12 Jan We NEED You At a Public Hearing on 01/15/2016!

WASHINGTON MARTIAL ARTS COMMUNITY: URGENT!!!

We Need YOUR Help in Olympia, WA on Friday, January 15, 2016!

This is SERIOUS! Students, Parents, Concerned Citizens, Instructors & School Owners….

Everyone…Please READ to the Bottom

HB1550, a law classifying martial arts instruction as nothing more than a ‘physical fitness service’ was passed last year with no notification to a single business owner. As a result martial arts schools, children‘s character development, self defense lessons and more are treated as ‘retail items’ instead of ‘services’ and subjected to retail sales tax up to 9.6%. This will kill many schools and will make access to these vital services harder for those most needing them. Implemented on January 1st of 2016 it has ALREADY damaged many schools irreparably.

Some GREAT NEWS…

With countless volunteer hours by a small group of school owners, our collective grassroots efforts and legal/professional representation the Washington state martial arts community has been HEARD!

A law/bill has been introduced by influential Washington state legislators in the House AND the Senate to reverse this decision!  Click HERE to see the law.

It’s NOT a done deal and this is just the FIRST STEP. We’ve been told that less than 20% of bills pass!

Our lawmakers need to SEE and realize this is important and must be passed NOW, this session, before too much damage is done.

The rest of this update is so incredibly URGENT and SERIOUS.

There are TWO WAYS you can help make this happen. Please read to the bottom.

1) We are asking YOU to ATTEND a public hearing in Olympia, WA on Friday, January 15, 2016 at 8:00am in front of the House Finance Committee in the John L. O’Brien Building Room A.  Arrive as early as possible because parking will be a challenge.

Think of it as a march, protest or demonstration. You don’t have to speak; you just need to BE THERE. Even standing in the hallway, on the lawn or just signing in is all that is needed.

We are asking every interested participant, family member and child to show your support by ATTENDING this hearing in your uniform or school t-shirt. PARENTS, we highly recommend you and your children attend but suggest you contact their elementary/middle/high school and arrange for an excused absence for educational reasons. This will be a fantastic learning experience!

2) PLEASE support the Washington State Martial Arts Association with a generous FINANCIAL DONATION. Realize there WASN’T an association or lobbyist in the state to represent us before October 19, 2015.  This was when martial arts schools were first notified AFTER the law had been passed.

In just over 80 days a small group of concerned school owners have volunteered extensive amounts of time and resources to get US ALL to this point and form this BRAND NEW non-profit Association!

It hasn’t been easy.

Upon the strongest urging of our allies in the Legislature in Olympia we have hired professional representation, Public Affairs of Washington and Public Affairs Consulting, to drive this effort over the next few months to make sure this bill passes.

The fees for just these six months will easily exceed $20,000.00 but they are necessary. This base amount leaves nothing for additional funds to setup the Association through the next 6-18 months and this is a concern.

To get the ball rolling in time a handful of school owners put themselves on the line financially with faith that other school owners, participants and concerned citizens would contribute equally if asked.

We’re asking…

If you have the resources we would really appreciate a donation through this secure funding site. The funds will be held in a legal trust controlled by state law. Suggested donation is $100 for individuals and $600 for school owners but you can donate whatever fits your budget. You can even setup monthly installments of your choosing.

School Owners
Founders Level $600
Full Supporter $300
Budget $200
Participants
Full Supporter $200
Supporter $100
Budget $50

We’re hoping to raise $40,000 to pay our contract AND raise enough to fund the Association for the next 18 months.

Please consider helping.

You can donate here:

https://donate.constantcontact.com/lp/pages/046f4c99-57e4-4ff7-87b3-66fc5dcd2470

Thank you and we hope to see you in Olympia,

Washington State Martial Arts Association

 

Other Things You Should Do

Sign the Petition: If you haven’t already Click Here: SIGN THE PETITION
LIKE this Facebook Page: Click here: No Retail Sales Tax on Martial Arts Schools in Washington State
School Owners – Join Our Facebook Group Click here: Washington State Martial Arts Association – School Owners
School Owners – Register Your School Click Here: Register and Join Our Mailing List WSMAA