[NFBC-SFV] Fwd: Chapter Presidents, Oppose AB 1705 - sample letter and talking points attached

Thu Apr 20 11:40:53 UTC 2017

Robert Stigile 
818-381-9568

Begin forwarded message:

> From: Shannon Dillon <shannonldillon at gmail.com>
> Date: April 19, 2017 at 11:14:33 PM PDT
> To: shannonldillon at gmail.com
> Subject: Re: Chapter Presidents, Oppose AB 1705 - sample letter and talking points attached
> 
> Dear Chapter Presidents,
> Please share this with your chapters and others who may be interested.
> Below is a sample letter opposing AB 1705.  Please personalize and
> email it to the committee members in my previous email.  Please email
> April 20 and 21.  I will also attach a copy as well as a copy of the
> talking points and contact information from my previous email.
> 
> If you have any questions please call me at 415-218-5862
> 
> Thank you.
> 
> Evan Low
> Committee Chair
> Assembly Business and Professions Committee
> 1020 N Street
> Sacramento, CA 95814
> Assemblymember.low at assembly.ca.gov
> 
> April20, 2017
> 
> Dear Assemblymember ___:
> 
> Please oppose AB 1705, which would extend the term of the California
> State Board of Guide Dogs for the Blind (Board) for four years.
> 
> At its convention in October 2015, the National Federation of the
> Blind of California (NFBC), an organization composed of blind
> Californians, voted to call on the legislature to sunset the Board.
> The Board was created in 1947 to address issues related to fraudulent
> guide dog trainers. Those issues no longer exist. Currently, United
> States and internationally guide dog schools subscribe to standards
> set by the International Federation of Guide Dogs (IGDF). Fourteen
> United States-based guide dog schools and eighty-five international
> guide dog schools subscribe to the standards and practices of the
> IGDF. Accreditation by the IGDF of any guide dog program is accepted
> globally as representing the highest standard any guide dog program
> can attain. California is the only state to create an additional set
> of parallel standards with which guide dogs schools must comply. The
> standards do not add anything to the existing IGDF standards. They are
> duplicative and create only an extra layer for guide dog schools to
> comply with for residents of California who have dogs from out of
> state schools who need help with their dogs while living in
> California.
> 
> Further, schools not licensed in California can only provide follow-up
> to residents of California.  They cannot provide community-based or
> in-home training, which serves only to diminish the choices of
> consumers living in California, solely because they live in
> California. A consumer living in any other state in the United States
> can take advantage of in-home training opportunities which are only
> available from a few schools which are not all licensed in California.
> In-home training is important to people who have work or domestic
> responsibilities that prevent them from attending a residential
> program. Some consumers simply prefer to train with a dog in an
> environment with which they are comfortable and familiar. However,
> only a limited number of schools provide these opportunities because
> their programs are based upon a residential model, and it is more
> cost-effective to train users in this setting.
> 
> Finally, guide dog schools could better use the fees paid by their
> programs to the Board for consumers and their programs. There is no
> use for the fees paid to create an extra layer of regulation that add
> nothing to existing standards and practices.
> 
> Thank you.
> 
> 
> 
>> On 4/19/17, Shannon Dillon <shannonldillon at gmail.com> wrote:
>> Good evening chapter presidents,
>> 
>> Please share the following talking points and Business and Professions
>> Committee contact information with your chapter members and others you
>> think would be interested.
>> 
>> Please send emails and letters, and/or make calls  on April 20 and 21.
>> to the committee members and Elissa Silva, the Consultant for the
>> Committee. .
>> 
>> The contact information and talking points are below.  I will also
>> send a sample letter that can be personalized.
>> 
>> Overview:
>> Assembly Business and Professions Committee will hear AB 1705 on April
>> 25.    The bill extends the life of the Guide dog board of California
>> until January 1, 2022. We are opposing its extension and working for
>> its repeal.
>> 
>> Committee Chair
>> Assembly Business and Professions Committee
>> Evan Low Dem Cupertino RM 4126
>> (916)-319-2028
>> Assemblymember.low at assembly.ca.gov
>> 
>> Action Needed:
>> *Write to the Committee Chair and each committee member below.  But
>> particularly make sure to get a letter or email to the committee
>> chair, Evan Low.
>> *Call the Committee, phone: 916.319.3301 and share talking points with
>> the person who answers.
>> *Send emails to Elissa.Silva at asm.ca.gov. Elissa is the Consultant for
>> the Assembly Business and Professions Committee.
>> *Plan to attend the April 25 hearing.  Room 4202 at 9:00 am.   Contact
