[nfbwatlk] IMPORTANT: HEARING

[Mike Freeman]

Fellow listers:

Next Tuesday, February 2, at 8:00 a.m. in Hearing Room B in the John L. OBrien Building on the capital campus in Olympia, there will be a hearing on HB-2953, the bill to essentially abolish the Department of Services for the Blind (DSB) and transfer all its functions to the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS). The position of Director of DSB would be abolished and her functions assumed by the Secretary of DSHS. Although rumors abound that the Department of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR) would take over DSB's functions, the bill itself doesn't even say this.

Needless-to-say, we need people to turn out for this hearing and to testify against the bill. I will be working with the officers and Board of Directors of the NFB of Washington to try to cobble together transportation from both north and south of Olympia but no guarantees as yet.

The Washington Council of the Blind (WCB) is also working on getting people to the hearing and on transportation.

If there is any humor/irony to be had out of all this, it is that the bill to be heard just prior to HB-2953 would abolish DSHS! NFbW won't take a position on that one although I confess to having my own views on it. (grin)

We need stalwart attendees and testifiers as Mike Mello and I will be at the Washington Seminar.

Unfortunately, testimony by telephone is no longer an option so we must turn out the troops.

Let's stop this thing in its tracks!

Michael Freeman, President
National Federation of the Blind of Washington