andydew Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 ACTION ALERT : OHV Funds Under Attack! Rider Alert! OHV Grant Program being slashed by more than 50%!!! Dear ASA Member; A proposal made by Senator Joe Simitian, which slashes OHV grant funding by 50%, is being considered by the State Assembly tomorrow, May 31st. If this proposal is adopted, more than half of the funding for the US Forest Service, BLM, and many County Parks will be redirected away from the state's OHV Program. This is NOT A LOAN, BUT A TAKING of money which will never be repaid. You must act IMMEDIATELY in order to make a difference. Call your local state representatives, or members of the Assembly Budget Committee (click here for a list), as well as your local news outlets to let them know that this misuse of OHV funding is not acceptable and not appropriate. Most importantly, this action, if unchallenged, will lead to massive closures of USFS, BLM, and County OHV Park lands. As we have seen many times in the past, once an OHV area closes, it never re-opens. The funding being taken is from taxes paid on gasoline used by OHV recreationists, and should be used to maintain OHV recreational opportunities. The OHV community has always paid its own way, and has never depended on General Tax Funds or Park Bond Acts. How is it right to redirect funds collected from OHV recreation, and use them for ANY PURPOSE OTHER THAN SUPPORT OF OHV RECREATION? Finally, the proposal made by Senator Simitian is supposedly only to be in effect for three years. Really!? Do they expect us to believe that after getting a taste of $21 million a year for three years, the state will be able to wean itself off of the taking and return the funding to OHV? Just like OHV opportunity areas, once funding is lost, it never comes back. If anyone doubts this, check out the state's record on repaying loans from the OHV program...it never happens. The OHMVR Commission's 2011 report (available for viewing at ohv.parks.ca.gov) on page 9 shows that over $160,000,000 borrowed from the OHV Trust Fund, has never been paid back! When will we learn? Where will this all end? Stand up now. Let your voice be heard and make your calls today! The OHV Grants Program is vital to continued availability of OHV opportunities in California. Here is a list of people to send your message to: Assembly Member Richard S. Gordon - Chair (Dem-21) Tel. (916) 319-2021 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting (916) 319-2021 end_of_the_skype_highlighting / Fax. (916) 319-2121 Assembly Member Betsy Butler - (Dem-53) Tel. (916) 319-2053 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting (916) 319-2053 end_of_the_skype_highlighting / Fax. (916) 319-2153 Assembly Member Jared Huffman - (Dem-6) Tel. (916) 319-2006 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting (916) 319-2006 end_of_the_skype_highlighting / Fax. (916) 319-2106 Assembly Member Brian W. Jones - (Rep-30) Tel. (916) 319-2077 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting (916) 319-2077 end_of_the_skype_highlighting / Fax. (916) 319-2177 Assembly Member David G. Valadao - (Rep-30) Tel. (916) 319-2030 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting (916) 319-2030 end_of_the_skype_highlighting / Fax. (916) 319-2130 Assembly Member Bob Blumenfield - Dem. Alternate (Dem-40) Tel. (916) 319-2040 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting (916) 319-2040 end_of_the_skype_highlighting / Fax. (916) 319-2140 Assembly Member Jim Nielsen - Rep. Alternate (Rep-2) Tel. (916) 319-2002 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting (916) 319-2002 end_of_the_skype_highlighting / Fax. (916) 319-2102 We appreciate your support! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandawg Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 (edited) This is such B.S. When I lived in California in the 70's Gov. Jerry Brown, known as "Brown Rot" took off road funds and built a bike path from the richest neighborhood along the American river to the area close to the Capital. History repeating itself again........ I can't believe tha the people of California re-elected him. Some people need to study their States history before they vote. Sorry folks but the best thing I ever did was to move out of California in the early 80's and watch California vote in all these liberal a$$*holes that have taken California down the tubes..........I'm sorry that the weather is so good and people choose to live there! Edited May 31, 2012 by sandawg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Sandman Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 I sent the following in an email to all of the assemblymen and women as well as California State Senators. This was a basic cut and paste of facts from the ASA Newsletter and I added some on my own too. I got the general auto email reply from the majority of them, but you never know if or how their vote may be swayed. As the State of California budget crisis continues to wreak havoc statewide, our elected officials must remember to vote appropriately on items brought to them in an effort to fund different programs and services. One of these items which you will be voting on this week will take California Off Highway Vehicle funds and divert them to fund California State Parks. In addition to being a scheme of robbing Peter to pay Paul, this continued shell game of moving funds from a program, that by law are to be used for that program, that is self sufficient no less, into a program that is not, is nothing more than thievery. With $20 million per year already being stolen from the OHV fund, the Governor now wants to rob us of an additional $21 