Dear [Your Elected Official],

<p>I urge you to vote NO on HB2055 on the House floor.</p> <p><strong>Late start</strong>:  This bill got a late start at the end of March and it has been filled in with a surprise, far-reaching amendment that takes health care options away from hard-working government employees throughout the state.</p> <p><strong>Lack of consultation with affected parties</strong>:  The sponsor admitted in Government Operations Committee that he had not heard from or consulted local governments or the people affected by his ban on gender-affirming care in government health care plans. That is far below the standard of law-making I had hoped for from the Legislature. The portions about local governments and school districts ought, at the very least, to be amended out of the bill, though no version of it is acceptable.</p> <p><strong>Callous about people's pain</strong>:  When questioned in Government Operations about the bill's troubling phrase "purported discomfort or stress," the sponsor was evasive and dismissive. The House should not pass a bill that so openly disregards people's pain. The sponsor is substituting his judgment for that of health care providers and patients. The sponsor is not an expert in pain measurement or determining whose pain counts.</p> <p><strong>Workforce issues: </strong>This bill puts state and local government at a disadvantage versus the private sector in trying recruit and retain the best employees. Trangender people work in government offices, our jails, our county health care facilities, in every department. There is no good reason to take away their health benefits.</p> <p>Thank you for considering my views.</p>