>> Shannon Dillon at 415-218-5862 for more information or if you will
>> attend the hearing on April 25.
>> *Please feel free to share your email or letter with Shannon Dillon at
>> shannonldillon at gmail.com.
>> 
>> Talking Points:
>> 
>> The California State Board of Guide Dogs for the Blind is a regulatory
>> body created by the Legislature in 1947. It was established at a time
>> when guidance and regulation of guide dog school programs in the State
>> of California was deemed necessary. The Board states that public
>> protection is the Board’s highest priority.
>> 
>> But the Board has fought against consumers who tried to make changes
>> that would help guide dog users.
>> 
>> In 2016, consumers/guide dog handlers authored a Bill, Senate
>> Bill1331,   to allow out-of-state guide dog schools to provide follow
>> up services, an important consumer need.  Before SB 1331, the board
>> was denying California residents access to the follow-up services
>> provided by out-of-state schools which were not licensed by the Board.
>> Denying follow-up services endangered guide dog teams. It also limited
>> the choice of guide dog schools available to consumers living in
>> California. Rather than choosing a school that met their needs and
>> goals, guide dog users would have to choose a school that could
>> provide follow-up services in California.
>> 
>> The Board opposed this bill, and yet Senate Bill 1331 was passed
>> unanimously in both Houses, and was signed by the Governor.
>> 
>> Senate Bill 1331 also required the Board to post a Fact Sheet on its
>> web site describing the purpose of the Board. Why did it take a Senate
>> Bill to require the Board to post a simple Fact Sheet to explain the
>> purpose?
>> 
>> Today, the majority of guide dog schools are members of the
>> International Guide Dog Federation, (I.G.D.F.), which accredits guide
>> dog school programs and monitors programs in the United States and
>> internationally. The Board used I.G.D.F. standards as a guide for
>> their own best practices.
>> 
>> No other state has a board, and yet there is no evidence that
>> out-of-state schools perform significantly worse with respect to their
>> instruction than California schools. Schools self-regulate in an
>> appropriate manner through the IGDF. The board has out-lived its
>> usefulness, and the three schools in this state do not need to be
>> regulated to provide high quality instruction.  Further, schools from
>> out of state should not have to have a license to provide guide dogs
>> and guide dog instruction to guide dog users in California.  Guide dog
>> users should choose schools that meet their needs and goals.  They
>> should not have to worry about whether a school is licensed by the
>> Board.
>> 
>> Eliminating the Guide Dog Board is the right decision for guide dog
>> handlers and for all involved.
>> 
>> We urge you to vote NO on AB 1705.
>> 
>> Committee Contact Info:
>> Assembly Business and Professions Committee
>> 1020 N. Street
>> Sacramento, CA 95814
>> Evan Low Dem Cupertino RM 4126
>> (916)-319-2028
>> Assemblymember.low at assembly.ca.gov
>> 
>> To phone the committee, call 916.319.3301. To write other members,
>> address letters to the room number given with each name, State
>> Capitol, Sacramento, 95814.  You may also call the member phone
>> numbers given below.
>> 
>> William P. Brough, Vice Chair Rep San Juan Capistrano Rm 3141
>> Phone (916)-319-2073
>> assemblymember.brough at assembly.ca.gov
>> 
>> Dr. Joaquin Arambula Dem Fresno RM 5155
>> (916) 319-2031
>> Assemblymember.arambula at assembly.ca.gov
>> 
>> Catharine B. Baker Rep San Ramon RM 2131
>> (916) 319-201
>> assemblymember.Baker at assembly.ca.gov
>> 
>> Richard Bloom Dem Santa Monica Rm 2003
>> (916) 319-2050
>> assemblymember.Bloom at assembly.ca.gov
>> 
>> David Chu Dem San Francisco RM 4112
>> (916) 319-2017
>> Assemblymember.chiu at assembly.ca.gov
>> 
>> Jordan Cunningham Rep San Luis Obispo Rm 4102
>> (916) 319-2035
>> Assemblymember.cunningham at assembly.ca.gov
>> 
>> Brian Dahle Rep Redding Rm4098
>> (916) 319-2001
>> assemblymember.dahle at assembly.ca.gov
>> 
>> Susan Talamantes Eggman Dem Stockton RM 4118
>> (916) 319-2013
>> assemblymember.eggman at assembly.ca.gov
>> 
>> Mike A. Gipson Dem Gardena (RM 3173
>> 916) 319-2064
>> Assemblymember.gipson at assembly.ca.gov
>> 
>> 
>> Timothy S. Grayson Dem Concord Rm 4164
>> (916) 319-2014
>> Assemblymember.grayson at assembly.ca.gov
>> 
>> Chris R. Holden Dem Pasadena RM 5136
>> (916)- 319-2041
>> assemblymember.holden at assembly.ca.gov
>> 
>> Kevin Mullen Dem San Mateo RM 3160
>> (916) 319-2022
>> assemblymember.mullin at assembly.ca.gov
>> 
>> Marc Steinorth Rep Rancho Cucamonga, RM 5128
>> (916)-319-2040
>> Assemblymember.steinorth at assembly.ca.gov
>> 
>> Philip Y. Ting Dem San Francisco RM 6026
>> (916) 319-2019
>> assemblymember.ting at assembly.ca.gov
>> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> SHANNON L. DILLON
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