Hello, Everyone! We just got word late yesterday that the Senate Education Committee worked out a compromise amendment to, "Aidan's Law," (SB 606) and they are most likely going to hold a committee vote this Tuesday, June 11th! If the bill does not pass committee, we're done. If it passes, it goes to the full Senate floor for a vote and we keep moving. But we still have a long way to go before this becomes an actual law.......
This is a huge step and we REALLY need your help. And it'll take only a few minutes of your time. Please help by calling a few (or all of them, if your inspired.....) of the members of the Senate Education Committee and encourage them to vote in favor of SB 606 on Tuesday. If you're looking for what to say specifically, say something like this:
"Hello, my name is __________ and I am calling to encourage Senator ______ to vote in favor of SB 606, also known as, "Aidan's Law" when the Education Committee meets on Tuesday, June 11th. As a citizen of Pennsylvania, and as a parent, this is a bill that will undoubtedly save children's lives and I want to see it passed as soon as possible. I look forward to seeing Senator _______'s "yes" vote on Tuesday. Thank you."
Adjust however you want, but that's the gist of all you have to say. Won't take long. Below is a list of the members of the state Senate Education Committee. If you can only make one or two phone calls, please consider calling a Republican member of the committee, as they have been a bit slower thus far to support the measure, as they don't like the idea of forcing more mandates upon school districts. We respect that, but feel the benefits of lives saved trump the fact that this is another thing districts have to do. Honestly, they should have been doing this already.
So call the following folks:
Republicans:
Sen. Mike Folmer, Chairman: 717-787-5708
Sen. Patrick Browne: 717-787-1349
Sen. Jake Corman: 717-787-1377
Sen. Stewart Greenleaf: 717-787-6599 (co-sponsor)
Sen. Lloyd Smucker, Vice Chair: 717-787-5072
Sen. Robert Tomlinson: 717-787-5072
Sen. Joseph Scarnati (Ex-Officio): 717-787-7084
Democrats:
Sen. Andrew Dinniman, Minority Chair: 717-787-5709 (author of bill and primary sponsor)
Sen. Daylin Leach: 717-787-5544 (co-sponsor)
Sen. Rob Teplitz: 717-787-6801 (co-sponsor)
Sen. Anthony Williams: 717-787-5970 (co-sponsor)
I think it's safe to assume the co-sponsors will vote yes, so if you can call only one or a few, call the ones that do NOT have a co-sponsor label next to their name. If you have any questions, give me a call (484-678-9190) or shoot me an email (sjsilva12@gmail.com).
Thank you, thank you, thank you for your help. Once I hear the results of Tuesday's vote, I'll update here. Until then, get on the phone!!!
Love to all,
Steve and Christy
Friday, June 7, 2013
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
All About Our Bill (SB 606)
In case you're wondering what exactly it is we're asking you to support, check out the text, sponsors, and more about Aidan's Law (SB 606) by clicking on the following link:
http://legiscan.com/PA/bill/SB606
We learned today that Sen. Folmer, Majority Chair of the Senate Education Committee, is currently deciding whether or not to present our bill to the committee. If he does, and if the committee votes for our bill, it will then go to the Senate floor.
So how important are your phone calls to Mr. Folmer at the moment? EXTREMELY!!!! Please take a second and make the call. Move that bill forward!
Sen. Mike Folmer: 717-787-5708
Oh! ANY PENNSYLVANIA RESIDENT 18 YEARS OF AGE AND OLDER CAN CALL!!!! You don't have to live in his district. So ask your spouse, your friends, your co-workers, and your cool 20-year-old niece to make the call in support of SB 606.
They're expecting you ;)
xoxo
http://legiscan.com/PA/bill/SB606
We learned today that Sen. Folmer, Majority Chair of the Senate Education Committee, is currently deciding whether or not to present our bill to the committee. If he does, and if the committee votes for our bill, it will then go to the Senate floor.
So how important are your phone calls to Mr. Folmer at the moment? EXTREMELY!!!! Please take a second and make the call. Move that bill forward!
Sen. Mike Folmer: 717-787-5708
Oh! ANY PENNSYLVANIA RESIDENT 18 YEARS OF AGE AND OLDER CAN CALL!!!! You don't have to live in his district. So ask your spouse, your friends, your co-workers, and your cool 20-year-old niece to make the call in support of SB 606.
They're expecting you ;)
xoxo
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
30 Hours for 30 Months
As you've learned, Aidan's Law (now officially SB 606) has successfully leaped over the first hurdle by making its way into committe-- THANKS TO YOUR PHONECALLS, EMAILS, and SIGNATURES. Your efforts have gotten the bill in the door of the PA Senate-- now, we need you to help it get to the floor.
Our current challenge is to get the bill passed by the PA Senate Education Committee so that it will go to the full Senate Floor for a vote. If all goes well, then SB 606 is off to the State House of Representatives and we'll be halfway to making this proposed legislation a full-fledged state law.
