California Senator’s Dave Cortese and Brian Jones
Dear PERK Members,
As the sponsor of SB 1377, on behalf of PERK, I want to encourage us all to be careful what we take in online. We understand the frustration and how things can look discouraging. We must keep faith and tenacity, no matter what the outcome is this week. First, and most importantly, the bill is not dead! It is still alive. It is eligible for reconsideration which can potentially lead to a revote the next time the Senate Health Committee meets. We cannot provide more information at this time, but we will, as soon we have permission to do so, from the Senators who authored this bill. However, regardless of this week’s outcome, I want to share more background and insights about my journey and how this moment happened for our organization.
A Little History….. Spinal and Brain Injury
I moved to CA almost 8 years ago for my husband’s work. I was still recovering from a severe spinal injury and brain injury. At the time, we had 3 kids, one of whom is vaccine injured and my husband is vaccine injured as well. When we moved here, I was shocked to find out about SB 277 and SB276. We are the type of people who don’t sit on the sidelines when something is wrong. While I was healing, I was trying to figure out what to do. I met lots of people in this arena who have been fighting this fight for a long time and I appreciate them. They told me if I really care about these issues I need to get in the arena. I’ve never been someone who can be bought. I have never cared about fame, and I have no need to be relevant. I jumped into this arena with the support of my husband and children and realized quickly that this is going to be more than a full-time job. In the past 7 years, when I became the head of PERK and subsequently became the face of PERK, more than half of my time had been and continues to be, in service of the cause.
For the first several years I worked as a volunteer. When it became apparent this was going to be a long game and take a long time to solve these issues, I decided I had to jump in with both feet as a full time position, and made the movement my full-time job. Honestly, prior to this I owned a chocolate company, sometimes I would like to go back to chocolate making, but there is a need, and I was encouraged by key leaders in the freedom movement to stay because they believe that my gifts and dedication are needed in this arena.
Background on Meeting Senator Cortese
Jumping ahead to 2024, PERK sponsored an advocacy day in Sacramento. One of the firefighters with us that day in my group was one of Senator Dave Cortese’s constituents. This created a wonderful opportunity where I was then introduced directly to Senator Cortese. Since that time, it has impressed upon my heart to cultivate a path that can challenge and change the previous health freedom laws and more. Though I appreciate the efforts of everyone, what most people don’t know is that over the years, I’ve spent countless hours speaking directly with the Senator and his team. The last year especially brought forward personal discussions, and the creation and preparation of new drafts and new ideas for multiple points of legislation with my PERK staff and board, and our few inner circle allies, creating a unified front and strategy for the upcoming process. We prepared for more than a year to sponsor SB 1377. No decision was made rashly or quickly, rather it was made intentionally with the partnership of all in the know.
During this time, the reality is others have attempted to hijack our work and interrupt what we already had in motion. However, we have and will continue to welcome all organizations to work with us. Many have reached out, some have not, even when they were told by the Senator, we were the bill sponsor. Regardless, this is a distraction. The truth is we created a strong coalition and are working with people and groups who do not agree with each other on everything, but have the same goal for medical freedom. As the sponsor, we prepared and submitted over 80 supporting organizations to our Senators for SB 1377. This came to fruition through nine months of preparation to bring these groups together and includes the dedication and effort of not only our board, staff, and donors, but of dozens of people outside of our organization, including other organizations, all in collaboration with us. So much of what we do and have done, has remained unseen in confidential fortuitous moments to protect the strategy. We still must keep some things from this past year confidential to protect the strategy. We did not announce our confidential meetings and work with Senator Cortese until only a few days ago when it was the right time to announce his co-authorship, along with Senator Allen. All last year, we had Senator Cortese’s blessing with each press release and public interview I did on behalf of the work we were doing together.
For years, our work in Sacramento was largely reactive—focusing on supporting or opposing bills written by others. However, over the past 15 months, our influence has grown significantly. Our organization has been invited to take the lead as a primary sponsor for multiple bills, representing a major shift in how we advocate for your rights.
We are closely following the strategic guidance of veteran legislators who understand how to win in California’s complex political environment.
This week, that strategy bore fruit: Senator Jones announced that SB 1377 has secured bipartisan support with the addition of Senators Cortese and Allen.
To ensure you have the facts regarding recent developments:
SB 1377 is Active: The bill is not dead; it may be up for reconsideration. Our decision to suggest limited public attendance at the recent hearing was a tactical choice made in coordination with the bill’s authors to respect the legislative “balancing act” required at this stage.
Bipartisan Collaboration: We meet with both Republicans and Democrats. In California, building these bridges is the only way to move a bill forward and fix the issues that have impacted us for far too long.
Direct Communication: Unfortunately, our new leadership role has led to some speculation from those outside the process. I encourage you to ignore the “gossip” and reach out to us directly with questions. We value transparency and are happy to share the rationale behind our crossroads decisions.
We are following what we are being asked and directed to do because they understand the political environment in Sacramento and the Senators want this to succeed just like we all do.
That leads to last week, where Senator Jones was able to announce the bi-partisan support secured for SB 1377 with the addition of Senator Cortese and Senator Allen. In order to win in California, this must be the first step. The authors of the bill are in partnership with me and our organization to fix the issues that have impacted all for a long time. SB 1377 is the gateway moving us forward to being able to have these important discussions and we will not give up on your behalf until we figure out these issues.
Part of the strategy laid out by the senators consisted of keeping attendance at last week’s Senate Health Committee hearing small. This is a tight rope and balancing is required, given the dynamics in the arena.
Some people are upset simply because we are meeting with and working with Democrats. My team and I have met with Republicans and Democrats for years, because this is how change is made in California politics. Others are upset for different reasons, sometimes because they think someone else can do better. We can’t make everyone happy. Frustration is inevitable, but we all need to channel it into action and positive productive ways, rather than online or newsletters that fester the ‘gossip’ and derogatory public narratives about others, which only makes people participating in a public forum equally part of the problem. Issues need to be addressed directly.
We appreciate all the organizations that have been supportive and the PERK Board and Team are grateful for their continued support. As the sponsor, we are calling on all of you and all organizations to trust the process. Regardless of whatever the outcome is this week, this is a new beginning. We welcome transparency. We invite you to come directly to us.
Many of you have my number or my email and we would be happy to share with you what’s happening and why decisions were required at different crossroad moments. We are in a good position right now because the discussion is surrounded by data driven evidence. Please email me any data or evidence to support what we are presenting to the Senators. My PERK Board and staff are unified with a coalition of firefighters, first responders, veterans, parents, physicians, businesses, moms, and other wonderful organizations. Together, we have never wavered in our dedication to ensure our organization continues our focused mission, initiatives, and efforts on your behalf to secure medical freedom in California.
Sincerely,
Amy Bohn
Co-Founder and CEO
