Ohio Livestock care board in danger!

Ohio Farm Bureau ^ | July 10, 2009 | Ohio Farm Bureau

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Call your legislators and House/Senate Leadership Now Insist they pass HJR 2 or SJR 6 before adjourning for summer recess

URGENT Action Request -Livestock Care Board Legislation in Jeopardy of Dying in General Assembly

Action Requested: The Governor and legislative leaders have struck a deal regarding the state budget that DOES NOT include a deal for final passage of the either HJR2 or SJR6, the Ohio Livestock Care Standards Board Proposed Constitutional Amendment. The General Assembly will likely complete work on the state budget this coming Monday, July 13, and will then likely recess, which will eliminate any opportunity for final passage of HJR2 or SJR6, and eliminate the opportunity to bring this measure to the ballot this Fall. This only leaves this weekend for farmers across Ohio to help convince the General Assembly to pass this vital legislation.

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Featured alert image E-Mail your legislators and House/Senate Leadership This Weekend Insist they pass HJR 2 or SJR 6 before adjourning for summer recess

URGENT Action Request -Livestock Care Board Legislation in Jeopardy of Dying in General Assembly

Action Requested: The Governor and legislative leaders have struck a deal regarding the state budget that DOES NOT include a deal for final passage of the either HJR2 or SJR6, the Ohio Livestock Care Standards Board Proposed Constitutional Amendment. The General Assembly will likely complete work on the state budget this coming Monday, July 13, and will then likely recess, which will eliminate any opportunity for final passage HJR2 or SJR6, and eliminate the opportunity to bring this measure to the ballot this Fall. This only leaves this weekend for farmers across Ohio to help convince the General Assembly to pass this vital legislation.

All Ohio Farm Bureau members are asked to contact their State Representative and State Senator THIS WEEKEND and insist that they pass this critical legislation before they adjourn.

KEY TARGETS: Please contact your respective members of the General Assembly, plus also place additional calls to the following key offices, all with the same messages (as stated below in the "Talking Points"):

Rep. Armond Budish, Speaker of the House 614-466-5441 Rep. Jennifer Garrison, Majority Floor Leader 614-644-8728 Rep. Bill Batchelder, Minority Leader 614-466-8140 Rep. Allen Sayre, Asst. Majority Whip 614-466-8035 Sen. Bill Harris, President of Senate 614-466-8086 Sen. Keith Faber, Majority Floor Leader 614-466-7584 Sen. Tom Niehaus, President Pro Tempore 614-466-8082 Sen. Capri Cafaro, Minority Leader 614-466-7182

Talking Points:

Thank you for all your hard work in initially passing HJR2 or SJR6. Given the agreement on the budget, we now ask that you (members of the General Assembly) please pass either of these two measures before adjourning.

The Ohio House and Senate passed these measures, HJR2 or SJR6, overwhelmingly once already, with only technical differences.

Farm Bureau does not have a preference between the House and Senate versions as passed, as both are identical in substance. We are simply asking the General Assembly to resolve any issues and pass either bill before it adjourns.

If Farm Bureau members are told by their State Representative or State Senator that their chamber has already passed the bill and it's the other chamber or party that is holding up the bill, please respond that - Blaming one chamber of the General Assembly or the other, or one party or the other, is not acceptable; Just pass either bill, they are identical in substance. Background:

The Ohio Livestock Care Standards Board Proposed Constitutional Amendment, which received broad bipartisan support in both the House and Senate several weeks ago, is currently stalled as lawmakers consider technical differences between the House and Senate versions of the proposed resolutions. In order for this issue to appear on the November ballot, House and Senate leaders must come to an agreement on which version of the resolution will move forward for a final vote by Monday, July 13, or the General Assembly will likely complete work on the state budget and adjourn without completing work on this bill. Ohioans deserve the opportunity to vote on this important livestock issue in November. Even if you have already called your State Representative and State Senator, please do so again this weekend.

We appreciate the overwhelming support that Ohio General Assembly members gave to supporting HJR2 and SJR6 a couple weeks ago; it is now time to finish this important work, setting the stage for November ballot vote.

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A couple of weeks ago the Ohio legislature smartly tried to preempt a planned H$US ballot initiative that would dictate how Ohio farmers should care for their own livestock and would probably look something like California's Prop2, but it looks like this thing has been worked out of the budget agreement.

Here's a transcript of a recent AgriTalk interview with H$U$ CEO Wayne Pacelle: HSUS President Wayne Pacelle addresses issues relevant to Ohio

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Here is part of the exchange between AgriTalk host Mike Adams and Pacelle:

Adams: There are a lot of questions that come in about the amount of money you are able to raise and you have been very successful at that. A lot of people want to know why isn’t more of that money used for actual animal shelters and adoption of animals? You talk about caring for or rescuing pets, why isn’t more of your money actually going right to animal shelters and those types of programs?

Pacelle: I know a lot of folks in the agriculture community, the more large scale agriculture community that would love us not to look at slaughter and transport and production practices and put all of our money into animal shelters. The fact is there are 10 billion animals raised for food in this country and 7-8 million who go into shelters.

Why then, Wayne, do all the H$U$ television ad campaigns almost exclusively show the rescues of sad-eyed puppies and kittens?!