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![]() Washington Watch:
Legislative Update
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National Fraternal
Order of Police PAC
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National Trustee Update from James Gaudett
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FOP’S COLLECTIVE BARGAINING BILL PASSES HOUSE!
Chuck Canterbury, National
President of the Fraternal Order of Police, hailed today’s passage of
H.R. 980, the “Public Employee-Employer Cooperation Act,” on a 314-97
vote in the U.S. House of Representatives. Posted: July 18, 2007
Survey In the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, many law enforcement officers were displaced from both their jobs and their families as a result of these natural disasters. The adverse effect of this manifested itself in mass confusion and a poor lack of coordination. The National Legislative Office was recently awarded a grant by the Department of Justice to study the effects of a natural disaster on law enforcement readiness and to develop a plan to ensure that the chaos that ensued in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita will never be repeated. To ensure the success of this initiative, we are asking you to fill out the survey, which we have linked here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=_2fhoFohbR3xhQOjWjZC53kg_3d_3d . The National Legislative Office appreciates your cooperation and we are thankful that you can help us in creating a better situation for law enforcement officers in the future should another natural disaster occur.
LEGISLATIVE ALERT: DHS Spending Bill!!!
The
House and Senate appropriators and authorizers have stripped out a
very important law enforcement provision from an amendment which would
reauthorize and fund the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. In its
current form, funds which previously flowed through the Department to
law enforcement would be redirected to the Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA), effectively making law enforcement
answerable to FEMA.
LEGISLATIVE ALERT ON DoD Reauthorization Bill!!!
The
Grassroots Action Network is urgently requesting that all FOP members
in the State of Virginia make time TODAY to contact
Senators John Warner (R) and George Allen (R) to ask that they support
the Cornyn/FOP language that is currently part of the subtitle C of
Division D in the conference report for H.R. 5211/S. 2766, the “John
Warner National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2007.”
These provisions are of critical importance to
the FOP and to the law enforcement community, and we must do
everything we can to convince Senators Warner and Allen to retain the
Cornyn/FOP bill as part of the conference report on the Department of
Defense reauthorization bill. PLEASE CALL THESE SENATORS TODAY!!!
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Finding Loved Ones: Louisiana F.O.P. Helps to Get Messages to Officers
Chuck
Canterbury, National President of the Fraternal Order of Police, announced
today that the Louisiana State F.O.P. Lodge would be launching a message
service program to help family members locate and get messages to law
enforcement officers working in the State of Louisiana.
“Communications are still in disarray and in many cases, these officers may
not have had the means or the time to contact their family members and let
them know they are safe,” Canterbury said. “The Louisiana State Lodge has
volunteered to locate and get messages to officers working in their State.”
Family members of law enforcement officers working in the State of Louisiana
can call the Louisiana State Lodge at 877-LASTFOP (527-8367). The
family member(s) need to know the name of the officer’s agency and, if
possible, in what district the officer is working, or most recent work
assignment the officer has received. Volunteers with the State Lodge will
relay the message to the officer, who may either reply through the State
Lodge or who can then get in direct touch with the family member.
“The destruction visited upon the State of Louisiana by Hurricane Katrina is
tremendous,” Canterbury said. “But the response of the extended law
enforcement family with their offers of help and aid has been equally
tremendous. I am very proud that the Louisiana State Lodge is providing
this service to the families of officers and all of us pray that they will
get to see their loved ones again soon.”
The Fraternal Order of Police is the largest law enforcement labor
organization in the
United
States, with more than 321,000 members.
DOJ TESTING CONFIRMS
DEFICIENCIES IN ZYLON VESTS
BVP program drops Zylon
vests, announces new $10 million grant to help with replacements
Chuck Canterbury, National
President of the Fraternal Order of Police, reacted positively to the latest
announcement from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Body Armor Safety
Initiative (BASI), which provided strong evidence that the effectiveness of
Zylon®--a material used in the manufacture of soft body armor--degrades
quickly and severely compromises the ability of the vest to prevent
penetration of the ammunition it is designed to stop.
“Today’s announcement is not a surprise,” Canterbury said. “The BASI status
report released today by the Department and the National Institute of
Justice confirmed through ballistic testing what the F.O.P. suspected in the
fall of 2003--that soft body armor made with Zylon may not be able to
protect the officer from rounds which the vest is supposed to stop.”
