memorandum on issues is attached in PDF and pasted below. Please</span><br><span>read up on the issues. Our schedule this year is a little more</span><br><span>compressed than in our past years, so we won't take time to read the</span><br><span>entire thing when we collect in the Old Supreme Court Chamber but will</span><br><span>focus our time instead on getting our groups and assignments</span><br><span>organized.</span><br><span></span><br><span>Thanks all, and see you on Monday morning!</span><br><span></span><br><span>Dan</span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span>MEMORANDUM</span><br><span></span><br><span>To: The Members of the Colorado General Assembly</span><br><span>From: The Members of the National Federation of the Blind of Colorado</span><br><span>Date: February 13, 2023</span><br><span>Re: Legislative Concerns of Blind Citizens</span><br><span></span><br><span>GENERAL BACKGROUND</span><br><span></span><br><span>The National Federation of the Blind (NFB) is the oldest and largest</span><br><span>organization of the blind in the United States and in Colorado. The</span><br><span>primary mission of the Federation is to allow the blind to live the</span><br><span>lives they want in all areas of life from ensuring basic civil rights</span><br><span>to securing employment and education for the blind. Founded officially</span><br><span>in 1955, the NFB of Colorado (NFBCO) engages in several programs</span><br><span>specifically designed to create greater opportunities for the blind.</span><br><span>For example, NFBCO is the founder and chief sponsor of the Colorado</span><br><span>Center for the Blind, an agency which provides training in the</span><br><span>alternative skills blind people need to become fully participating</span><br><span>members of society. Additionally, NFB offers national and statewide</span><br><span>scholarships. We also provide a free talking newspaper called</span><br><span>NFB-NEWSLINE®, a service which enables the blind of our state to read</span><br><span>daily newspapers and many other on-demand publications just as easily</span><br><span>as their sighted peers. We advocate for the rights of the blind in all</span><br><span>areas ranging from education to employment. Where positive changes are</span><br><span>happening in the blindness field, there is a good chance that the</span><br><span>Federation is involved.</span><br><span></span><br><span>2023 LEGISLATIVE AGENDA</span><br><span></span><br><span>1. NFBCO calls upon the Colorado General Assembly to adopt legislation</span><br><span>which would require pharmacies in Colorado to provide accessible</span><br><span>prescription labels for blind and/or print-disabled users, thereby</span><br><span>enabling them to accurately and independently identify the medications</span><br><span>they use.</span><br><span>2. We ask the Colorado General Assembly to pass the legislation</span><br><span>embodied in HB23-1032 which seeks to correct Colorado’s</span><br><span>Anti-Discrimination Act (CADA) by Restoring the legislature’s original</span><br><span>intent that administrative exhaustion should not be required before a</span><br><span>person with a disability may file a disability discrimination lawsuit.</span><br><span>3. Provide $500,000 in state funding for Colorado’s Business</span><br><span>Enterprise Program so that the program can recover from the disastrous</span><br><span>effects of the pandemic and expand opportunities for blind</span><br><span>entrepreneurs.</span><br><span>4. We urge this Assembly to at least maintain funding for</span><br><span>NFB-NEWSLINE® which gives blind and print-disabled Coloradans timely</span><br><span>and independent access to newspapers and other periodicals.</span><br><span></span><br><span>For further information contact:</span><br><span>Jessica Beecham, President</span><br><span>National Federation of the Blind of Colorado</span><br><span>Phone: 615-497-0435 / Email: jbbeecham@gmail.com</span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span>REQUIRE PHARMACIES IN COLORADO TO OFFER ACCESSIBLE PRESCRIPTION LABELS</span><br><span>TO THE BLIND AND PRINT-DISABLED</span><br><span></span><br><span>Prescription medication is routinely dispensed by pharmacies</span><br><span>throughout Colorado, the nation, and the world. The printed labels</span><br><span>used to identify specific medications, whether in liquid or pill form,</span><br><span>are not accessible to individuals who cannot see well enough to read</span><br><span>printed information or who cannot, due to a print disability, read</span><br><span>what has been printed. The ability to properly identify specific</span><br><span>medications without assistance is critical to ensure that a patient</span><br><span>does not take the wrong medication. This is truly a matter of life and</span><br><span>death.