Follow this simple step-by-step guide to write your legislators and support SB711.

Step One – Find Your Local Representatives
Click to enlarge	Go to http://findyourrep.legislature.ca.gov/ Enter your address RESULT: You will receive links to your local legislators web sites. Select the first link
Step Two – Contact Your Representatives
Click to enlarge	Go to the website and look for the “Contact” or “Email” button
Step Three – Email Representatives
Click to enlarge	Enter your contact info into the email form Copy Text in Support of SB711 Paste the text into the Legislator’s email form and send Note: include the RE: line at the beginning of the text, feel free to edit this and make it your own.
Step Four – Contact Second Representative
Click to enlarge	Return to the Locate your Legislator tab (Step 1) Click link for your second representative Repeat steps 2 and 3
Step Five – Notify Additional Legislators
These Legislators make up the Senate Judiciary Committee that will be reviewing SB 711 on May 12th. It is important to also send your letters of support to this group to make an even bigger impact.For each of the following, click on the provided link to go directly to the Legislator’s email page Repeat Step 3   Hon. Lois Wolk, Senator http://sd03.senate.ca.gov/content/contact-me   Senator Loni Hancock http://sd09.senate.ca.gov/contact   Assemblyman Reginald Jones Sawyer https://lcmspubcontact.lc.ca.gov/PublicLCMS/ContactPopup.php?district=AD59   Senate President Kevin De Leon http://sd24.senate.ca.gov/contact/email   Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins https://lcmspubcontact.lc.ca.gov/PublicLCMS/ContactPopup.php?district=AD78
Thank you for taking the time to support SB 711!

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RE: Support SB 711 – California County Law Libraries

As a constituent, I am requesting your support for and co-authorship of SB 711 (Wolk) which is currently pending before the Senate Judiciary Committee. SB 711 would provide our vitally important county law libraries with an additional source of desperately needed funding.

According to John Adkins, Director, San Diego Law Library, county law libraries report that between 60% and 80% of their users are non-attorneys. They include, but are not limited to, self-represented litigants, residents who are researching how to start a business, transfer the deed to their parents’ house, etc. Such patrons have been accustomed to receiving experienced and knowledgeable self-help information, reference assistance, legal clinics, workshops, online resources and a variety of other educational services.

Unfortunately, over the past six years these libraries have had to cut back on staff, hours of operation and the purchase of critical legal research materials because of a dramatic 30% decline in revenues from their primary funding source – the civil filing fees they receive under existing statutory authority. The funding problem exists in part because, under Business & Professions Code Section 6360, county law libraries are limited to charging fees to cover the costs of only a few of their special services, such as the making of photocopies of pages of library books and messenger service. SB 711 would eliminate such restrictions by allowing them to charge for their full range of services such as electronic delivery, other delivery services, educational programs, special events, and provision of supplies or food services.

SB 711 will go a long way toward helping to restore the ability of California’s county law libraries’ to fulfill their mission of service to California’s residents. I hope you can see the wisdom of supporting this important measure.

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