Dear Friends,
There is an important piece of legislation going before the California State Legislature on April 13, 2011 entitled SB 575. It would effectively eliminate the smoking of cigars and pipes in tobacconist shops, cigar and pipe lounges, and all of the few remaining places where cigars and pipes can be enjoyed in public.
This legislation must be stopped.
You must contact your representatives in the State Assembly and State Senate and demand that this destructive piece of proposed legislation be struck down. To find your representatives, click the following link:
http://www.legislature.ca.gov/port-zipsearch.html
All of the legislators have a “Contact Me” link on their web sites, and an easy-to-follow web form for submitting your statement of dissent.
You must do this NO LATER THAN APRIL 12, 2011! This issue is scheduled to go into a hearing before the Senate on April 13. To have an impact, your voice must be heard before the hearing!
The following text was borrowed (slightly modified) from an email bulletin shared by our friends at Telford Pipe and Cigar Store.
“Dear [Senator or Assemblyman]
I am writing in opposition to proposed SB 575 as introduced by Senator DeSaulnier and coauthored by Assembly Member Hill on February 17, 2011. In its present form, it would eliminate smoking in tobacconists and other places where smoking is permitted currently.
The legislation as proposed is a direct infringement of my liberties and violates both the Constitution of the United States of America and the Constitution of the State of California.
Though often villainized, tobacco has been an important part of America’s history and culture for centuries. Despite this, this legislation pursues an agenda based solely on a visceral dislike of smokers in any form. It is arbitrary and capricious, and has no grounding in law.
No one is forced to work in a tobacconist or other area where smoking is permitted. Indeed, such employees are often smokers themselves and are fully aware of any risks they may run in pursuing that employment.
Moreover, the legislation as proposed would suppress if not destroy in California the legitimate enterprises of tobacco retailers, wholesalers, brokers and smoking lounge operators. Thousands of jobs are at stake, and major sources of tax revenues are in danger of disappearing.
In one example, the state Board of Equalization noted in 2010 that after higher taxes were imposed on cigarettes, sales declined over 8%, and cigarette tax revenues collected fell by $74 million. These tax revenues are desperately needed by the state, counties and towns of California, as are the jobs that would be eliminated if this disastrous legislation passes into law.
There are millions of smokers in the state of California. They are aware of the issues and they vote.
Clearly, the proposed legislation would infringe personal liberties and inflict great economic harm to your constituents. For these reasons, I demand that the proposed legislation be withdrawn in full at once.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]”
Finally, The CRA has a simple petition form you can complete here:
http://www.cigarrights.org/petition_California001.php (scroll down)
The petition is helpful, but it won’t take the place of a direct notification to your representatives.
The full text of the bill is here (April 6 revision).
ACT NOW! YOUR LIBERTIES ARE AT RISK!
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