So we're again asking for your help. This past Monday marked thirty months since we lost Aidan, and in a bittersweet twist of irony, it was also the first day SB 606 officially spent in the Pennsylvania law-making process.
Tomorrow at noon, there will be 30 hours left in the week until Harrisburg's halls clear out for the weekend. We want to bombard the Senate Education Committee with our support and urge them to vote for Aidan's Law/ SB 606. Can you carve out a few minutes of those 30 hours to help ensure that our schools will be heart-safe for kids?
Here's what we're asking you to do:
CONTACT THE MEMBERS OF THE SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE AND ASK THEM TO MOVE SB 606 TO THE FULL SENATE FLOOR FOR A VOTE.
There are two senators that we're particularly interested in, so if you don't have time to contact all committeemembers, PLEASE focus on these two:
Senator Mike Folmer (R), Chair of the Senate Education Committee. He is the one who decides if the bill will even see the light of day in the committee itself. Call him, urge him to bring the bill to a vote, and encourage him to support SB 606. Sen. Folmer's phone number is 717-787-5708.
The second person to call is Senator Dominic Pileggi (R), the Senate Majority Leader. As Senate Majority Leader, has the ability to use his position of leadership to encourage forward progress on any legislation in the Senate. What's more, over 20% of your signatures came from his district alone. Let him know! Urge HIM to encourage the Education Committee to bring SB 606 to a vote and ask him to support it as well. Trust us, he's WELL AWARE of this bill. Sen. Pileggi's phone number is: 717-787-4712.
The other members of the Education Committee whose "yes" we need are:
Senator Lloyd K. Smucker (R), Vice Chair: 717-787-6535
Senator Joseph Scarnati III (R), Ex-Officio: 717-787-7084
Senator Patrick Browne (R): 717-787-1349
Senator Jake Corman (R): 717-787-1377
Senator Stewart Greenleaf (R): 717-787-6599
Senator Robert Tomlinson (R): 717-787-5072
Senator Daylin Leach (D): 717-787-5544
Senator Rob Teplitz (D): 717-787-6801
Senator Anthony Williams: 717-787-5970
Remember, you can contact ANY of these senators. It DOES NOT MATTER which district you live in, as long as you're a PA resident.
And please ask your spouse, friends, and any children ages 18 or older to do the same!!!
If you choose to email, here's a sample text you can use:
------------------------
I will keep you posted as this important legislation moves through process.
---------------------
As always, thank you for your support and thank you for helping us make the effort to keep our kids here in Pennsylvania safe.
All the best,
Christy and Steve
Our current challenge is to get the bill passed by the PA Senate Education Committee so that it will go to the full Senate Floor for a vote. If all goes well, then SB 606 is off to the State House of Representatives and we'll be halfway to making this proposed legislation a full-fledged state law.
So we're again asking for your help. This past Monday marked thirty months since we lost Aidan, and in a bittersweet twist of irony, it was also the first day SB 606 officially spent in the Pennsylvania law-making process.
Tomorrow at noon, there will be 30 hours left in the week until Harrisburg's halls clear out for the weekend. We want to bombard the Senate Education Committee with our support and urge them to vote for Aidan's Law/ SB 606. Can you carve out a few minutes of those 30 hours to help ensure that our schools will be heart-safe for kids?
Here's what we're asking you to do:
CONTACT THE MEMBERS OF THE SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE AND ASK THEM TO MOVE SB 606 TO THE FULL SENATE FLOOR FOR A VOTE.
There are two senators that we're particularly interested in, so if you don't have time to contact all committeemembers, PLEASE focus on these two:
Senator Mike Folmer (R), Chair of the Senate Education Committee. He is the one who decides if the bill will even see the light of day in the committee itself. Call him, urge him to bring the bill to a vote, and encourage him to support SB 606. Sen. Folmer's phone number is 717-787-5708.
The second person to call is Senator Dominic Pileggi (R), the Senate Majority Leader. As Senate Majority Leader, has the ability to use his position of leadership to encourage forward progress on any legislation in the Senate. What's more, over 20% of your signatures came from his district alone. Let him know! Urge HIM to encourage the Education Committee to bring SB 606 to a vote and ask him to support it as well. Trust us, he's WELL AWARE of this bill. Sen. Pileggi's phone number is: 717-787-4712.
The other members of the Education Committee whose "yes" we need are:
Senator Lloyd K. Smucker (R), Vice Chair: 717-787-6535
Senator Joseph Scarnati III (R), Ex-Officio: 717-787-7084
Senator Patrick Browne (R): 717-787-1349
Senator Jake Corman (R): 717-787-1377
Senator Stewart Greenleaf (R): 717-787-6599
Senator Robert Tomlinson (R): 717-787-5072
Senator Daylin Leach (D): 717-787-5544
Senator Rob Teplitz (D): 717-787-6801
Senator Anthony Williams: 717-787-5970
Remember, you can contact ANY of these senators. It DOES NOT MATTER which district you live in, as long as you're a PA resident.
