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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p><b><span style='color:red'>Please call your CA Assembly member now and ask them to oppose AB 2844.</span></b><b> </b>This bill attempts to restrict our right to boycott and<b> </b>is intended to silence those critical of Israel’s occupation, apartheid and other violations of human rights and international law. <b>The bill is scheduled to be heard on June 2, so please call now</b>.<o:p></o:p></p><p>Sacramento area Assembly member numbers are below, if you aren’t sure who your Assembly member is, go to: <a href="http://findyourrep.legislature.ca.gov/">http://findyourrep.legislature.ca.gov/</a><o:p></o:p></p><p><b><span style='color:red'>S</span></b><b><span style='color:red'>imply identify yourself and say you are calling to ask the Assemblymember to vote no on AB 2844.</span></b> You can give a short reason for your opposition or just say you want them to vote no.<o:p></o:p></p><p><b>More info:</b> Although AB 2844 has been amended for the time being to remove specific reference to Israel and immediate imposition of sanctions against companies who boycott Israel<b>, it still is attempting to undermine our constitutionally protected right to boycott</b>. As currently written, AB 2844 would waste our taxes by requiring the CA Attorney General to: 1) maintain a list of all companies that “engage in discriminatory business practices in furtherance of a boycott of any sovereign nation or peoples recognized by the government of the United States” and 2) determine the constitutionality of banning such companies from entering into public contracts. <b>Discrimination is already illegal. Boycotting human rights violating governments should not be penalized</b>. Although this bill is part of the Israel lobby’s attempt to try to stop successfully boycott and divestment practices aimed at changing Israeli abusive policies, it would apply to any governments. For more information, below is the floor alert being sent to all Assembly members<o:p></o:p></p><p><b><u>Sacramento Area Assembly members:</u></b> <o:p></o:p></p><p style='margin-left:.5in'>Kevin McCarty<br>Tel: <a href="tel:%28916%29%20319-2010" target="_blank">(916) 319-2007</a><br>Fax: <a href="tel:%28916%29%20319-2110" target="_blank">(916) 319-2107</a> <o:p></o:p></p><p style='margin-left:.5in'><b>Ken Cooley</b><br>Tel: <a href="tel:%28916%29%20319-2010" target="_blank">(916) 319-2008</a><br>Fax: <a href="tel:%28916%29%20319-2110" target="_blank">(916) 319-2108</a><o:p></o:p></p><p style='margin-left:.5in'><b>Jim Cooper</b><br>Tel: <a href="tel:%28916%29%20319-2010" target="_blank">(916) 319-2009</a><br>Fax: <a href="tel:%28916%29%20319-2110" target="_blank">(916) 319-210<b>9</b></a><b><br></b><br><b>Bill Dodd</b><br>Tel: <a href="tel:%28916%29%20319-2010" target="_blank">(916) 319-2004</a><br>Fax: <a href="tel:%28916%29%20319-2110" target="_blank">(916) 319-2104</a><br><br><b>Beth Gaines</b><br>Tel: <a href="tel:%28916%29%20319-2010" target="_blank">(916) 319-2006</a><br>Fax: <a href="tel:%28916%29%20319-2110" target="_blank">(916) 319-2106</a><br><br><b>James Gallagher</b><br>Tel: <a href="tel:%28916%29%20319-2010" target="_blank">(916) 319-2008</a><br>Fax: <a href="tel:%28916%29%20319-2110" target="_blank">(916) 319-2108</a><o:p></o:p></p><p><b>If you can, please also call these Assembly leaders:<o:p></o:p></b></p><p style='margin-left:.5in'> <b>Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon <a href="tel:916-319-2063" target="_blank">916-319-2063</a></b> <o:p></o:p></p><p style='margin-left:.5in'>Majority Floor Leader Ian Calderon <a href="tel:%28916%29%20319-2057" target="_blank">(916) 319-2057</a> <o:p></o:p></p><p style='margin-left:.5in'>Majority Whip Miguel Santiago <a href="tel:%28916%29%20319-2053" target="_blank">(916) 319-2053</a> <o:p></o:p></p><p style='margin-left:.5in'>Democratic Whip Nora Campos <a href="tel:%28916%29%20319-2027" target="_blank">(916) 319-2027</a><o:p></o:p></p><p style='margin-left:.5in'>Asst. Majority Whip Evan Low <a href="tel:%28916%29%20319-2028" target="_blank">(916) 319-2028</a> <o:p></o:p></p><p style='margin-left:.5in'>Minority Floor Leader Chad Mayes <a href="tel:%28916%29%20319-2042" target="_blank">(916) 319-2042</a> <o:p></o:p></p><p><u>The important thing is to call today!</u> They will be voting on so many bills Thursday that they won't have time to read up on all of them in their latest, amended forms. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto'><a name="m_8336486957649846885__GoBack"></a><u><span style='font-size:16.0pt'>Assembly Floor Alert</span></u><span style='font-size:16.0pt'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto'><b><span style='font-size:16.0pt'>Why AB 2844 still must be defeated</span></b><span style='font-size:16.0pt'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-bottom:3.0pt'><u><span style='font-size:15.0pt'>Coalition to Stop AB 2844: <a href="mailto:stop.1551.1552@gmail.com" target="_blank">stop.1551.1552@gmail.com</a>; 916 407-2814 (message line)</span></u><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-bottom:6.0pt'><b>AB 2844, narrowed by constitutionality concerns to the extent that its own author no longer supports it, remains highly problematic for many of the same reasons that plagued it from the start. It should be defeated altogether.