Special Session in Olympia: Strategies for Advocacy

Special Session - Membership call this Tuesday, May 12 (2:30)  Special Session in Olympia: Strategies for Advocacy Join a statewide AHNC membership call on Tuesday, May 12 (2:30pm) about the Legislature's special session. This is an opportunity to bring people to ask questions, hear what others have been working on, and get ideas on what you and your organization can do to keep the spotlight on hunger during budget negotiations. Olympia Update: The Legislature is in the middle of a 30 day special session called by the Governor after the regular session ended with two budget proposals and no consensus between the House and Senate. Most legislators are back home in their districts while the lead budget negotiators are in Olympia trying to make progress on an agreement. Budget Differences:  After cutting almost $12 billion from the state budget since 2008, including major cuts to anti-hunger and anti-poverty programs, we were encouraged to see restorations and continued investments in these programs in the House budget. The House budget fully funds all the priorities of our Coalition, while the Senate budget includes only our request for the WIC Farmers Market Nutrition Program. The most contentious difference between the two budgets is their approach to taxes and new revenue. The Senate budget includes no new funding while the House has an additional $1.5 billion in its budget as a result of tax reforms and new revenue.   Check out AHNC's side by side comparison for details on our priorities in each budget. For a side by side budget analyses by the legislators who created them, the Seattle Times published an op-ed by Rep. Ross Hunter and Rep. Reuven Carlyle and an op-ed by Sen. Andy Hill.  A letter to the editor in the Seattle Times published last week illustrates a similar tension between the two approaches to the state budget and taxes:  http://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/state-budget-the-priority-is-on-poverty/  "49 for Fairness" - the People's Hearing: To demonstrate the impact of continuing several years of no new funds for local communities and programs, constituents from all 49 legislative districts came to Olympiathis past Monday for a People's Hearing on fair revenue. Convened by advocates and presided by some legislators, people gave one minute testimonies describing the impact of the divestment in local services and programs and the negative consequences for communities.  TAKE ACTION: Join us next Tuesday, May 12 (2:30pm) for an AHNC membership call to ask questions, share information and get ideas on what you can do to make a difference during special session(s) to keep the spotlight on hunger.  Call (712) 432-0900 - pass code 677 657#.