Tues, Feb 17th SB9 Hearing Plan @ AnnapolisMsma

Planning Out What We do at the Hearing on Tuesday 

First two vital reminders:

1. If you have not sent in your letters, e-mails etc. please do so ASAP;
2. If you plan to contribute to the our effort, please go to our Indiegogo site:https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/stop-utility-company-bullying or mail your donation to:
   Americans for Safe Technology
   2507 Willow Glen Dr.
   Baltimore, MD 21209

The Senate Finance Committee will hold a hearing on our bill, SB 9 and its accompanying amendments on Tuesday, Feb 17th.  The hearing will start at 1:00 PM in the Finance Committee meeting room in the 11 Bladen St. Miller Office Building, 3 East Wing. 

There is no certainty when our bill will come up that afternoon.  The plan right now is to have a panel of five speakers from MSMA.  The entire panel will have only 15 minutes to speak.  In years past we tried to cram every second with information.  I suspected, and that suspicion was confirmed by our lobbyist, that the elected reps lose interest.  Instead we are putting the detail in our written testimony and just highlighting a few points per speaker.  My goal is that each speaker should be relaxed and focused on reaching the elected reps.  If we can, I want to able to tell at least one anecdote per speaker.  The anecdote will help them remember major points.  For example, the bullying topic will include a story of the installer who threatened a grandmother who refused a smart meter.  Here are the topics we are covering: 

Me: Overview issues 
Anita: Health Issues 
Ruthie: Overbilling and Appliance Damage 
SueAnn:  Bullying 
Kate: Why Smart Meters are Not Needed for the Grid 

If you sign up before noon that day, you can speak as well.  

If you have something to say that is different, I encourage you to show up and sign up. 

There is a good reason for this.  The elected reps have to deal with a zillion bills every session.  Their time is very limited, so repetitive testimony is either going to get ignored or make them upset at us. 

If you want to submit testimony in writing, you must provide 25 copies and it must be submitted before noon of the hearing.   Here are some suggested things we are NOT covering in our testimony or only very lightly touching it:

1. fires
2. an example of how a financially stressed person or family tries to cope with the opt out fees
3. an example of how a person got sick from the meters or was told to avoid any contact with them by  a medical professional

If you feel comfortable talking about one of these topics, you should try to testify. 

I know Lynn Beiber has some useful information on fires.  It might be nice to inform the committee how quickly the utility grabbed the meter after the fire and did not make it available for examination (assuming that is true).  At least create some concern in their minds. 

Bonnie and John Phair could talk about the financial impact of the fee on their monthly energy bills.  If you are planning to come and testify, I would greatly appreciate you letting me know in advance so we can look for you.  Even if you don’t testify, I would like to have our folks in the audience so the Committee members see how much interest there is in the bill.  I would just urge everyone to act polite even though you might hear one of our opponents say something outrageous.   
We are going to use the break room in the House building at 6 Bladen St. as a staging area before the hearing.  I plan to get there about 10:30 AM.  If you need to reach me, my cell phone number is 410 262-1054.  That area is located just to right of the place where you go through security.   Be sure to bring  a photo ID, or they won’t let you into the building. 

For those of you coming from Baltimore, I have van that seats 12 in case you would like a ride with me.  But you have to let me know so that I will know we have enough room for everyone.  I will be leaving my home (2507 Willow Glen Dr.) at about 9:15 AM the day of the hearing.  I plan to return to Baltimore after the hearing after having a chance to speak with Barbara Hoffman and Delegate Glass.  If we have time, we will try to have a debrief either in Delegate Glass’ office or the Artemis offices.   We might easily end up getting home after 6:00 PM, although I will try to avoid that. 

Hope to see you there.   
Jonathan Libber