1. Peter Mannella Executive Director & Lobbyist March 19, 2018
BUDGET ADVOCACY 2018
Peter Mannella
Executive Director & Lobbyist
March 19, 2018

2. WHY are we making contact?
We are in the middle of final negotiations for the State Budget.
The 2% growth cap proposal by the Governor has been rejected by both houses and is therefore off the table.
The STOP ARM CAMERA proposal from the Governor is IN the Senate’s one-house budget but was NOT in the Assembly bill.
WHY we are making contacts is to (1) convince the Assembly to join the Senate in accepting the Governor’s proposal for the STOP ARM CAMERAS, and (2) ensure the Senate stands its ground. That is the very simple ASK to the legislators.

3. WHO are we contacting?
We are asking you to contact your own Senators and Assembly Members FIRST.
We are asking you to contact ALL of the members of the Assembly and Senate Budget Conference Committees.
We are asking you to contact legislators who are currently sponsors of the Young-Magnarelli Camera bill.
We are asking you to encourage (but you cannot require) your staff members to make similar contact with their legislators.

4. WHEN are we making contact?
Monday Messaging! Monday Messaging!
We need to contact these folks on Monday as early as possible.
To make it easier, we have posted addresses and messages on the ADVOCACY webpage.
MONDAY MORNING MESSAGING!

5. WHAT are we saying? TO YOUR ASSEMBLY MEMBERS
“(Assemblyman/woman) The Governor’s budget proposal included authorization for school districts to install stop arm cameras on school buses to help them reduce the incidence of motorists illegally passing stopped school buses.
We were disappointed to learn that the Assembly has decided to omit that important child safety proposal from its one-house budget bill. The Senate has included it in their budget.
We ask that you share your support for including stop arm cameras when the final state budget is negotiated. We really need this technology to help us protect our children from passing motorists and to increase the extent to which we can identify and ticket those motorists. This is an optional/non-mandated program for schools that can be done at no cost to district taxpayers.
Please express your support for these stop arm cameras and for the children.”

6. WHAT are we saying? TO YOUR SENATORS
“Senator I am urging your continued support the Governor’s budget proposal for allowing stop arm cameras on school buses to help us reduce the incidence of motorists illegally passing our school buses.
The Governor has included the proposal in his budget. We are pleased that the Senate accepted that proposal in its one-house budget bill and we are asking that you be vigilant to any efforts to take the camera proposal out of the final budget bill.
Thank you for your continuing support for school bus safety and your support for this critical Stop Arm Camera initiative.”

7. HOW do we reach these folks?
We can reach them in their district offices on Monday morning by phone.
You can copy the texts we have provided for each target group and paste them into an as appropriate.
Or you can read the text in its entirety or in edited form over the phone.
We have posted all these texts on the website and have also posted the message texts for your ease of use.
works but a local phone call from you works as well.

8. DO we need to report on this?
Please send an to to let us know that you took action and WHO you contacted. Do not use our usual . Please use this special purpose address.
There is no need to send us a copy of your . Just the fact that you made the connection.

9. LET’S DO THIS!