Hello friends,
Thank you to all of you who have signed the petition and shared it. The meeting was again delayed, so instead of meeting on the 4/6 date they have decided to meet on 4/13, this coming Tuesday! Again, we are hopeful that this is good news and appreciate all the efforts you all have made to defend the rights of all Oregonians to use the river, and will update upon hearing if any decisions are made at this meeting.
There is not much time left to tell Oregon House legislators to vote no on harmful legislation that will ban hundreds of local families from enjoying tubing, skiing and wake surfing on the Willamette River. We know you share our passion for safe and open waterways, which is why we need your help now to stop this legislation.
Those who attended the public hearing or submitted written testimony are still encouraged to email legislators ahead of their work session and possible vote Tuesday, April 13, 2021 at 3:15pm. It is imperative boaters continue to voice their concerns about this overreaching legislation. Please use the sample email and contact information below to make your voice heard today.
To make matters worse, duplicate bills (SB 856 and SB 857) were just introduced in the Senate. Our #1 priority is to defeat the house bill tomorrow. Therefore, all boaters must continue to contact the house committee and keep our momentum going strong. We're paying close attention to Senate activity and will share more about how to oppose the duplicate bills soon.
Sample House Committee Email:
To: Rep.TinaKotek@oregonlegislature.gov, Rep.BradWitt@oregonlegislature.gov, Rep.VikkiBreeseiverson@oregonlegislature.gov, Rep.ZachHudson@oregonlegislature.gov, Rep.JamiCate@oregonlegislature.gov, Rep.PamMarsh@oregonlegislature.gov, Rep.SusanMclain@oregonlegislature.gov, Rep.BillPost@oregonlegislature.gov, Rep.JeffReardon@oregonlegislature.gov, Rep.DavidBrockSmith@oregonlegislature.gov, Rep.AnnaWilliams@oregonlegislature.gov
Subject: Vote No on HB 2725
Dear Representatives:
I am writing you to oppose HB 2725. This legislation is born out of special interest agendas and is not representative of the community at large. Our waterway policies should be grounded in solid research and favor the general public, not select waterfront homeowners and paddlers looking to eliminate motorized boating for their own personal gain. This bill will make our waterways less safe and negatively impact Oregon families and small businesses. Instead of taking drastic steps to take boats out of the water, we should acquire more information and scientific evidence for the best ways to keep our river safe and healthy.
I respectfully urge you to vote against this bill progressing through the legislature this session. Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
(Your name)
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Follow Oregon Families for Boating on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to stay up to date on the latest boating news. They are doing a great job advocating for our rights on the river and will continue to keep you updated on what we can do to protect our rights to use the river.
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Find out more about OregonFamiliesforBoating.org.
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