After meeting with members of the HSUS and some Nevada senators on Friday, we now have a bit of new information to give. We have been told by a member of HSUS that the bill will be introduced next Wednesday, March 13. The HSUS has to rush, because they only have until March 18 to get the bill introduced, or they miss the deadline and it just goes away.

None of this information is etched in stone, so please bear that in mind. The first stop for this bill will be the Senate Natural Resources committee in Carson City. This committee is made up of 5 people, 3 Democrats and 2 Republicans. Both of the Republicans are going to vote against any regulations that will be proposed. Two of the Democrats are going to vote to ban exotics. That leaves us with one swing vote, a Democrat in Las Vegas by the name of Aaron Ford. If we can get Senator Ford, or even one of the other two Democrats to vote against this bill, it's over and we win. It's that simple. Senator Mark Manendo is a co-sponsor of the bill, so talking him out of supporting his own bill is moot. However, there is Tick Segerblom, also of Las Vegas, who might be turned. We should explore all avenues.

Here's how I think this is going to work. The bill will be introduced next Wednesday. It will then be scheduled to go before the committee. They will have a hearing and will vote up or down. If it is voted down, it's over, we win. If it's voted up, it will move on to the Nevada Assembly for another vote in their Natural Resources committee. If it passes, it will go to the floor of the Nevada Congress for a vote. If it passes it goes before the Governor to be signed. We need to stop this bill NOW, while it's only in the hands of 5 people, two of which are on our side. Here's a list of the committee members:

Aaron D. Ford - Chair <<<<<<<<<<< Swing vote!!
Mark A. Manendo - Vice Chair <<<<<<<< voting for the bill, as he is co sponsor of it
Tick Segerblom <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< Democrat who says he's voting for bill. We need to reach out to him.
James A. Settelmeyer <<<<<<<<<<<<<< on our side, will vote against
Pete Goicoechea <<<<<<<<<<<<<< on our side, will vote against.

This link will send you to the Nevada Legislative home page. From there you can find all kinds of info.
Nevada Legislature

This is Senator Ford's contact info
Aaron.Ford@sen.state.nv.us
P.O. Box 96003
Las Vegas, NV 89193-6003
702-772-5544
Secretary:
Lauren Brooks
Lauren.Brooks@sen.state.nv.us

This is Senator Segerblom's contact info
tsegerblom@sen.state.nv.us
700 South Third Street
Las Vegas, NV 89101-6703
775-684-1422
Secretary:
Adrian Viesca
Adrian.Viesca@sen.state.nv.us

Once the bill has been introduced for sure, I'll let everyone know. At that time, we need EVERYONE to write, call and email these Senators. There will also be a link on the bill itself, once it's published on the Nevada Legislature homepage, that will enable YOU to actually vote on the bill with the click of a button. Don't start writing now, as they will not have a clue what you are talking about until the bill has been introduced. But once it's introduced, we need to hammer away at this. I estimate that the time between introduction and the committee actually voting on the bill will be about 5 days or less. We'll have less then 5 days to get these people to see it our way. Time will be short, so it's important that we all work together, and quickly.

Once the hearing is scheduled, we're going to need everyone possible in northern Nevada to be at the hearing in Carson City. Here in Vegas, we can all attend the hearing from the state government building on Washington, across from Cashman Field. We will be able to testify via video from there. We need EVERYONE THERE. I'd like to pack the room with a couple hundred people, so they can see us, and let them know how we feel. We will outnumber the HSUS people 50 to 1. We can win, we can do this. Hundreds of letters, emails and phone calls to the Senators before the hearing will go a long way.