</span><br><span></span><br><span>While technology exists to produce prescription labels in Braille,</span><br><span>large print, and audible formats and while pharmacies can be found</span><br><span>which can produce prescription labels in one or more of these formats,</span><br><span>consumers who cannot use traditionally-printed prescription labels are</span><br><span>finding that drug labels in accessible formats are neither</span><br><span>consistently nor readily available to them. They cannot be confident</span><br><span>that all of the pharmacies from whom they may acquire their</span><br><span>medications will use any of these technologies and approaches, let</span><br><span>alone telling them about ways in which the pharmacy can provide</span><br><span>accessible prescription labels. In short, pharmacies in Colorado are</span><br><span>not required to provide prescription label information in ways that</span><br><span>work for people who are blind or print-disabled, and there is no</span><br><span>consistent way in which the pharmacies are required to provide this</span><br><span>critical information.</span><br><span></span><br><span>Please support legislation which would:</span><br><span></span><br><span>1. require pharmacies to provide accessible prescription labels for</span><br><span>blind and print disabled users,</span><br><span>2. require pharmacies to notify each person to whom a prescription</span><br><span>drug is dispensed that an accessible prescription label is available</span><br><span>to the person upon request at no additional cost,</span><br><span>3. provide that if a person informs the pharmacy that the person</span><br><span>identifies as a person who is blind, visually impaired, or otherwise</span><br><span>print disabled the pharmacy shall provide to the person an accessible</span><br><span>prescription label affixed to the bottle that is:</span><br><span></span><br><span>A. available to the person in a timely manner comparable to other</span><br><span>patient wait time and lasting for at least the duration of the</span><br><span>prescription;</span><br><span>B. appropriate to the disability and preference of the person making</span><br><span>the request through use of audible, large print, or Braille labels;</span><br><span>C. conforms to the format specific best practices established by the</span><br><span>Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board</span><br><span>(established under section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973); and</span><br><span>D. Contains all the label information required by state statute and</span><br><span>federal law, including cautions and warnings, and any information</span><br><span>available to sighted individuals reading the printed label.</span><br><span></span><br><span>For further information contact:</span><br><span>Jessica Beecham, President</span><br><span>National Federation of the Blind of Colorado</span><br><span>Phone: 615-497-0435</span><br><span>Email: jbbeecham@gmail.com</span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span>SUPPORT LEGISLATION TO FIX THE COLORADO ANTIDISCRIMINATION ACT</span><br><span></span><br><span>Part 6 of the Colorado Antidiscrimination Act (CADA) originally</span><br><span>provided the basis for disability discrimination claims against public</span><br><span>businesses in Section 602. This section provides that a person with a</span><br><span>disability can either file suit or file an administrative complaint,</span><br><span>but not both. Courts agreed with that interpretation. In fact, the</span><br><span>language in Section 602 regarding remedies is still there.</span><br><span></span><br><span>But when the CADA was amended in 2014 to expand protections for people</span><br><span>with disabilities, a provision was inserted into Section 602 that led</span><br><span>to some confusion about the remedies available to individuals with</span><br><span>disabilities filing discrimination complaints against public</span><br><span>businesses. Some court decisions required people with disabilities to</span><br><span>exhaust administrative remedies before they could file lawsuits.</span><br><span></span><br><span>HB23-1032 will clarify that people with disabilities have a choice of</span><br><span>filing an administrative complaint or filing a lawsuit to address</span><br><span>discrimination issues. It also cleans up the CADA by putting the</span><br><span>disability discrimination provisions together in Part 8.