Canterbury noted that it was the F.O.P. that first raised the concerns of
the law enforcement community about Zylon® with then-Attorney General John
D. Ashcroft following a 2003 incident in which a police officer in Forest
Hills, Pennsylvania was seriously wounded because his body armor failed to
protect him from a bullet that the vest was rated to stop. The vest, which
was only six (6) months old, was an Ultima® vest made by Second Chance Body
Armor, Inc. and contained multiple bullet-resistant fabrics, including Zylon®.
It was the first verifiable incident in which soft body armor failed to
prevent penetration from a bullet it was designed to defeat.
“I am very glad that the information from the NIJ tests have led the
Department to change the parameters of the Bulletproof Vest Partnership (BVP)
grant program to prohibit the use of Federal funds to purchase soft body
armor containing Zylon,”
Canterbury said. “What’s more, the Department has provided an
additional $10 million to the $23.6 million already available to law
enforcement through the program to help agencies replace Zylon®-based
vests.”
The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) tested more than one hundred used
vests made with Zylon®--including the back panel from the vest worn by the
officer in Forest Hills.
Their testing showed that fifty-eight percent (58%) of the vests were
penetrated by at least one round during a six-shot test series. Of the
vests that passed penetration testing, ninety-one (91%) showed excessive
“backface deformation,” meaning that there was an increased chance of the
officer wearing such a vest suffering blunt trauma from the shot. Only four
(4) vests met all the performance criteria under NIJ’s standard for new body
armor. According to the NIJ, the degradation of Zylon® is linked to the
vest’s exposure to light and moisture. The degradation cannot be detected
by visual inspection and is not necessarily linked to the age of the vest.
“The failure of the vest in
Forest Hills was very unsettling to law enforcement officers,”
Canterbury said. “The integrity
of your body armor is a life-and-death issue, and to suspect that vests made
of Zylon would not protect you from ballistic threats after only six months
was downright terrifying.”
The Justice Department will issue a Body Armor Standard Advisory Notice to
alert law enforcement to the potential risks associated with the use of
Zylon® in body armor and adopt new interim requirements for its body armor
compliance testing program. Body armor that does not meet this standard
will be ineligible for purchase through the BVP program. The Department
recommends that law enforcement agencies and officers purchase only
bullet-resistant body armor models that comply with its new interim
requirements, especially if their existing armor contains Zylon®. A list of
body armor models that comply with the new requirements will be made
available at
http://www.justnet.org.
“Remember, these Zylon vests met NIJ performance standards when they were
new, but neither the NIJ nor anyone else has any standards or testing
protocols for vests in use,”
Canterbury explained. “And we still don’t. This was something that
the F.O.P. specifically asked the Justice Department to develop back in
November 2003--a standard that could apply to soft body armor in use, so
that officers in the field could have some confidence that their vest would
protect them for the duration of the product’s warranty period. The interim
standard that the NIJ is putting into place is the first step in improving
the current situation, and will certainly help to better protect officers in
the future as new bullet-resistant technologies are developed.”
National President Canterbury and the Department of Justice reiterated,
however, that officers in the field should continue to wear their soft body
armor, even if the vest is made with Zylon®.
“Do not stop wearing your vest,”
Canterbury said. “We urge any
law enforcement agency that uses soft body armor with Zylon as a component
to replace them as soon as possible, but every officer must remember that
any soft body armor, even if made with Zylon®, is better than none at all.”
F.O.P. members and other officers are encouraged to visit the website of the
Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Program and Body Armor Safety Initiative:
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bvpbasi
The site provides a great deal of valuable information, including
the full text of the Third Status Report to the Attorney General on Body
Armor Safety Initiative Testing and Activities (as well as an Executive
Summary and Fact Sheet), the NIJ Body Armor Standard Advisory Notice
#012005, and the NIJ 2005 Interim Requirements for BulletResistant Body
Armor.
The Fraternal Order of Police is the largest law enforcement labor
organization in the
United States, with more than
321,000 members.
New Aviation
Security Guidelines at DCA Provide Employment Opportunity for Active and
Retired Law Enforcement Officers
The Grand Lodge, Fraternal Order of Police is providing this
information to its members who may be interested in an employment
opportunity as armed security officers (ASO) on charter and corporate
flights in and out of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA).
