The State's Joint Committee on Finance held a hearing on April 1 at Lawence University to hear the concerns of the members of the public on the 2009-2011 Budget proposed by Gov. Doyle. Tobacco Control's presence, powerful testimony, and passion were on full display.
A "re-cap" of the Appleton Hearing:
* 222 individuals/groups registered to speak at the hearing (largest hearing to date)
* Began at 10am and lasted until 5:45 pm
* There were approximately 50 people in line by 8:15 am; One of the last individuals to speak for the day commented that he arrived at 10:10am
* 3 FACT groups, 3 representatives from the Native American Network, 23 NE Region reps from 12 counties, and 9 N Region reps from 4 counties spoke on tobacco
* 100+ written testimonies were submitted
* A handful of individuals in the crowd not affiliated with our movement asked to wear our stickers
* Groups of 3 or more were organized the morning of the hearing, but larger groups and fewer speakers were requested by some of the legislators in the early afternoon
* 2 individuals spoke in opposition of smokefree workplaces
A "re-cap" of the testimony from all of hearings in regards to the 3 tobacco issues in the budget this year:
* At least 133 adults gave spoken testimony!
* 156 FACT youth participated with 42 presenting spoken testimony
* There were so many supporters of tobacco control that the committee asked us to group testimony together
* Countless amounts of written testimony were submitted.
* The outpouring of public support for strong tobacco control policies during the JFC hearings was covered by local media across the state.
THANK YOU to Lori Duclon, Doug Gieryn, Cheryl Laabs, Bonnie Thomas, and Kate Hoerth along with 30 UWO Nursing Students for submitting written testimony from the Winnebago County Tobacco-Free Coalition.
And a SPECIAL THANK YOU to Lara Vendola-Messer for attending the hearing along with Lisa Brown and Emily Dieringer who gave spoken testimony.
All of your efforts make a difference!
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