</b><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto'><u>BACKGROUND</u><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-bottom:3.0pt'>In its April 17 analysis, the Assembly Judiciary Committee identified “insurmountable” constitutional defects of the then-current version of AB 2844. These included conditioning a government benefit (contracting) on businesses waiving their right to free speech in the form of boycott, and singling out boycotts of only one country – Israel – for such a penalty. The analysis emphasized that political boycotts are protected by the First Amendment unless they involve other kinds of unlawful conduct.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-bottom:6.0pt'>Amendments incorporated on April 26 failed to address either problem adequately. In its title and extensive declaratory language, AB 2844 still singled out critics of Israeli policies. Although it made a boycott punishable only if it constitutes a “discriminatory business practice,” such practices are already prohibited under California law, as noted in the Appropriations Committee analysis of May 9. Thus the implication was that boycotts of Israel are per se “discriminatory,” in which case the bill was unconstitutional for the same reasons as the original version. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto'><u>THE LATEST VERSION OF AB 2844</u><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-bottom:3.0pt'>AB 2844 as passed by Appropriations on May 27 was further amended to remove mention of Israel. The Attorney General (AG) is charged with compiling a list of all companies that “engage in discriminatory business practices in furtherance of boycott” of any recognized sovereign country. Additionally, the AG is charged with determining the constitutionality of banning such companies from entering into public contracts. Nine committee members, including the bill’s author, Assembly Member Bloom, voted not to send it to the floor. A bare majority, however, advanced the bill. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto'>The defects of the latest version of AB 2844 are as follows:<o:p></o:p></p><p style='margin-bottom:3.0pt'><span style='font-family:Symbol'>·</span><span style='font-size:7.0pt'> </span>AB 2844 still alludes – if surreptitiously and deceptively – to boycotts of Israel. The title, “<u>Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions of Recognized Sovereign Nations or Peoples,</u>” borrows the name specific to the call by Palestinian civil society to use economic and moral pressure to influence Israel to end its human rights violations (commonly referred to as “BDS”). Additionally, even if not mentioned in the bill, Israel is currently the country whose policies are most commonly challenged by boycotts called for by human rights advocates; proponents and authors of the bill openly identify themselves as hostile only to boycotts of Israel. <o:p></o:p></p><p style='margin-bottom:3.0pt'><span style='font-family:Symbol'>·</span><span style='font-size:7.0pt'> </span>AB 2844 still unconstitutionally singles out politically motivated boycotts for special scrutiny. The Supreme Court has repeatedly recognized that it is precisely political expression, including political boycotts, that must be accorded the highest First Amendment protection against government interference.<o:p></o:p></p><p style='margin-bottom:3.0pt'><span style='font-family:Symbol'>·</span><span style='font-size:7.0pt'> </span>As before, the bill requires the AG to extensively investigate California businesses to compile the list of those that engage in “discriminatory business practices in furtherance of a boycott.” The Appropriations analysis estimated a cost of $1.2 million a year for this task. Not included is the cost of litigation over constitutionality, or costs incurred by other public agencies.<o:p></o:p></p><p><span style='font-family:Symbol'>·</span><span style='font-size:7.0pt'> </span>Given their track record, Israel advocacy groups are likely to inundate the Attorney General’s office with complaints alleging that any boycott of Israel is a priori “discriminatory.” <o:p></o:p></p><p style='margin-bottom:3.0pt'><span style='font-family:Symbol'>·</span><span style='font-size:7.0pt'> </span>Existing law already prohibits companies from engaging in discriminatory business practices, and in fact bans such companies from public contracts. Therefore AB 2844 is at best entirely superfluous, adding only the unconstitutional singling out and scrutinizing of companies that engage in political boycott, and by implication, especially those regarding Israel. It’s worth noting, however, that the bill language requires similarly unconstitutional targeting of boycotts regarding any number of other countries.<o:p></o:p></p><p style='margin-bottom:3.0pt'><span style='font-family:Symbol'>·</span><span style='font-size:7.0pt'> </span>Every civil rights legal organization that has weighed in on AB 2844 has warned of the constitutional defects that arise when the state seeks to suppress political boycotts. These include the ACLU, the Bill of Rights Defense Committee, the Center for Constitutional Rights, the National Lawyers Guild and Palestine Legal.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:windowtext'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div></body></html>