On July 15, 2005, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) announced
that it would reopen Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) to
certain elements of general aviation (GA). One of the guidelines requires
that an armed security officer (ASO) be onboard each aircraft authorized to
operate into and out of DCA. Today, TSA placed the information about how to
become an ASO on its website (URL listed below).
F.O.P. members who are interested in serving as ASOs must first be nominated
by an aircraft operator who has completed an application to the DCA access
program or a Fixed Base Operator (FBO)--an airport-based commercial
enterprise that provides services to aircraft operators. Prospective
applicants must be qualified active or retired law enforcement officers (the
rule uses the same definition of these terms as provided for in the Law
Enforcement Officers’ Safety Act, better known to F.O.P. members as H.R.
218), meet certain eligibility criteria, and complete an application process
that includes background, criminal history, and employment verification
checks. Applicants meeting the established criteria must then complete two
days of training conducted at one of twenty-one (21) locations nationwide.
Applicants that successfully complete the ASO training program will be
credentialed and authorized by TSA to serve on scheduled GA flights into DCA.
The actual implementation of the program will commence on 15 October, which
will allow aircraft operators, FBOs, and ASO candidates time to apply, be
vetted, and approved by TSA.
You can learn more information about how to apply to become an ASO at TSA’s
website
(
http://www.tsa.gov/public/interapp/editorial/editorial_2079.xml
), which provides links to the ASO Guidance Document for prospective
applicants as well as the Nomination Form, Application Form, and Lautenberg
Certificate.
For further information, consult the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
document provided on the website mention above, or contact Tim Richardson at
the National Legislative Office, 202-547-8189.
F.O.P. Wins Major
Court Victory on Privacy Rights of Law Enforcement Officers
Organization successful in
defending a law which it helped write
Today National President Chuck
Canterbury hailed as a “major victory” the recent decision by the Ohio
Supreme Court upholding the privacy rights of law enforcement officers in
the case of State ex rel. Plain Dealer Publishing Co. v. City of
Cleveland. In a 6-1 decision, the Court ruled in favor of the City,
noting that “police officer photographs are exempt from disclosure under the
Public Records Act because they constitute ‘peace officer residential and
familial information.’”
“The F.O.P. is committed to enhancing the safety of every single law
enforcement officer in the nation,” Canterbury said, “and the decision in
this case is a major victory in our continuing efforts to do so: upholding
the right to privacy for our police officers, and recognizing the inherent
danger to these brave men and women by wantonly and unnecessarily making
their personal information publicly available.”
At issue was a public records request by the Cleveland Plain Dealer
under the Ohio Public Records Law for photographs of eight law enforcement
officers, who are usually uniformed officers. The law-which the Ohio
Fraternal Order of Police drafted and which was enacted in 2000-provides an
exemption from public disclosure of “peace officer, firefighter, or EMT
residential and familial information.” The City of Cleveland, after
consultation with the individual officers, denied the public records
request. The Plain Dealer then brought a mandamus suit with
the Ohio Supreme Court demanding the release of these records. The
Fraternal Order of Policewhich submitted amici briefs from the
National, State and local lodge levelwas the only major law enforcement
organization involved in the case, or to recognize its potential impact on
officer safety.
“Vindictive criminals, or anyone with an axe to grind ‘against the system,’
who can gain access to the home addresses, phone numbers or even photographs
of these officers endangers not only the officers themselves, but their
families and co-workers as well,” Canterbury said. “Those who would deny
this basic fact need only to look at the very recent and tragic murder of
the family of a Federal judge in
Chicago by a former defendant, where the judge’s home address and
family photographs were posted on the Internet.”
“To think that police officers are not targeted for retaliation by the drug
dealers or gang members they must confront on a daily basis is naïve,”
Canterbury said. “The dangers which these individuals
must face in carrying out their sworn duty to protect and serve are immense,
and the court agreed with us that protecting their safety is profoundly more
important than being able to sell a few more newspapers.”
The Fraternal Order of Police is the nation’s largest law enforcement
labor organization, with more than 321,000 members.
