Advocates Rally in Sacramento to Pass AB 1694

What:

News Conference and Rally

When:

March 23, 2010   11:00 a.m.

Where:

California State Capitol Building, East Side (Facing 12th and Capitol Ave.)

Who:

Partial list of participants…

• Assembly Member Jim Beall (D-San Jose)

• Bruce Lee Livingston, Executive Director, Marin Institute

• Nan Brasmer CARA (California Alliance for Retired Americans)

• Tom Renfree, CADPAAC (County Alcohol and Drug Program Administrators' Association of California)

• Tom Riley, California Academy of Family Physicians

• Lou Martinez - The Effort

• Glenn Backes - Drug Policy Alliance

• Jim Butler, CalCAP (California Council on Alcohol Problems)

• Mark Carlson, Lutheran Office of Public Policy

• Ruben Rodriguez, LA-CAP (Los Angeles Coalition on Alcohol Policy)

• John Hanley - San Francisco Firefighters Local 798

• Greg deGiere - The Arc of California

• John Whitaker, AWARE Coalition/Tarzana Treatment Centers

• Ricki Nelsen - Self-advocate and FASD Educator

• Eva Carner - Parent and FASD Educator

Why:

To advocate for the passage of AB 1694, the Alcohol-Related Services Act, authored by Assembly Member Jim Beall (D-San Jose). The measure creates the Alcohol-Related Services Program. The program will be funded by a $700+ million annual mitigation fee on Big Alcohol to help cover California's annual alcohol-related trauma care, hospitalization, treatment, prevention, and criminal justice costs. The job-saving and job-creating bill will be voted on in the Assembly Health Committee at 1:30 p.m.

To help legislators understand the personal losses behind the astronomical annual $38.4 billion dollar cost of alcohol-related harm in California, and the effects on a chronically under-funded health care system.

To elevate visibility of the Charge for Harm Alliance – a rapidly growing, diverse, statewide network of concerned individuals, treatment and prevention service providers, cities, counties, public health officials, enforcement, labor, youth and faith-based groups deeply concerned and determined to pass a fair and meaningful alcohol-harm mitigation fee in California.

ChargeForHarm.org

Contact:

Michael Scippa 415/548-0492

Jorge Castillo 213/840-3336