On Tuesday AB44 barely passed the first Senate Committee vote. Not only was it a very close call, but rabbits were brought up again, not once, but twice!
Dennis Albiani, a lobbyist who represents the California Grain & Feed Association www.cgfa.org had requested a rabbit exclusion at the previous Assembly Committee hearings, and was still pushing for an amendment to exclude rabbits during this Senate Committee hearing.
Noelle Cremers with the California Farm Bureau Federation www.cfbf.com voiced her concern for the 189 California farms that raise 18,000 rabbits.
While many supporters showed their support, the opposition came out in full force to lobby against the fur ban bill. It is clear we cannot let our guard down! The bill’s author Assemblywoman Laura Friedman must continuously be commended for rejecting any rabbit amendment, and our Senate representatives must be urged to vote YES on the unamended bill.
AB44 will now move on to two more Senate Committees (Judiciary and Appropriations) before going to a full Senate vote.
The next hearing is scheduled for Tuesday July 9 at 1:30PM https://sjud.senate.ca.gov/agenda and open to the public. Please come out in person if you can to show your support. We need as many people as possible to pack the room!
Also, remember that an amendment is still possible, so let’s keep the pressure on through social media, emails and phone calls. All the Senators have Facebook and/or Twitter accounts and it's a great way to engage with them publicly.
Continue to sign/share the petition (let’s get to 25,000 signatures!), contact your Senator and the Senate Committee members, and ask them to support AB44 unamended.
You can follow this link to find your Senator: https://www.senate.ca.gov/senators
- Judiciary Committee: https://sjud.senate.ca.gov/ or email a position letter to sjud.fax@sen.ca.gov
- Appropriations Committee: https://sapro.senate.ca.gov/ or to send a position letter go to: https://calegislation.lc.ca.gov/Advocates/