Gratitude to Montana! After three years of preparation, Montana Health Freedom Coalition went full steam ahead! But on March 24, 2009, SB287 was tabled in a House Committee 14-4. SB 287, the Consumer Health Freedom and Access Act, sponsored by Senator Balyeat, passed the Senate 32-18 on February 23rd, 2009! Montana’s bill would have provided a safe harbor exemption and protected access to herbalists, traditional naturopaths, homeopaths, and the many natural health care practitioners of Montana that consumers regularly use. The first hearing of the bill was audio taped and archived by the Montana legislature and can be listened to under the Senate Business and Labor Committee audio archives on the Montana Legislature website. Montana’s Sunshine Health Freedom Foundation State Coordinator, Ashley Finch, has been working hard with the original health freedom group to mobilize support across the state and offered testimony at the February hearing encouraging legislators to support the bill because as her mother always counseled, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!”
The Montana Sunshine Health Freedom group met for the first time at the end of January. Ashley Finch has stepped forward to be the State Coordinator. Sharon Dalbey is the contact at 406-586-3400. This group is coordinating with the Montana Health Freedom Coalition. Deb Kimmet, of that group, worked with Diane Miller in drafting a safe harbor exemption bill, and explains that their legislature only meets for 3 months every two years. By the end of January, their bill was numbered SB 287, sponsored by the chairman of the Senate committee on Business, Labor and Economic Affairs. Deb Kimmet wrote a one page letter for communicating with legislators, and Susan Gingerich worked with Natures Sunshine to draft instructions to NSP managers. These went out in an E-mail in January to all the managers in Montana, to stir up the grassroots support. Thanks to Deb Kimmet’s lobbying and the support of Linda Peterson, a grassroots coordinator, the bill went into a hearing with strong support. The Coalition has met with 2 members of the Native American Indian delegation to amend their bill to be culturally sensitive to their healing practices.
The first week in February, Diane, Deb, Susan, Ashley, and the Sunshine group met on a conference call to discuss testimonies for the hearing held on Feb. 9th at 10:00 A.M.
Montana
Sunshine Health Freedom State Coordinator
Ashley Dawn Finch
P.O. Box 4292
Bozeman, Montana 59772
Sharon Dalbey 406- 586-3400,
Phyllis at 406-388-7654.