SECOND CHANCE STILL TRYING TO DODGE THE BULLET
F.O.P. recommends agencies replace vests now, urges officers to wear the
vests they have
Chuck Canterbury, National President of the Fraternal Order of Police,
expressed skepticism regarding statements released today by Second
Chance Body Armor which the company tried to characterize as a “decision
to protect the lives of public safety officers.”
“Let us be clear,” Canterbury said, “this was not a decision driven by a
concern about the safety of law enforcement officers--it’s about the
bottom line of a company in bankruptcy facing numerous law suits from
law enforcement agencies and officers.”
Second Chance Body Armor issued a press release and two “safety notices”
citing “new research” that indicates soft body armor with Zylon as a
component may fail, placing officers wearing such vests at risk.
Canterbury noted that Second Chance discontinued the manufacture of the
“Tri-flex” vests, which were the subject of one of the notices, in April
2004. The second notice regarding the “Performance Pac” enhancement was
deemed by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) as “unacceptable”
under Federal standards in December 2004.
“This is not ‘new research’ or new information,” Canterbury said. “The
F.O.P. took our concerns about Zylon to the U.S. Department of Justice
in the fall of 2003, which prompted the Department to launch its Body
Armor Safety Initiative to analyze the use of this material in soft body
armor. Our organization has been cautioning law enforcement agencies and
officers about the use of any bullet-resistant vests with Zylon as a
component for nearly two years.”
Second Chance issued a recall of its vests made entirely with Zylon
shortly after the Fraternal Order of Police and others in the law
enforcement community raised concerns about the material. They
continued, however, to sell body armor like the “Tri-flex” vests, which
had Zylon as a component, despite evidence that the material degraded
under normal conditions which compromised the integrity and
effectiveness of the vest.
“The safety of the individual officer is the F.O.P.’s primary concern,”
Canterbury said. “We urge any law enforcement agency that uses soft body
armor with Zylon as a component to replace them as soon as possible. In
the meantime, we would remind all officers of this fact: any soft body
armor is better than none at all.”
The Fraternal Order of Police is the largest law enforcement labor
organization in the United States, with more than 321,000 members.
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DATE: 1 February 2005
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F.O.P.: Still the Nation’s Number One Voice for Law Enforcement A recent review of the twelve major law
enforcement groups in the news during 2004 showed that the Fraternal
Order of Police remains the most frequently mentioned organization for
the fourth straight year. National President Chuck Canterbury said the
results further confirm the F.O.P.’s status as the predominant voice for
law enforcement officers in the United States. |
| Past Legislative Updates |
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The Weekly Legislative Update - 11/19/04 |
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The Weekly Legislative Update - 12/10/04 |
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The Weekly Legislative Update - 1/05/05 |
The Weekly Legislative Update - 1/28/05 |
The Weekly Legislative Update - 2/4/2005 |
The Weekly Legislative Update - 2/18/2005 |
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The Weekly Legislative Update - 3/4/2005 |
The Weekly Legislative Update - 3/11/2005 |
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The Weekly Legislative Update - 3/18/05 |
The Weekly Legislative Update - 4/8/05 |
The Weekly Legislative Update - 4/22/05 |
The Weekly Legislative Update - 4/29/05 |
The Weekly Legislative Update - 5/6/05 |
The Weekly Legislative Update - 5/13/05 |
The Weekly Legislative Update - 5/20/05 |
The Weekly Legislative Update - 5/27/05 |
The Weekly Legislative Update - 6/10/05 |
The Weekly Legislative Update - 6/17/05 |
The Weekly Legislative Update - 6/24/05 |
Weekly Legislative Update - 7/1/05 |
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Weekly Legislative Update - 7/22/05 |
Weekly Legislative Update - 7/29/05 |
Weekly Legislative Update - 9/9/05 |
Weekly Legislative Update - 9/16/05 |
Weekly Legislative Update - 9/23/05 |
Weekly Legislative Update - 9/30/05 |
Weekly Legislative Update - 10/07/05 |
Weekly Legislative Update - 10/21/05 |
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Weekly Legislative Update - 10/28/05 |
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Weekly Legislative Update - 11/04/05 |
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Weekly Legislative Update - 11/11/05 |
Weekly Legislative Updates 11/18/05 |
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Weekly Legislative Update - 12/09/05 |
Weekly Legislative Update - 12/16/05 |
Weekly Legislative Update - 12/23/05 |
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Weekly Legislative Update - 2/6/06 |
Weekly Legislative Update - 2/27/06 |
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Weekly Legislative Update - 3/13/06 |
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Weekly Legislative Update - 3/27/06 |
Weekly Legislative Update - 4/3/06 |
Weekly Legislative Update - 4/27/06 |
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Weekly Legislative Update - 5/8/06 |
Weekly Legislative Update - 5/15/06 |
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Weekly Legislative Update - 5/22/06 |
