We need letters to the senate and house natural resources committees. Here are some examples:
For the Senate
It is time for letters! This one is for the Senate. This bill needs to be out of committee and onto the Senate floor by the 28th. I received a call from Senator Jacobsons office and was informed that he is sending this to a vote by the committee by Monday or Tuesday. We need letters to the committee members to get this out of committee.
Lets keep gas in this saw and change this law by making ourselves heard!
Ask your friends to write too! Just change the personal paragraph in the middle to something like: I have trees in my yard and don’t want the added expense of paying the tree service to go with me to a sheriff’s office to get this permit. I should also be able to give or sell my own property with a bill of sale or other paperwork showing that they have it with my permission. I cannot understand how steeling my time and money to get this no-charge but expensive permit will prevent potential theft from the Olympic Pennensula any more than my writing a bill of sale that steels nothing from either of us.
Best is to send a separate email to each member. The greeting in that case is:
To the Honorable Senator their full name:
Link: dist & phone Name email address
Ken Jacobsen Ken Jacobsen: jacobsen.ken@leg.wa.gov
Phil Rockefeller Phil Rockefeller: rockefeller.phil@leg.wa.gov
Bob Morton Bob Morton: morton.bob@leg.wa.gov
Karen Fraser Karen Fraser: fraser.karen@leg.wa.gov
James Hargrove James Hargrove: Hargrove.james@leg.wa.gov
Erik Poulsen Erik Poulsen: poulsen.erik@leg.wa.gov
Harriet Spanel Harriet Spanel: spanel.harriet@leg.wa.gov
Val Stevens Val Stevens: stevens.val@leg.wa.gov
Dan Swecker Dan Swecker: swecker.dan@leg.wa.gov
Easier, but not as effective is to send to all the committee members at once. To do so just cut and paste this into the To… line:
jacobsen.ken@leg.wa.gov; rockefeller.phil@leg.wa.gov; morton.bob@leg.wa.gov; fraser.karen@leg.wa.gov; Hargrove.james@leg.wa.gov; poulsen.erik@leg.wa.gov; spanel.harriet@leg.wa.gov; stevens.val@leg.wa.gov; swecker.dan@leg.wa.gov
and use this greeting:
To the Honorable Members of the Washington State Senate Natural Resources, Ocean, and Recreation Committee:
Letters that are exactly the same have less clout than ones that are edited to be personalized. Use the following exactly or as an example to write your own. But, please write and call and get all your friends to do the same.
Example:
I am writing with respect to Senate Bill 5844 which, I understand, is under consideration by the Natural Resources, Ocean, and Recreation Committee, of which you are a member. This bill refers to an existing Washington law, 78.48 of the RCW.
The intent of this RCW was to provide a means of punishing individuals who illegally cut and/or transport specialized forest products and specialty woods from private or public lands. Unfortunately, this law, through many changes, has become poorly written and is being interpreted and enforced very differently by different jurisdictions within the state. You heard one example of this in testimony.
I am a chainsaw sculptor and often get my wood from homeowners doing non-commercial maintenance. I have purchased, traded for, and just hauled away cedar logs, stumps, and chunks in the past from homeowners, tree services, and other carvers and transported them to my carving area with a bill of sale, a note, or sometimes just a handshake and thank you. I had no idea that I was in violation of the law, or that my vehicle, tools, and pieces of wood could be impounded. I need to be able to transport this wood without threat of prosecution and legal expenses.
While I applaud and agree with the spirit of the law, I urge you to consider the changes proposed in Senate Bill 5844, as they are a good start to providing protection for those of us who transport wood in a manner we assumed was legal (i.e. we had purchased it or cleared it from land with permission). I understand that there may be some proposed amendments to add a section on affirmative defense or that a study be done and we come back next year with another bill. If either or both of these are in addition to the other requested changes they would be wonderful. If either is in place of the other changes, it is a start, but would still leave us in danger over the next year.
Please pass SB5844 out of committee in such a manner that it protects both the lawful user and the grower of our states specialized forest products and specialty woods.
Best Regards,
Your name,
Your address and phone
Your email address if sending via email
For House Bill 1909
This bill needs to be out of committee and onto the House floor by the 28th. We need letters to the committee members to get this out of committee.
Best is to send a separate email to each member. The greeting in that case is:
To the Honorable Representative their full name:
Brian Sullivan: sullivan.brian@leg.wa.gov
Brian Blake: blake.brian@leg.wa.gov
Joel Kretz: kretz.joel@leg.wa.gov
Judy Warnick: warnick.judy@leg.wa.gov
Mary Lou Dickerson: dickerson.marylou@leg.wa.gov
William "Ike" Eickmeyer: eickmeyer.william@leg.wa.gov
Bill Grant: grant.william@leg.wa.gov
Steve Hailey: hailey.steve@leg.wa.gov
Ruth Kagi: kagi.ruth@leg.wa.gov
Patricia Lantz: lantz.patricia@leg.wa.gov
John McCoy: mccoy.john@leg.wa.gov
Daniel Newhouse: newhouse.dan@leg.wa.gov
Ed Orcutt: orcutt.ed@leg.wa.gov
Chris Strow: strow.chris@leg.wa.gov
Kevin Van De Wege: vandewege.kevin@leg.wa.gov
Easier, but not as effective is to send to all the committee members at once. To do so just cut and paste this into the To… line:
sullivan.brian@leg.wa.gov; blake.brian@leg.wa.gov; kretz.joel@leg.wa.gov; dickerson.marylou@leg.wa.gov; eickmeyer.william@leg.wa.gov; grant.william@leg.wa.gov; kagi.ruth@leg.wa.gov; lantz.patricia@leg.wa.gov; mccoy.john@leg.wa.gov; newhouse.dan@leg.wa.gov; orcutt.ed@leg.wa.gov; strow.chris@leg.wa.gov; vandewege.kevin@leg.wa.gov; blake.brian@leg.wa.gov
and use this greeting:
To the Honorable Members of the Washington State House of Representatives Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee:
Letters that are exactly the same have less clout than ones that are edited to be personalized. Use the following exactly or as an example to write your own. But, please write and call and get all your friends to do the same.
Example:
I am writing with respect to House Bill 1909 which, I understand, is under consideration by the Agriculture & Natural Resources committee, of which you are a member. This bill refers to an existing Washington law, 78.48 of the RCW.
The intent of this RCW was to provide a means of punishing individuals who illegally cut and/or transport specialized forest products and specialty woods from private or public lands. Unfortunately, this law, through many changes, has become poorly written and is being interpreted and enforced very differently by different jurisdictions within the state. You heard one example of this in testimony. For a more complete story please see
http://www.washington-wood-laws.org/ourstory.html
I am a chainsaw sculptor and often get my wood from homeowners doing non-commercial maintenance. I have purchased, traded for, and just hauled away cedar logs, stumps, and chunks the past from homeowners, tree services, and other carvers and transported them to my carving area with a bill of sale, a note, or sometimes just a handshake and thank you. I had no idea that I was in violation of the law, or that my vehicle, tools, and pieces of wood could be impounded. I need to be able to continue transporting wood, obtained with the permission of the owner, without threat of prosecution.
While I applaud and agree with the spirit of the law, I urge you to consider the changes proposed in House Bill 1909, as they are a good start to providing protection for those of us who transport wood in a manner we assumed was legal (i.e. we had purchased it or cleared it from land with permission).
Please pass House Bill 1909 to protect both the user and the grower of Washington’s specialized forest products and specialty woods.
Best Regards,
Your name,
Your address and phone
Your email address if sending via email