Become Informed

ACTION ALERT: Join those who oppose Assembly Bill AB 2072. This law would replace deaf/hard of hearing consumer organizations with early education centers on the list of resources for parents and families of newborns identified with hearing loss. Please send letters to Members of the Assembly Health Committee listed below on or before Tuesday, April 13, 2010 when they will consider this new bill.

Assembly member Mendoza (D) of Norwalk introduced a bill called AB 2072. The bill will be heard by the California Assembly Health Committee on Tuesday, April 13, 2010. The Assembly Health Committee Members will vote to either to support or oppose this bill.

ABOUT AB 2072: Existing law (the Newborn and Infant Hearing Screening, Tracking, and
Intervention Act) requires every general acute care hospital with licensed perinatal services to offer every newborn a hearing screening test and provide written information on the availability of community resources and services for children with hearing loss to their parents.
The California Early Start Intervention Services Act (known as the Early Start program) provides various early intervention services for infants and toddlers who have disabilities to enhance their development and to minimize the potential for developmental delays.

This bill provides that the written information shall be on all communication options for children with hearing loss, and that the information shall be provided to parents when their newborn or infant fails the hearing screening, at a follow-up appointment to diagnose a hearing loss, and at entry into the Early Start program. It would also specify additional items of information to be provided pursuant to these requirements.
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/09-10/bill/asm/ab_2051-2100/ab_2072_bill_20100218_introduced.html

ACTION needed: We urge voters to send a letter to your local legislator on the health committee to ask that they vote to oppose AB 2072. We encourage you to personalize the letter with your own experiences. To find address of your local legislator and for a sample template letter, click the links below.

How You Can Take Action

Sample Letters

SAMPLE LETTER

Contact Your Legislative Representatives

ASSEMBLY HEALTH COMMITTEE

1. Assembly Member William Monning, Chair, Assembly Health Committee
(D) District 27: Assemblymember.Monning@assembly.ca.gov

2. Assembly Member Nathan Fletcher, Vice Chair, Assembly Health Committee
(R) District 75: Assemblymember.Fletcher@assembly.ca.gov

3. Assembly Member Tom Ammiano, Assembly Health Committee
(D) District 13: Assemblymember.Ammiano@assembly.ca.gov

4. Assembly Member Wilmer Amina Carter, Assembly Health Committee
(D) District 62: Assemblymember.Carter@assembly.ca.gov

5. Assembly Member Mike Eng, Assembly Health Committee
(D) District 49: Assemblymember.Eng@assembly.ca.gov

6. Assembly Member Ted Gaines, Assembly Health Committee
(R) District 4: Assemblymember.Gaines@assembly.ca.gov

7. Assembly Member Mary Hayashi, Assembly Health Committee
(D) District 18: Assemblymember.Hayashi@assembly.ca.gov

8. Assembly Member Bonnie Lowenthal, Assembly Health Committee
(D) District 54: Assemblymember.Lowenthal@assembly.ca.gov

9. Assembly Member Pedro Nava, Assembly Health Committee
(D) District 35: Assemblymember.Nava@assembly.ca.gov

10. Assembly Member V. Manuel Perez, Assembly Health Committee
(D) District 80: Assemblymember.Perez@assembly.ca.gov

11. Assembly Audra Strickland, Assembly Health Committee
(R) District 37: Assemblymember.Strickland@assembly.ca.gov

12. Assembly Kevin de Leon, Assembly Health Committee
(D) District 45: Assemblymember.deLeon@assembly.ca.gov

13. Assembly Bill Emmerson, Assembly Health Committee
(R) District 63: Assemblymember.emmerson@assembly.ca.gov

14. Assembly Cameron Smyth, Assembly Health Committee
(R) District 38: Assemblymember.Smyth@assembly.ca.gov

15. Assembly Mary Salas, Assembly Health Committee
(D) District 79: Assemblymember.Salas@assembly.ca.gov

16. Assembly Member Hector De La Torre, Assembly Health Committee
(D) District 50: Assemblymember.DeLaTorre@assembly.ca.gov

17. Assembly Member Connie Conway, Assembly Health Committee
(R) District 34: Assemblymember.Conway@assembly.ca.gov

18. Assembly Member Dave Jones, Assembly Health Committee
(D) District 9: Assemblymember.jones@assembly.ca.gov

19. Assembly Member Edward Hernandez, Assembly Health Committee
(D) District 57: Assemblymember.Hernandez@assembly.ca.gov