CLEAN MONEY BILL PASSES FIRST COMMITTEE!

Assemblymember Loni Hancock's AB 583, the California Clean Money and Fair Elections Act, passed through the Assembly Elections Commitee on a vote of 4-3 on Wednesday.

It will now be heard in the Appropriations Committee next Wednesday, and, if it passes there, will be debated in the full Assembly the following week.

On top of this, the number of co-authors of the bill continues to grow. There are now an extremely impressive 28 co-authors of the bill in the Assembly and State Senate. Momentum is on our side!

A huge thank you to everybody who wrote letters, sent in faxes, called their representatives, and especially those who came out, met with legislators, and packed the hearing room on Tuesday! Your hard work is paying off. Excellent work all around.

But no rest for the weary! We have to keep up the momentum and continue pressing forward.


Write to Support AB 583!

Your letters and calls are crucial. Your elected representatives need to know that the voters demand that they take action and pass this sweeping reform.

NEXT STEPS

First, if you haven’t already written your assembly representative and the Speaker of the Assembly Fabian Nunez urging them to support AB 583, please use our online letter-writing tool to do so now:

http://www.caclean.org/letters/asse mbly0106.php


If you have already written those letters, please stay tuned for a call-in day we have planned for the coming weeks and for special requests for some of you who live in key legislators' districts.

Second, as we did with the Elections Committee, we want to pack the hearing room when we are heard before Appropriations to show how strong the public demand is for this vital reform. Additionally, there should be a public comment period during the hearing where you should have a chance to add your voice to show the wide variety of Californians that demand this sweeping reform.

WHAT: AB 583 Hearing before Appropriations Committee
WHEN: Wednesday, January 18, 2006 – 9:00 a.m.
WHERE: State Capitol Building
; Room 4202
; Sacramento, CA 942849

Let us know if you are able to make it and we'll let you know more about carpool arrangements and the agenda. You can email Eric Tang at Eric@CAclean.org
or call (800) 566-3780.

A MOMENT TO CELEBRATE

As we get charged up for our next hurdle, definitely take a moment to celebrate our victory in the Elections Committee. Check out the pictures! (Scroll down a bit when you’re there.)

We could never have accomplished this without our amazing supporters. Thank you all for your hard work and dedication. Together we will succeed in bringing fair elections and accountable government to California!

Sincerely,

Susan Lerner
Executive Director
California Clean Money Campaign