ACTION ALERT March 27, 2007

--POULTRY REGS PASS IN HOUSE
--Celebrate Farm Fresh Milk
--Learn about VT's Political process

POULTRY REGS PASS THE HOUSE WITH UNANIMOUS VOTE!
A big THANK YOU to all of you who called, wrote letters, testified, and volunteered to help with the effort to pass H.522, the omnibus agriculture bill, with the poultry provisions intact! Late Thursday afternoon, the full House passed this bill with a UNANIMOUS vote of 119-0. This vote was a result of YOUR CALLS! Just before the vote on the whole bill, an amendment was offered that would have taken restaurants out of the exemption for selling farm-processed poultry. This amendment was soundly defeated with a 22-65 vote. Many legislators indicated that their vote was a direct result of hearing from their constituents that the poultry provisions were an important part of the bill.

Although the House vote is a significant victory for the bill, we still have a long way to go. Next week, the bill will begin its journey through the Senate, but in the meantime, we need to do a few things to ensure our overall success. HERE'S WHAT YOU CAN DO THIS WEEK TO HELP:

1) WRITE SOME THANK YOU NOTES! Please take some time this week to write some thank you notes. These notes are critical to ensuring our long-term success in the statehouse, and they are also a way for you to let our legislators know that they are appreciated when they stand up for Vermont family farmers. Below, we'll ask you to write to your own legislator, but here are a few folks that really stood out and spoke up for the bill, so everyone should write to them.
Please write a HAND WRITTEN note to one or more of them and send it to the statehouse at:
Representative ______________
Vermont Statehouse
115 State Street
Montpelier, VT 05633

Please be sure to let them know how why this bill is important to you personally, and thank them for their good work!
--Representative Chris Bray...who reported the poultry section of the bill on the House Floor and stood up to some pretty intense "interrogation" on the amendment and on the language of the bill.
--Representative Michel Consejo...who spoke on the house floor against the amendment and used his experience in the restaurant business to point out that chefs will not serve food that is dangerous.
--Representative Reginald Godin...who stood up for the poultry provision of the bill in the committee, and fought to keep it in the bill
--Representative Carol Hosford...who was the original champion of the poultry provision, ever since the "Chicken Event" was held in her district this past summer..she also spoke out on the House Floor: "The Chicken cannot cross the road!"
--Representative Carolyn Partridge...who worked in the committee and beyond to build support for the poultry provision
--Representative Al Perry who helped the Ag Committee work through the concerns raised by those opposing the poultry provision and to develop language that addressed those concerns
--Representative Dexter Randall who spoke strongly in support of the bill and against the amendment on the house floor: "This is a clear shift of focus on Vermont agriculture from the commodity market system and recognizing diversified agriculture and small farms."
--Representative John Rodgers...who spoke up on the House Floor in support of the bill and against the amendment, sharing his experience of growing up on a farm and eating meat raised and processed on the farm.
--Representative Will Stevens...who worked hard in committee to keep the poultry provision in the bill and helped to clarify the need for the language
--Representative David Zuckerman...who as House Agriculture Committee chair facilitated the process of getting the bill drafted and voted out of the committee so it could go to the House Floor for a vote...he also spoke up strongly against the amendment and for the bill on the House Floor

2) WRITE ONE MORE THANK YOU NOTE. Please write a special Thank You to your OWN House Representative(s), if they were one of the 119 who were present and voted YES on the bill (if you're not sure who your Representative is, check click here, then check below to see if they voted yes.
Members voting in the affirmative:

Acinapura of Brandon
Adams of Hartland
Ainsworth of Royalton
Ancel of Calais
Baker of West Rutland
Barnard of Richmond
Bissonnette of Winooski
Bostic of St. Johnsbury
Botzow of Pownal
Branagan of Georgia
Bray of New Haven
Browning of Arlington
Canfield of Fair Haven
Chen of Mendon
Cheney of Norwich
Clark of St. Johnsbury
Clark of Vergennes
Clarkson of Woodstock
Clerkin of Hartford
Consejo of Sheldon
Copeland-Hanzas of Bradford
Corcoran of Bennington
Courcelle of Rutland City
Davis of Washington
Deen of Westminster
Donahue of Northfield
Donovan of Burlington
Dostis of Waterbury
Edwards of Brattleboro
Emmons of Springfield
Errecart of Shelburne
Fallar of Tinmouth
Fisher of Lincoln
Fitzgerald of St. Albans City
Flory of Pittsford
Frank of Underhill
French of Randolph
Gervais of Enosburg
Gilbert of Fairfax
Godin of Milton
Grad of Moretown
Haas of Rochester
Head of S. Burlington
Heath of Westford
Hosford of Waitsfield
Howard of Rutland City
Howrigan of Fairfield
Hube of Londonderry
Hunt of Essex
Hutchinson of Randolph
Jewett of Ripton
Johnson of South Hero
Johnson of Canaan
Keenan of St. Albans City
Kilmartin of Newport City
Kitzmiller of Montpelier
Klein of East Montpelier
Komline of Dorset
Krawczyk of Bennington
Kupersmith of S. Burlington
Larocque of Barnet
Larson of Burlington
LaVoie of Swanton
Lenes of Shelburne
Leriche of Hardwick
Lippert of Hinesburg
Livingston of Manchester
Lorber of Burlington
Maier of Middlebury
Malcolm of Pawlet
Marcotte of Coventry
Marek of Newfane
Martin, C. of Springfield
Masland of Thetford
McAllister of Highgate
McCormack of Rutland City
McCullough of Williston
McDonald of Berlin
McFaun of Barre Town
Milkey of Brattleboro
Minter of Waterbury
Mitchell of Barnard
Mook of Bennington
Moran of Wardsboro
Morley of Barton
Morrissey of Bennington
Mrowicki of Putney
Myers of Essex
Nease of Johnson
Nuovo of Middlebury
Obuchowski of Rockingham
O'Donnell of Vernon
Orr of Charlotte
Otterman of Topsham
Oxholm of Vergennes
Partridge of Windham
Pellett of Chester
Peltz of Woodbury
Perry of Richford
Pillsbury of Brattleboro
Potter of Clarendon
Randall of Troy
Rodgers of Glover
Scheuermann of Stowe
Shand of Weathersfield
Sharpe of Bristol
Shaw of Derby
Spengler of Colchester
Stevens of Shoreham
Sunderland of Rutland Town
Trombley of Grand Isle
Turner of Milton
Valliere of Barre City
Weston of Burlington
Wheeler of Derby
Winters of Williamstown
Wright of Burlington
Zenie of Colchester
Zuckerman of Burlington

3) JOIN RURAL VERMONT! If you are not already a member of Rural Vermont, please consider joining today. Our members not only take action to achieve our goals, but their financial support helps us to make sure the work gets done every day to move toward our vision of living soils, thriving farms, and healthy communities. You can join by calling 223-7222, or mailing a check to Rural Vermont, 15 Barre Street, Ste. 2, Montpelier, VT 05602. Our dues are a sliding scale - any amount you can offer will really help!

***RURAL VERMONT EVENTS***
RURAL VERMONT DEMOCRACY WORKSHOPS
THIS IS WHAT DEMOCRACY LOOKS LIKE!

Please join Rural Vermont and the Vermont Alliance for Conservation Voters for a great workshop on how to get involved with policy making in Vermont. You'll learn all you need to know to be an effective advocate for issues that you care about. No experience necessary. All welcome! A great °` Āb opportunity for home-schoolers, too!
--Learn how the Vermont legislature works
--Get the scoop on how to navigate the legislative process
--Learn the statehouse lingo
--Find out where things are at the statehouse
--Practice talking to legislators one-on-one and testifying at a public hearing
--Take home a helpful booklet filled with tips, tricks, and contact information for your local legislators

All workshops are 6 pm - 8:30 pm and will include light refreshments.
Suggested donation $5 - nobody turned away for lack of funds.

APRIL 5, 2007 - American Legion Hall, 60 Railroad Street, ISLAND POND

Please call Robb at 223-7222 to RSVP - not necessary, but helpful!

RURAL VERMONT HOT CHOCOLATE SOCIALS! PLEASE JOIN US!
Come one, come all to enjoy Fair Trade Hot Chocolate made with Vermont Farm Fresh Milk. Learn about how you can get involved with Rural Vermont and work toward our vision of living soils, thriving farms, and healthy communities. Find out what you can do to help make a strong local food system right here in Vermont! Meet local farmers, hear interesting speakers, and enjoy some of the best hot chocolate you've ever had (and other treats, too!).

All socials are 7 pm to 8:30 pm, and are free and open to the public. We hope you'll become a member of Rural Vermont while you're there! We'll have activities for kids, too, and great door prizes!

PLEASE PLAN TO ATTEND THE SOCIAL NEAREST TO YOU!
Tuesday, 4/3/07 - Pawlet Community Church, Pawlet
Tuesday, 4/10/07 - United Church of Colchester, Colchester
Monday, 4/16/07 - Methodist Church, Enosburg Falls
Tuesday, 4/24/07 - Boccelli's on the Canal, Bellows Falls

**NEW** Monday, 4/30/07 - Highgate Elementary School, Highgate

If you have any questions, please call or email Shelby at shelby@ruralvermont.org or 802-223-7222.