And please ask your spouse, friends, and any children ages 18 or older to do the same!!!
If you choose to email, here's a sample text you can use:
------------------------
Hi Everyone,
I need your help. As many of you know, Steve and Christy Silva have recently developed legislation to require
Automatic External Defibrillator's (AED) in every public school in PA.
This legislation called "Aidan's Law" SB 606 is currently in the Senate
Education Committee and needs to be voted on to move to the full floor.
I ask you to please take a minute, right now, to call Senator Mike Folmer at 717-274-6735 and Senator Dominic Pileggi at 717-787-4712.
Tell them you are a PA resident and you want them to protect our
children's hearts by voting yes to "Aidan's Law" SB 606. If they don't
answer, leave a message.
Please make sure everyone in your house who is 18 calls, too!
Thank you, Thank you!
I will keep you posted as this important legislation moves through process.
Love,
---------------------
As always, thank you for your support and thank you for helping us make the effort to keep our kids here in Pennsylvania safe.
All the best,
Christy and Steve
Monday, March 4, 2013
Wait! We're Not Done! We Need (More of) Your Help!!!
Hold on! Don't go anywhere! We can't put our feet up just yet!
I've been getting a number of email/Facebook messages/texts saying, "Congrats on passing Aidan's Law!!!" But we haven't! Yet!
I'm learning my civics lessons all over again, and if I've been misleading in any post, I apologize (it just means that I sent them out without first consulting with my wise husband, Mr. History Teacher-- AP US, no less).
I've nabbed an image of the "How a Bill Becomes a Law" process to supplement this explanation (and I studied the image before I wrote-- Steve's in the middle of PHS baseball tryouts at the moment, so I'm on my own...)
Do you love that picture or what?! So, where we are right now is THE SECOND BLUE CIRCLE FROM THE TOP ON THE LEFT, "Committee Hearings". Each 'down' arrow represents a passing vote, which enables the proposed legislation to move to the next level.
The point is, WE STILL NEED YOUR HELP!!!! And actually, we probably will need it for some time-- you can see how many "bubbles" there are to jump through. Can we count on you?
So, what we HAVE accomplished is that Aidan's Law, or SB 606, has been successfully introduced by its original author (Sen. Dinniman) and referred to the Senate Education Committee. It will continue the process of being considered to ultimately become a Pennsylvania law. Without your efforts, our proposed legislation would have already been squashed, and we'd have to start at square one. Which is a tiny, overcrowded, competitive little square, so we'd rather not go back there...
At this point, SB 606 is being considered by the Senate Education Committee for review. The senators on the committee will study it, research it, and will soon vote on it. If they vote "yes," we keep moving ahead, and SB 606 goes to the full Senate floor. If they vote "no," then we're done. Totally done. And Aidan's Law has no hope of getting passed.
(I need a review of whether or not the committee needs a quorum-- ha! aren't you impressed that I remembered that word??? although I probably didn't use it correctly-- or a majority, or just the coolest people to vote 'for' the bill in order to move it to the floor. Will consult my beloved.)
If SB 606 gets to the full Senate floor, it needs to be voted for again by the entire Senate. If passed, it goes to the House of Representatives, and much of the process is repeated. If it's not passed, we're done. Totally done.
WHAT YOU CAN DO RIGHT NOW: Regardless of which/whose senatorial district you live in, PLEASE CALL, EMAIL, or WRITE ANY OR ALL (all would be optimal, of course) SENATORS OF THE EDUCATION COMMITTEE, particularly Mr. Folmer, the majority chair of the committee. Click here to view the Education Committee homepage; click any name to reveal his contact information.
THIS STEP IS AS IMPORTANT AS THE LAST-- signing the petition and calling your local senators is what got us IN the committee-- now we need to get ON the full Senate floor.
Two minutes, maybe ten, to ensure that you've done your part at this juncture to better protect kids' hearts in PA-- inaction at this point could negate the efforts you've already taken. PLEASE CONTACT THE SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE TODAY!!!
We have no word on when they will be voting on Aidan's Law/ SB 606. We'll keep you updated.
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!
Christy
I've been getting a number of email/Facebook messages/texts saying, "Congrats on passing Aidan's Law!!!" But we haven't! Yet!
I'm learning my civics lessons all over again, and if I've been misleading in any post, I apologize (it just means that I sent them out without first consulting with my wise husband, Mr. History Teacher-- AP US, no less).