</span><br><span></span><br><span>For further information contact:</span><br><span>Jessica Beecham, President</span><br><span>National Federation of the Blind of Colorado</span><br><span>Phone: 615-497-0435</span><br><span>Email: jbbeecham@gmail.com</span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span>PROVIDE STATE FUNDING FOR COLORADO’S BUSINESS ENTERPRISE PROGRAM</span><br><span></span><br><span>The Colorado Business Enterprise Program has historically been the</span><br><span>most successful employment program for blind Coloradans, providing</span><br><span>entrepreneurial opportunities for blind vendors on state and federal</span><br><span>sites. At the federal level, the program is operated under the United</span><br><span>States Department of Education, Rehabilitation Services</span><br><span>Administration. In Colorado, the program is over seen by the Division</span><br><span>of Vocational Rehabilitation within the Colorado Department of labor</span><br><span>and employment. The program receives no state funds for its</span><br><span>administration and operation. It has been funded by set-asides from</span><br><span>blind operators themselves along with matching federal funds. House</span><br><span>Bill 16-1048 increased the opportunity for blind entrepreneurs to</span><br><span>operate contracts under the state of Colorado, but before the benefits</span><br><span>of this bill could even begin to be implemented, the pandemic</span><br><span>virtually shut down the program and closed too many vending locations.</span><br><span></span><br><span>In order to expand Colorado’s Business Enterprise Program into new</span><br><span>business arenas and stabilize current operations, The National</span><br><span>Federation of the Blind of Colorado is asking the state legislature</span><br><span>to:</span><br><span></span><br><span>1. allow the Business Enterprise Program spending authority to meet</span><br><span>current needs as indicated by the Colorado Department of Labor and</span><br><span>Employment and its request to the joint budget committee and</span><br><span>2. appropriate $500,000 in order to upgrade and expand the existing program.</span><br><span></span><br><span>For further information contact:</span><br><span>Jessica Beecham, President</span><br><span>National Federation of the Blind of Colorado</span><br><span>Phone: 615-497-0435</span><br><span>Email: jbbeecham@gmail.com</span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span>MAINTAIN FUNDING FOR THE NFB-NEWSLINE® SERVICE</span><br><span></span><br><span>For more than a dozen years, the Colorado General Assembly has funded</span><br><span>NFB-NEWSLINE® in Colorado, providing blind Coloradans the same daily</span><br><span>access to newspapers and magazines as their sighted neighbors and</span><br><span>family members enjoy. This year, we request that the General Assembly</span><br><span>at least maintain its financial support, currently at $120,000.00</span><br><span>annually, so that blind people can access the critical and vital</span><br><span>information provided by the service. Because NFB-NEWSLINE® is funded</span><br><span>through the Disabled Telephone Users Fund (DTUF), funding to</span><br><span>NFB-NEWSLINE® does not impact general funds. The DTUF’s funding comes</span><br><span>from a very small fee on Land lines and cell phones in Colorado.</span><br><span></span><br><span>Access to information from the newspapers and magazines of our nation</span><br><span>and state plays a critical role for each of us as informed and</span><br><span>participating citizens. Recognizing this, in the mid 1990’s, the</span><br><span>National Federation of the Blind developed and implemented</span><br><span>NFB-NEWSLINE®. With this revolutionary system, the blind are able to</span><br><span>pick up their touch tone phone, call a toll-free number or open an app</span><br><span>on their iOS or Android device and select from more than 450 different</span><br><span>newspapers and magazines including the Denver Post, Colorado Springs</span><br><span>Gazette, Fort Collins Coloradoan, Wall Street Journal, New York Times,</span><br><span>and many other national newspapers. Today the phone-in option is still</span><br><span>in place, but access via the NFB-NEWSLINE® mobile app has comparable</span><br><span>usage statistics. Additional options include online on-demand reading</span><br><span>with a web browser, email delivery, and remote content download via</span><br><span>specialized devices used by the blind and others with print</span><br><span>disabilities. Thus, subscribers have access to the three Colorado</span><br><span>newspapers offered, national newspapers, and numerous magazines –</span><br><span>everything from AARP publications to Time and Wired. There are even</span><br><span>accessible and locally-relevant television listings – something</span><br><span>impossible to find in an accessible form for the blind. Additionally,</span><br><span>the system provides current weather conditions as well as watches and</span><br><span>warnings. Currently, over 1400 blind Coloradans have access to the</span><br><span>450-plus newspapers, 75 magazines, and other publications on</span><br><span>NFB-NEWSLINE®. About once every two minutes, a blind Coloradan is</span><br><span>tapping into the vast wealth of information available through</span><br><span>NFB-NEWSLINE®.