----- Forwarded message from Cooper Stevenson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> -----
From: Cooper Stevenson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Date: 28 Mar 2003 08:06:02 -0800
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Cc: PLUG Mailing List <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>,
Phil Barnhart <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>,
Ken Barber <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [PLUG] HB 2892 News Update
Friends,
Ken Barber and I spent yesterday at the Capitol building speaking with
legislators about HB 2892. I am encouraged to report to you that our
visit was a success.
First, the bill is scheduled for hearing before the General Government
Committee on Thursday, April 3rd. If there is general consensus, the
committee will hold a "workshop" to discuss the bill and if a majority
"okay's" the bill, they will send it on either to the House floor for a
vote or to another committee.
Secondly, the bill moves to the Ways and Means committee. Because this
bill has the potential for having a major financial impact on the State
(read: saving them a truckload of money), the Ways and Means committee
will look at the bill from a fiscal standpoint.
Finally, if the bill passes the Ways and Means committee, it is carried
to the House floor for a vote. If it makes it to the floor for a vote
you can bet that I will be _in_ the House chambers for that and will
keep you updated just as soon as the voting is closed.
Meanwhile, Joe Daunt with Rep. Barnhart's office has done a fantastic
job of organizing a diverse list of people to testify before the
Committee. I will update you when I know more.
Here are some of the highlights of our visit:
First, we now know that a representative from Microsoft has already been
to Rep. Krummel's office for a visit. Apparently, Microsoft told Krummel
that this is an "anti-Microsoft" bill. I am told that Krummel indicated
to the Microsoft representative to the effect that that was patently
false. I doubt that MS will get much traction with the legislature,
especially given the serious budget cuts they have recently endured.
By the way, Rep. Krummel is very knowledgeable about this issue. I
thought going into the meeting that I would be doing a lot of talking. I
learned very quickly in the meeting that I would be doing a lot of
listening. He already knew!! If you are a small business owner or care
about open source, this is one man you definitely want in your corner;
he is extremely knowledgeable about the challenges that face these two
groups.
Second, we have _huge_ support for this bill, including:
Steven McGeady, former VP of Intel.
Larry Rosen, Council for the Open Source Initiative
Joseph Scott Miller, Law professor at Lewis & Clark College
Quentin Harman, Technology Coordinator for Fern Ridge School District
Shane Warden, O'Reilly
There are many, many others. I have a three page list and we're still in
the early stages.
Red Hat contacted Rep. Barnhart's office while we were meeting with the
Committee legislators. I will follow up with them today.
Over the weekend Rep. Barnhart's office will work to get a better
picture of where the committee members' support lies with this bill. I
am scheduled to call at 1:00 p.m. on Monday to find out where our
efforts are needed in support of HB 2892.
On a personal note, I was truly amazed to see the system in action. The
capitol building is just absolutely humming with activity. I was witness
to a House floor vote. Let me tell you, when it comes time for a vote
they bar the doors and post the guards. These guys are not kidding.
The Representative's offices themselves each has a cubical area that is
open to the hallway as you pass by. The cubical is very accessible. One
feels invited to walk right up to their Representative's assistant and
schedule an appointment; it's just amazing! Overall I felt a sense that
the Representatives actually cared, that the work they do is important.
Again, thanks to all of you who have written, called, or visited in
support of this bill. I cannot stress enough that without your support
none of this would have happened.
If you haven't yet written or called your legislator in support of this
bill I urge you to do so. The toughest fight is yet to come and we need
all of the support we can get. If you need to find out who your
legislator is, you can find out here:
http://www.leg.state.or.us/findlegsltr/findset.htm
Please know that your legislators very much welcome your input. I
encourage each of you to take the time to schedule an appointment to
meet with them.
I'll keep you posted.
Very Truly Yours,
Cooper Stevenson
MWVLUG Coordinator
Em: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Www: http://www.mwvlug.org
_______________________________________________
PLUG mailing list
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug
----- End forwarded message -----
_______________________________________________
Eug-LUG mailing list
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://mailman.efn.org/cgi-bin/listinfo/eug-lug