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Weekly Legislative Update - 6/5/06 |
Weekly Legislative Update - 6/12/06 |
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Weekly Legislative Update - 6/19/06 |
Weekly Legislative Update - 6/26/06 |
Weekly Legislative Update - 7/10/06 |
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Weekly Legislative Update - 7/17/06 |
Weekly Legislative Update - 7/24/06 |
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Weekly Legislative Update - 7/31/06 |
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Weekly Legislative Update - 9/4/06 |
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Weekly Legislative Update - 9/11/06 |
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Weekly Legislative Update - 9/18/06 |
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Weekly Legislative Update - 9/25/06 |
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Weekly Legislative Update - 10/30/06 |
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Weekly Legislative Update - 11/13/06 |
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Weekly Legislative Update - 11/27/06 |
Weekly Legislative Update - 12/4/06 |
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Weekly Legislative Update - 12/18/06 |
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Weekly Legislative Update - 1/1/07 |
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Weekly Legislative Update - 1/15/07 |
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Weekly Legislative Update - 1/29/07 |
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Weekly Legislative Update - 2/5/07 |
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Weekly Legislative Update - 2/12/07 |
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Weekly Legislative Update - 2/26/07 |
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Weekly Legislative Update 3/5/07 |
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Weekly Legislative Update 3/12/07 |
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Weekly Legislative Update 3/19/07 |
| Weekly Legislative Update 3/26/07 |
Weekly Legislative Update 4/9/07 |
Weekly Legislative Update 4/16/07 |
Weekly Legislative Update 4/23/07 |
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Weekly Legislative Update 4/30/07 |
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Weekly Legislative Update 5/7/07 |
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Weekly Legislative Update 5/14/07 |
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Weekly Legislative Update 5/21/07 |
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Weekly Legislative Update 6/4/07 |
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Weekly Legislative Update 6/11/07 |
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Weekly Legislative Update 6/18/07 |
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Weekly Legislative Update 6/25/07 |
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Weekly Legislative Update 7/9/07 |
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Weekly Legislative Update 7/16/07 |
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Weekly Legislative Update 7/23/07 |
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Weekly Legislative Update 7/30/07 |
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Weekly Legislative Update 8/27/07 |
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Weekly Legislative Update 9/3/07 |
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Weekly Legislative Update 9/10/07 |
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Weekly Legislative Update 9/17/07 |
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Weekly Legislative Update 9/24/07 |
Weekly Legislative Update 10/01/07 |
Weekly Legislative Update 10/08/07 |
Weekly Legislative Update 10/15/07 |
Weekly Legislative Update 10/22/07 |
Weekly Legislative Update 10/29/07 |
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Weekly Legislative Update 11/05/07 |
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Weekly Legislative Update 11/12/07 |
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Weekly Legislative Update 11/16/07 |
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Weekly Legislative Update 12/3/07 |
Weekly Legislative Update 12/10/07 |
Weekly Legislative Update 1/14/08 |
Weekly Legislative Update 1/21/08 |
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Weekly Legislative Update 1/28/08 |
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Weekly Legislative Update 2/4/08 |
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Weekly Legislative Update 2/11/08 |
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Weekly Legislative Update 2/25/08 |
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Weekly Legislative Update 3/3/08 |
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Weekly Legislative Update 3/10/08 |
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Weekly Legislative Update 4/14/08 |
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Weekly Legislative Update 4/28/08 |
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Weekly Legislative Update 6/2/08 |
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Weekly Legislative Update 6/9/08 |
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Weekly Legislative Update 6/16/08 |
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Weekly Legislative Update 7/21/08 |
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Weekly Legislative Update 7/28/08 |
| President's Report |
| October 2005 Report |
March-April 2006 Report |
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