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SB 1499
California Senate Bill 1499 was heard before the CA Public Safety Committee
Tuesday 4/8/8. The basis of the bill is to outlaw helium-filled metallic
balloons by 1/1/2010 in California. The Balloon Council had a
representative at the hearing. While the bill passed this hearing, the
bill's author, Senator Scott, was encouraged by the Committee Chair to talk
to the balloon industry's representative to resolve this matter. The story
has hit the AP wire
<http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/C/CA_XGR_BALLOON_BAN_CAOL-?SITE=CAPAD&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT>
and was also covered by a local Sacramento Stations
<http://www.news10.net/display_story.aspx?storyid=40443>
<http://www.kcra.com/news/15827982/detail.html>
If you are contacted by the media we thought you might appreciate a "media
refresher course" on the subject.
***********************
- 18 years ago CA passed Section 653.1 making the release of helium-filled
metallic balloons illegal in California. We _already_ have a law covering
this subject.
- As responsible members of the balloon industry we weight all our
metallic balloons and work hard to educate our customers about the reasons
why they should not release helium-filled metallic balloons.
- Power outages caused by metallic balloons are a very small percentage of
all power outages. Most power outages are caused by things the power
companies can do something about - like pruning trees.
- The sale of metallic balloons represents thousands of jobs in California
including balloon professionals, grocery stores, gift shops, and party
stores.
***********************
Thank you to Dan Flynn, Pioneer Balloon, and the Balloon Council for being
on top of this! They caught it. SB 1499 was introduced 2/21/08 on a totally
different subject. It was then amended 3/24/08 to be about making
helium-filled metallic balloons illegal. We're not sure exactly how a bill
gets introduced on one subject and then changes to a totally different
subject, but apparently it's totally legal. The Balloon Council is
coordinating the fight against this bill for all of us. As we get more
information on what you can do to help we'll let you know.
And don't forget, any media exposure has an impact on our industry.
Whatever that exposure is - positive or negative - it creates an impression
in people's minds about balloons. It's about spin. What's the old saying?
"It takes 10 positives to make up for every negative you hear." We should
work hard to make sure that all of the sound bites we give are a positive
for our industry. Any statement can be phrased in a positive or negative
tone. Let's all work hard to be sure our "sound bites" address the issues,
but are also a "positive" for our industry.
We asked Larry Moss, the King of positive press coverage, what he might say
if asked about SB 1499. Here is his "sound bite".
"A law already exists in California that handles this issue well. A new
law isn't needed. Rather than ban any type balloons, the old law clearly
defines how to safely sell and transport helium-filled metallic balloons.
Responsible balloon and party stores are educating their customers about
proper handling. Banning something as fun, and for the most part, safe and
enjoyable is just plain silly."
If you want to read about SB 1499 the information is here.
<http://info.sen.ca.gov/cgi-bin/postquery?bill_number=sb_1499&sess=CUR&house=B&site=sen>
If you have any questions, feel free to give us a call. If you are
contacted by the media and get your name in the press, let us know :-)
Lorinda & Lorna Ferrell, CBAs
Continental Sales
2924 18th Ave, Sacramento, CA 95820 800-350-4386
Wholesale to the professional balloon artist.
http://www.ContinentalSales.net