</span><br><span></span><br><span>With the funding provided, the NFB of Colorado will not only maintain</span><br><span>the service, it will expand its reach. We will create even greater</span><br><span>opportunities to share NFB-NEWSLINE® on additional web based and other</span><br><span>technological platforms; expand the number of publications available;</span><br><span>train more blind individuals to use the system; and work with the</span><br><span>Audio Information Network of Colorado (AINC) to provide more</span><br><span>information to the blind of Colorado. AINC is another service funded</span><br><span>by the DTUF providing other timely publications and information to our</span><br><span>state’s blind and print-disabled citizens. The NFB of Colorado</span><br><span>supports continued funding for AIN as well.</span><br><span></span><br><span>For further information regarding NFB-NEWSLINE® contact:</span><br><span>Jessica Beecham, President</span><br><span>National Federation of the Blind of Colorado</span><br><span>Phone: 615-497-0435</span><br><span>Email: jbbeecham@gmail.com</span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span>SUPPORT THE COLORADO CENTER FOR THE BLIND AND NFB SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAMS</span><br><span></span><br><span>Founded in 1988 by the NFB of Colorado, the Colorado Center for the</span><br><span>Blind (CCB) offers world class rehabilitation and adjustment to</span><br><span>blindness training to blind/visually impaired individuals in our state</span><br><span>and from all over the world. We believe blind people can do anything.</span><br><span>Every day, we encourage and challenge each student—and they come to</span><br><span>understand their potential as they build the skills and confidence to</span><br><span>live the life they want. Because when you believe in yourself and</span><br><span>experience a thriving community of positive blind people, nothing can</span><br><span>hold you back from pursuing your dreams.</span><br><span></span><br><span>CCB programs serve all ages from kids as young as elementary age to</span><br><span>seniors. CCB teaches cane travel/orientation and mobility, Braille,</span><br><span>technology, independent daily living skills, employment skills, and</span><br><span>much, much more. Nearly all of the teaching staff is made up of blind</span><br><span>instructors who serve as excellent role models. Please read the CCB</span><br><span>brochure in your packet for more information or go to</span><br><span>www.cocenter.org. Our Center is located in Littleton, and you are</span><br><span>always welcome and encouraged to visit.</span><br><span></span><br><span>SCHOLARSHIPS</span><br><span></span><br><span>The National Federation of the Blind, on a national basis, offers</span><br><span>thirty scholarships to talented blind men and women attending a</span><br><span>post-secondary institution. Over two hundred thousand dollars are</span><br><span>awarded each year and provide real opportunity for deserving students.</span><br><span>Interested applicants can find more information at</span><br><span>https://nfb.org/scholarships.</span><br><span></span><br><span>On a state level, the NFB of Colorado offers up to five scholarships</span><br><span>to blind men and women attending a post-secondary institution and</span><br><span>scholarships range from $1,500.00 to $5,000.00. More information on</span><br><span>how to apply is contained in your legislative packet. Please inform</span><br><span>your local high schools, colleges and universities as well as any</span><br><span>blind/visually impaired post-secondary student you know about these</span><br><span>valuable scholarship opportunities.</span><br><span></span><br><span>For further information on any of these issues contact:</span><br><span>Jessica Beecham, President</span><br><span>National Federation of the Blind of Colorado</span><br><span>Phone: 615-497-0435</span><br><span>Email: jbbeecham@gmail.com</span><br></div></blockquote></body></html>