[NFBMT-Parents] 2019 Proposed Resolutions

Fri Oct 4 17:33:47 UTC 2019

Hello, fellow Montana Federationists.

Below are proposed resolutions to be voted on at our upcoming convention for
your perusal.  These will also be available on our web site.  Your NFB of
Montana Resolutions Committee at work.  Thank you all.

Resolution 2019-01 Regarding NFB-Newsline Funding for Montana 

WHEREAS, NFB-NEWSLINE is an audio news and information service offering
access to more than 500 national and local newspapers and magazines,
emergency weather alerts, job listings, retail and grocery ads, TV listings,
and community news for the blind or otherwise print-disabled; and 

WHEREAS, Subscribers may access NFB-NEWSLINE by means of a land line, iPhone,
computer, KNFB Reader, or Amazon Alexa compatible device; and

WHEREAS, 363 Montanans, many of whom are senior citizens, rely on this
service for the information they need to participate fully in their
communities and to live independently in their homes; and 

WHEREAS, no other service provides the easy-to-use access to information free
to its subscribers that NFB-Newsline does; and

WHEREAS, as of June 30, 2019, the Montana Department of Public Health and
Human Services terminated funding for NFB-Newsline, based on false
interpretations of state and national public policies, thereby callously
disregarding the value of NFB-Newsline to its many subscribers; and

WHEREAS, despite the best efforts of the National Federation of the Blind of
Montana to secure alternate funding, NFB-Newsline will soon be unavailable to
Montanans simply because state government does not value NFB-Newsline enough
to continue to fund the less than $40,000 a year it costs to pay for the
service: NOW, THEREFORE, 

BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind of Montana in
convention assembled this 12th day of October, 2019, in the city of Missoula,
Montana, that this organization condemns and deplores the decision of the
Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services to discontinue the
funding of such a vital service as NFB-Newsline; and

BE IT Further RESOLVED that this organization calls upon the Department of
Public Health and Human services to reverse this misguided decision, thereby
reinstating access to information that only NFB-Newsline can provide for
blind and print-disabled Montanans, so that we can live the lives we want.

Resolution 2019-02 Regarding Protecting the Rights of Montana Voters with
Disabilities 

WHEREAS, Montana received a 3 million dollar Help America Vote Act (HAVA)
grant, 1.3 million of which will be used to upgrade voting registration and
security procedures, and to match funds contributed by counties to purchase
new voting technology for voters with disabilities; and  

WHEREAS, On August 28, 2019, the Montana Secretary of State's Office
certified the Election Systems and Software (ESS) ExpressVote touch screen
voting system to replace the aging AutoMARK voting system; and 

WHEREAS, Senate Bill SB 291, a bill revising laws related to voting systems
and ballot form, was passed by the 2019 Montana Legislature and signed into
law; and

WHEREAS, Senate Bill SB 291 specifies that: 

Each polling place has at least one voter interface device with accessible
voting technology available, set up in a prominent place, and ready to be
used;

Measures are taken to ensure that each voter using the device is able to cast
their ballot independently, privately, and securely; 

Measures are taken to ensure that the screen cannot be seen by others to
protect the privacy and secrecy of the voter and the ballot;

Election administrators are trained in how to use, explain, and troubleshoot
the voter interface device; 

Votes cast using the voter interface device are counted in a manner which
preserves the privacy and secrecy of the voter and the ballot;    

Since the ballots used by the ExpressVote are of a different size than
standard ballots, measures are taken to preserve the privacy and secrecy of
the voter and the ballot, which may include, but are not limited to,
encouraging a portion of the nondisabled electors to use the device to cast
their ballots, or providing that votes on a ballot produced by the voter
interface device be transcribed in secrecy to the standard ballot form so
that the ballots are indistinguishable from and counted with the other
ballots; and 

WHEREAS, Making the voter interface device available only to voters with
disabilities has the undesirable effect of segregating those voters and their
ballots, thereby compromising their rights to privacy, secrecy, and
anonymity:  NOW, THEREFORE,  

BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind of Montana in
convention assembled this 12th day of October, 2019, in the city of Missoula,
Montana, that this organization calls upon election officials to train poll
workers to instruct all voters in how to use the voter interface device; and 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization calls upon election officials
to place the voter interface device in a prominent location, to take the
necessary steps to ensure voter privacy, secrecy, and anonymity, and to
proactively and strongly encourage the use of the voter interface device by
all Montana voters, not just those with disabilities.

Resolution 2019-03 Regarding Competitive Integrated Employment in Medicaid
Programs

WHEREAS, segregated, sub-minimum wage work for Montanans with disabilities
should never be the sole option for employment services under Montana's
Medicaid programs; and

WHEREAS, national public policy is bending towards the justice of work in our
communities at comparable wages; and 

Whereas, Montana programs such as Vocational Rehabilitation and Blind
Services routinely apply competitive integrated employment, thus
demonstrating Montana's commitment to justice for workers with disabilities;
and

WHEREAS, Montana's Medicaid programs, including programs under multiple
Divisions of the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services,
currently offer zero options for developing competitive integrated
employment: Now, Therefore, 

BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind of Montana in
convention assembled this 12th day of October, 2019, in the city of Missoula,
Montana, that this organization calls upon the Governor and the Department of
Public Health and Human Services to develop and implement competitive
integrated employment services immediately under each of its Medicaid
programs.

Joy Breslauer, Resolutions Committee Chair

National Federation of the Blind of Montana 

Web Site:  <http://www.nfbofmt.org/> http://www.nfbofmt.org

Live the life you want

The National Federation of the Blind is a community of members and friends
who believe in the hopes and dreams of the nation's blind. Every day we work
together to help blind people live the lives they want. 

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