What’s new for HDA in Fall 2014 Season

We have continued to work with our lobbyist to contact elected officials and garner support. We have managed to gain different levels of support, from being behind us in principal but needing to see a final Bill to be ‘on the record’ to having one party work with us on developing a Bill and another committing to sponsor a companion Bill in the other chamber. There is still a long way to go, but we are most certainly gaining ground!

We personally have a meeting with our representatives (Rep. Burgess) on Sept. 16th, with Sen. Cornyn’s scheduler trying to get us squeezed in, and a bit less luck with Sen. Cruz’s office. The lobbyist is also putting a bit of pressure on them to sit down with us while in DC to meet with Rep. Burgess, so hopefully we’ll have more than just the one meeting.

The following week will be another trip to DC, as the lobbyist managed to arrange a meeting with legislators- and even the administrator- of the TTB (Sept. 23). A couple of the other HDA leaders will make the trip to DC for that meeting. While we do not expect the TTB to get behind our efforts, we do hope that by working with them and addressing any concerns, that we can at least have them not against us or our effort. I think that the fact they are willing to sit down with us shows that they are willing to hear what we have to say and potentially work with us, so it is likely to be a productive meeting.

In case anyone is concerned that their membership fees are paying for us to travel the world, everyone going to these meetings is responsible for their own travel expenses. No money from the HDA is being used for such purposes. In fact, the HDA has already spent more on lobbying expenses ($3K/mth) than it has brought in. This is why the HDA could not be formed as a separate, non-profit corporation. Restrictions on non-profits would have meant that we would have been forced to stop working with the lobbyist, and the effort would have died.

So, there is the latest. The HDA is very much continuing to push for legalization. If you have not already joined- even at the free level- please consider doing so. The larger our membership number the better this looks when we meet with our representatives. Also, please take the time to download a packet from the HDA’s website and send it to your representatives, or call their office to ask for their support if and when a Bill hits the floor!