Subject:
             PA House Judiciary Committee Hearings on the Legality of the Master Settlement
             Agreement with the Tobacco Industry
        Date:
             Sat, 11 Sep 1999 23:37:26 -0400
       From:
             "Robert B. Sklaroff, MD" <rsklaroff@home.com>
 Organization:
             @Home Network
         To:
             Carole Spiess <spiess@globalink.org>,
             Multiple recipients of list INTL-TOBACCO <intl-tobacco@essential.org>,
             Settlement Talk Discussion List <settlement-talk@smokescreen.org>
 
 
 

This is a dream-come-true!

I will be provided the opportunity to "lecture" the legislature
regarding the inappropriateness of affording broad legal immunity to the
Tobacco Industry for future crimes, consistent with points made through
prior e-mails.

Anyone else who is interested in this topic is, of course, invited to
contact the Chair of the House Judiciary Committee.  Rep. Gannon is a
"great listener," and has also championed (conceptually and practically)
vital issues (such as ensuring parity of reimbursement for psychiatric
care) that have (secondarily) rankled the main-stream.  I have found him
to be sensitive to many of my other concerns, particularly because he
has a great knowledge-base that does not require brush-up prior to
getting "into" a given problem.  His position, perhaps, affords him the
opportunity to be "automatically" exposed to a variety of concerns, but
he has TAKEN ADVANTAGE of this status to reformulate issues on behalf of
the public (rather than to rubber-stamp, as others in comparable
positions have routinely done).

The bill is at:

http://www.legis.state.pa.us/WU01/LI/BI/BT/1999/0/HB0445P0465.HTM

A profile of Rep. Gannon is at:

http://www.house.state.pa.us/members/districts/161/161.htm

There is some lead-time, so suggestions as to what should be inserted
into the record are invited, regardless of the state-of-origin of the
author.  Clearly, the "heart" of this bill is the indemnification
phraseology that has driven my work, although the offset provision has
also been of tremendous concern.  It may be assumed that my prior briefs
will be appended to my testimony, freeing-up time for analysis and
synthesis of pivotal issues.

Thematically, I will discuss the dangers of a partnership between Big
Tobacco and Big Government, illustrated by the two conferences being
held next week that are focused upon the fixation held by most people
involved in this process:  "how should the "windfall" be spent?"  The
one-day Pittsburgh meeting will be national in attendance, and the
two-day Harrisburg meeting will be statewide in attendance, but both
will be deviating from optimal public health concerns if they endorse
(overtly/covertly) expenditures that cannot be reasonably related to
tobacco control.

Meanwhile, both the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas and the
Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court have pending motions regarding my legal
filings (filed weeks ago), respectively, against the Wawa Billboards
financed by Philip Morris (contravening the MSA) and against approval of
the MSA.  I have "thoughts" about the reasons for the delays in each of
these courts (despite the publicly asserted desire by the settling
parties advocating handling this entire matter with dispatch) that I'd
be more than happy to convey verbally, upon request.

I've spent the past few days scouring all the e-mails received during
the past 1/2-year for legal references (e.g., Engle & Liggett cases)
that could be inserted into any necessary Supreme Court appeal; others
are, of course, invited.  Finally, I'm continuing to chat with the media
(as much as it can accommodate without becoming oversaturated) regarding
the potential fate of tobacco control work if the Evil Empire is
permitted to prevail.  Again, anyone who knows anyone who would
potentially benefit from such an educational experience should, please,
call me.

Finally, the hyperlink to GlobaLink (in Geneva, Switzerland) that
provides basic-education is:

http://www.globalink.org/tobacco/9908/

[ENDORSEMENTS are still invited.]