million. The theft of additional OHV funding will have a tremendous impact on California OHV recreation and will result in a loss of ridership in grant areas and, in a short time, a disintegration of the state vehicular recreation area (SVRA) system because we will not have enough money to handle the growing need. It is preposterous to take more money out of a self-sufficient fund at the expense of recreation and not address the problems that got state parks into trouble in the first place. It is wrong to ruin a system that works and turn control of the grant money over to State Parks for discretionary purposes. Please don't raid the State's Off-Highway Vehicle Parks Fund to bail out State Parks. We have handled our resources responsibly and to take money from this fund is a open handed slap in the face of those who pay their off road vehicle registration fees (which fund the OHV program). The main reason the OHV program works so well is that those grants go to specific law enforcement, environmental, educational and riding opportunities. Forty years ago people realized that those within the Parks system didn't appreciate off-highway vehicle recreation. Consequently, OHV program was given some autonomy within State Parks, and an OHV Division was created. While the State Parks system didn't appreciate the OHV system, they have had no qualms about taking OHV program money to fund their failing systems. Because $20 million annually is already being taken from the fund, this year OHV program projects in California are already seeing a budget shortfall of which we cannot overcome. Please vote appropriately to keep OHV program funds from being diverted to the State Parks system and I will continue to vote appropriately at election time for those who support the OHV program. Thank you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Sandman Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 I received the following response today from one of the Assembly Members I wrote to. While I appreciate his response and that he voted to save our funding, we were still raped, lock, stock and barrel to the tune of $31,000,000.00. This state is becoming more and more of a joke every day. We would like you to be aware of the following article regarding the hearing on 5/31/12 in Assembly Budget Subcommittee #3 in relation to the OHV funds. Please take note of the end of the second paragraph. Visit our website at assembly.ca.gov/jones to read the entire article. Please be assured that Assemblyman Jones will continue to speak out against the raiding of the OHV funds and will stand up to protect the rights of the off-road community and the benefits that they contribute to the people of California. Sincerely, Gail Kramer – Senior Field Representative Thursday, May 31, 2012 CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE VOTES TO GUT OHV GRANTS PROGRAM TO FEDERAL AND LOCAL PARTNERS SACRAMENTO (May 31, 2012) - Earlier today, the Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 3 on Resources and Transportation voted to steal up to $31 million dollars from the California Off-Highway Vehicle Trust Fund and transfer it to non-OHV related programs. This pilfering of user-pay funding is part of the “Sustainable Parks Proposal” being championed by the California Parks Foundation, other anti-OHV organizations, and California State Senator Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto). Assemblyman Jared Huffman (D- Petaluma) argued strongly in favor of the plan which he knows will directly impact destination OHV areas throughout the state including nearby units on the Mendocino and Six Rivers National Forests, the BLM Cow Mountain Recreation near Ukiah, and the BLM Samoa Dunes Recreation Area near Eureka. Assemblyman Brian Jones (R-Santee) was the lone voice on the committee that opposed the continued theft of trust funds monies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andydew Posted June 1, 2012 Author Share Posted June 1, 2012 Assemblyman Brian Jones (R-Santee) was the lone voice on the committee that opposed the continued theft of trust funds monies. Really? Unbelievable This all sounds like the same " redistribution of wealth" that "our" president keeps proclaiming Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam @ GTP Off Road Posted June 2, 2012 Share Posted June 2, 2012 (edited) face it all levels of government are broken in the united states. This is just another perfect example of the "voted" in idiots raping and pilaging as they see fit, to suit their needs. One day we will either get back to a government OF the people, or the good 'ol USA will be like rusia, the UK, Rome, and all the other dominent powers in the world, GONE. Everything is made in China or Mexico and the government just hands money over in "aide" to places like Pakistan that harbor our (former) most wanted. Maybe one day the American people will speak up loud enough, but money talks and the one guy with money out ways the thousands without. Unless the "old ways" of how we do things are changed, we don't stand a chance. The offroad community always seems to get the short end of the stick between tree huggers, and getting robbed. where are the offroad groups to go against these groups like the California Parks Foundation. I hate California, i go there to ride and run back when done. I also have Oregon tags, so they aren't stealing my money. With Nevada starting their offroad registering program the whole process will start here soon. sorry for the rant, but i do feel a little better Edited June 2, 2012 by Rap_Rider Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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