Good Evening!
I am so pleased with how many people have signed our petition. As of tonight, 2,203 people.
For those who have recently signed, welcome!
SB 381 - Wahab is the bill that we (California Alliance for Adoptee Rights) are sponsoring. It will provide unrestricted access to original birth certificates to California born Adult Adoptees and their direct descendants.
We are pleased that in the Senate the votes have been as follows: Judiciary Committee 13-0, Health Committee 7-0, Appropriations - Suspense Committee 7-0. Full, Senate - 35 - 0. These all took place in January. Thank you to all who wrote letters, made phone calls, testified in person etc. All of this added up to our success in the Senate.
It now moves onto the Assembly. With a total of 80 Assemblymembers, we need at least 41 votes for it to pass. It will most likely not begin to be heard in committees until late May or June.
We are in a bit of a lull and will wait until April and May to do most of our serious lobbying. With so many other bills being considered, we want to make sure that we have the most impact when educate our lawmakers.
If it passes the Assembly, it goes to the Governor where it can be signed into law or vetoed.
This petition helps our cause! We always let lawmakers know how many total signatures we have. I regularly print out the names and give them to the Governor's office.
Feel free to join our CAAR Facebook page for lots of detailed information. Make sure you answer the questions on the page so that we can admit you.
Delve into the our website https://caallianceforadopteerights.org
Once we get moving on this, look for further instructions and information on how you can help.
We have a long way to go but have made it farther in the process of similar bills in California. For those who have worked on similar bills in the past, know that you have paved the way for our present efforts. Having Senator Wahab as our author is paramount to our efforts. She is an adoptee who was in Foster Care. She is very smart and understands us. She is well respected by her peers.
As an adoptee who was also in the Foster Care system, I want all of us and our families to be able to hold a simple piece of paper that belongs to us.
Wishing you the best!
Paul