Call To Action - April 18, 2021

Utilize HB 1590 Funds for the Homeless Crisis

​Please ask the Thurston Commissioners to join the other Washington communities in utilizing the opportunity found in HB 1590 to raise funds for the homeless crisis. The County can add a 1/10 of one percent sales tax increase to assist citizens who are most vulnerable to the housing crisis: low income individuals, the elderly, working poor, and those who are homeless or living at the margins. At the 4/13/2021 Thurston League of Women Voters meeting, Beth Doglio explained how we can use HB 1590 to support the housing shortage. 

Action: Send an email to all 3 Commissioners: 

• Email: county.commissioners@co.thurston.wa.us   
• Subject: Utilize HB 1590 Funds

Script: As a member of Olympia Indivisible, I am writing to strongly encourage the Commission to act on an opportunity for Thurston County to tackle the growing housing crisis in the county and incorporate it into the existing regional housing approach. 

Please enact the one-tenth of one percent local sales tax increase that was provided by the legislature last year as part of HB 1590. Funds raised in this manner are dedicated directly to building affordable housing, addressing homelessness, and providing associated services.

It is my understanding that this opportunity needs to be implemented before the October 15, 2021 deadline so that funds are available in 2022. Thank you for your attention to this vital issue.

Sincerely,

[NAME] from [CITY],[ZIP]

 

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Indivisible Statewide Call-O-Rama to our State Senators

​Eliminating the Filibuster | Indivisible   

Indivisible chapters throughout the State of Washington, including Olympia Indivisible, are organizing a call relay to Senators Murray and Cantwell’s DC offices on Monday, April 26, to end the filibuster. The purpose of this task is to inundate our Senators’ offices with phone calls expressing opposition to the filibuster and demanding they support ending it now. Our democracy is at stake and Senate tradition should not block democratic majority rule.

The objective of the Call-O-Rama is to fill time slots paced every five minutes for 90 people to call the Senators’ Washington, DC offices between 6 am and 2 pm PDST. If we can fill all time slots, both Senators will be getting calls all day long. Saturating the phone lines is one way of bringing home how deeply Indivisibles from across the state care about this issue. 

Action: Participate in the April 26 Call-O-Rama. Sign up via this action on Take Action Network (TAN). When you sign up you will see the following instructions.

Step 1: SIGN UP

1. Go to the Call-o-Rama spreadsheet to sign up
2. Read the instructions & call script on the tab “Call Script”
3. Click on the tab "SIGN UP HERE ” 
4. Pick a time and fill in your name, Indivisible group, and a way of contacting you to follow up
5. Add a note to your calendar to remind yourself of your time slot to make your calls on Monday 4/26

Step 2: ACT! On Monday, April 26

1. Go to the Call-o-Rama spreadsheet 
2. Review the instructions & call script on the tab “Call Script”
3. Make your calls!
4. Click on the tab "SIGN UP HERE ” 
5. Mark “Done” next to your time slot and add notes from your conversation
6. Contact the next person on the list (using their phone or email included in the registration) to remind them to make their calls (Pro tip: call the next person before you make your calls to give them a couple of minutes to get to their computer!)
7. Come back to TAN and mark that you took this action.
8. Celebrate democracy! 

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Support SB 5476 (State v. Blake decision) Sign in Pro and Start to End the War on Drugs

​SB 5476 which addresses the State v. Blake decision commits Washington to the beginning of the end to the War on Drugs. 

This bill removes criminal penalties for the possession of personal use amounts of a controlled or counterfeit substance or a legend drug and replaces law enforcement punishment with evaluation and treatment remedies. Also, this bill will preempt the local jurisdictions from passing gross misdemeanor ordinances without diversions or support services.

This bill needs to pass. If it does not pass, cities and counties will or have already reinserted the word "knowingly" into new laws to re-criminalize drug possession in local jurisdictions. 

This bill commits Washington to the beginning of the end to the War on Drugs, which is widely understood to have both failed to deter problematic drug use, and to have played out in ways that have been deeply skewed racially and economically. 

• SB 5476 ensures we have a uniform state-wide policy 
• Ensures that arrests for use of drug paraphernalia don’t become a substitute for drug possession criminalization
• Confirms a shift to a new paradigm, of community-based care rather than punishment & stigma for drug use and related issues
• While it allows police to make referrals to community-based care for people struggling with substance use disorder, people will not be detained for this purpose
• Finally takes police out of the business of investigating drug possession for personal use—no stops, searches, citations, and secondary criminalization if citations are not responded to or paid

Action: Please sign in to the online hearing to note your position on SB 5476 as "Pro" (You are not signing up to speak.)

The deadline for this action is Monday April 19 at 8:00am

1. Click Here 
2. From the drop down menu choose "Pro"
3. Fill out the form.

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SB 5062 Is Still Alive! Ask Your Reps to Support Rep. Kloba's Amendments -- And Vote No On the Bad Washington Privacy Act If the Amendments Don't Pass!!

Remember the Bad WA Privacy Act, which started life as a good piece of legislation but through amendments became worse than no privacy Act?

The current version (SB 5062) is a weak, industry-backed bill that only provides the illusion of privacy – but Rep. Kloba has introduced several amendments to fix SB 5062. Even though there's only a week to go in the session and even though the House adjourned without any action on the Bad Washington Privacy Act (SB 5062), the bill is still alive! How can this be? It was added to the list of bills that are “necessary to implement the budget” which means it is still alive if the Conference Committee that reconciles the House and Senate budgets revives it. 

Action: Ask our legislators to support the Kloba amendments, and to vote No on SB 5062 unless the Kloba amendment passes. The deadline for this action is Monday April 19 at 5:00pm

The simple way is to click on this Take Action Network (TAN) action and follow the simple steps to contact your legislator. 

Or contact your legislators directly. In District 22, they are:

• Rep. Jessica Bateman (360) 786-7992 or email 
• Rep. Laurie Dolan (360) 786-7940 or email 
  

​Script: My name is _______________ and I am a member of Olympia Indivisible. The current version of SB 5062 (the Bad Washington Privacy Act) is a weak, industry-backed bill that only provides the illusion of privacy and leaves me, my family, and all your other constituents at risk. Rep. Kloba's striking amendment addresses the four major areas civil rights, immigrant rights, and civil liberties groups have highlighted -- it's fully opt-in, has a strong private right of action, removes the pre-emption clause, and gets rid of some of the biggest loopholes. There's still room for improvement, but this amendment offers meaningful privacy for Washingtonians.

Rep. Kloba also has several other amendments making individual fixes: strengthening the private right of action, removing pre-emption, and regulating surreptitious surveillance. While they are not as broad as the striking amendment, they are all important fixes.

So please support all of Rep. Kloba's amendments. If the amendments don't pass, please vote no on SB 5062. Fix it — or nix it.

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