I've nabbed an image of the "How a Bill Becomes a Law" process to supplement this explanation (and I studied the image before I wrote-- Steve's in the middle of PHS baseball tryouts at the moment, so I'm on my own...)
 |
| Click image to visit original source |
Do you love that picture or what?! So, where we are right now is THE SECOND BLUE CIRCLE FROM THE TOP ON THE LEFT, "Committee Hearings". Each 'down' arrow represents a passing vote, which enables the proposed legislation to move to the next level.
The point is, WE STILL NEED YOUR HELP!!!! And actually, we probably will need it for some time-- you can see how many "bubbles" there are to jump through. Can we count on you?
So, what we HAVE accomplished is that Aidan's Law, or SB 606, has been successfully introduced by its original author (Sen. Dinniman) and referred to the Senate Education Committee. It will continue the process of being considered to ultimately become a Pennsylvania law. Without your efforts, our proposed legislation would have already been squashed, and we'd have to start at square one. Which is a tiny, overcrowded, competitive little square, so we'd rather not go back there...
At this point, SB 606 is being considered by the Senate Education Committee for review. The senators on the committee will study it, research it, and will soon vote on it. If they vote "yes," we keep moving ahead, and SB 606 goes to the full Senate floor. If they vote "no," then we're done. Totally done. And Aidan's Law has no hope of getting passed.
(I need a review of whether or not the committee needs a quorum-- ha! aren't you impressed that I remembered that word??? although I probably didn't use it correctly-- or a majority, or just the coolest people to vote 'for' the bill in order to move it to the floor. Will consult my beloved.)
If SB 606 gets to the full Senate floor, it needs to be voted for again by the entire Senate. If passed, it goes to the House of Representatives, and much of the process is repeated. If it's not passed, we're done. Totally done.
WHAT YOU CAN DO RIGHT NOW: Regardless of which/whose senatorial district you live in, PLEASE CALL, EMAIL, or WRITE ANY OR ALL (all would be optimal, of course) SENATORS OF THE EDUCATION COMMITTEE, particularly Mr. Folmer, the majority chair of the committee. Click here to view the Education Committee homepage; click any name to reveal his contact information.
THIS STEP IS AS IMPORTANT AS THE LAST-- signing the petition and calling your local senators is what got us IN the committee-- now we need to get ON the full Senate floor.
Two minutes, maybe ten, to ensure that you've done your part at this juncture to better protect kids' hearts in PA-- inaction at this point could negate the efforts you've already taken. PLEASE CONTACT THE SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE TODAY!!!
We have no word on when they will be voting on Aidan's Law/ SB 606. We'll keep you updated.
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!
Christy
Sunday, March 3, 2013
Friday, March 1, 2013
SB 606: Aidan's Law for AEDs in PA Schools
There it is, everyone! There it is.
Aidan's Law for AEDs in Schools is officially Senate Bill 606.
Senator Dinniman introduced our legislation to the Pennsylvania Senate yesterday, and it was well-enough received to be referred into committee. We're now awaiting word of which committee SB 606 will be assigned to.
When officially assigned a committee, we will be able to view SB 606 via this link:
http://www.legis.state.pa.us/index.cfm (and enter SB606 in the "Find Legislation By" box)
A HUGE first step!!!!! CONGRATS to all who have had a hand in getting us here!!!
Oh-- and we're just 21 signatures shy of 2,500 on the petition-- can we close out the day at 2,500???
Petition Link:
http://www.change.org/petitions/pa-residents-call-pa-senators-to-co-sponsor-aidan-s-law-keeping-aed-s-in-our-schools?utm_source=guides&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=petition_created#
Have a great weekend, PA!
Thursday, February 28, 2013
IT'S TIME!!!
TODAY'S THE DAY!!!
SENATOR DINNIMAN WILL BE INTRODUCING OUR AED BILL, AIDAN'S LAW, INTO THE PENNSYLVANIA SENATE TODAY!!!!
And you, awesome supporters, have brought on FOUR MORE SENATORS to co-sponsor the bill, bringing the total number, including Senator Dinniman, to SEVENTEEN!!!
Our gratitude goes out to every single person who has signed our petition, made a phonecall to his or her senator, and spread word in support of requiring AEDs in public schools in PA. You are doing it!!!! This is going to happen!!!!
Our new co-sponsors are:
Senator Stewart Greenleaf (R-12): Parts of Montgomery and Bucks counties
Senator Leanna Washington (D-4): Parts of Philadelphia and Montgomery counties
Senator Christine Tartaglione (D-2): Philadelphia (city and county)
Senator Tim Solobay (D-46): All of Greene county and parts of Washington and Westmoreland counties
That's 17 out of Pennsylvania's 50 senatorial districts!!! HUGE!!!!!
Check 'em out: 1, 2, 4, 11, 12, 15, 17, 19, 20, 26, 32, 36, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46
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| Click on map to view original source |
WE'LL KEEP YOU POSTED AS SOON AS WE GET WORD!!!!
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