Date: 07/01/2009 pstrongBLUERIBBON COALITION ACTION ALERT!/strong/pstrongCODE RED ACTION ALERT - Action required this am !!!!!!!!!!!!/strongpstrongDear BRC Action Alert Subscriber, /strong/ppSeveral weeks ago, BRC asked you to take a few minutes to ask lawmakers in Sacramento to leave the California OHV Program and its Trust Funds alone.nbsp; THANKS to the many letters that were sent in - they listened.nbsp; However, a new threat has arisen./ppThe latest twist in the quot;Let's take money from the OHV Programquot; saga is that the folks under the dome in Sacramento are considering gutting the basic operating budget of OHMVR that funds state OHV parks and provides grants to other land agencies./ppSee article/blog from emCapitol Notes/em:br /http://blogs.kqed.org:80/capitalnotes/2009/06/29/guvs-plan-b-deficit-fix//ppAs many of you already know, the State of California is in fiscal meltdown.nbsp; One victim of the current budgetary crisis is the CA OHV program.nbsp; It is one of the very few self-funded quot;user-pay/user-benefitquot; government programs in the state.nbsp; The California legislature has already quot;borrowedquot; and diverted $90 million dollars from the OHV Trust Fund to other non-OHV-related programs./ppIf there is one time you send a letter to Sacramento... it is TODAY.nbsp; Send your letter and get as many of your friends to do the same.nbsp; BRC has provided a sample letter that you can cut and paste and FAX/email to the following legislators including the chairperson of each committee.nbsp;/ppstrongSEND BOTH A FAX AND EMAIL/strong/ppGovernor Arnold Schwarzenegger - Fax 916-558-3160 (phone 916-445-2841)br /governor@governor.ca.gov/ppstrong2009 Budget Conference Committee Members/strong/ppstrongAssembly/strong/ppNoreen Evans - Fax 916-319-2107 (phone 916-319-2007) (Chair)br /Assemblymember.evans@assembly.ca.gov/ppRoger Niello - Fax 916-319-2105 (phone 916-319-2005)br /Assemblymember.niello@assembly.ca.gov/ppBob Blumenfield - fax 916-319-2140 (phone 916-319-2040)br /Assemblymember.blumenfield@assembly.ca.gov/ppKevin de Leon - Fax 916-319-2145 (phone 916-319-2045)br /Assemblymember.deleon@assembly.ca.gov/ppJim Nielsen - Fax916- 319-2102 (phone 916-319-2002)br /Assemblymember.nielsen@assembly.ca.gov/ppstrongSenate/strong/ppDenise Ducheny - Fax 916-327-3522 (phone 916-651-4040) (Chair)br /senator.ducheny@senate.ca.gov/ppBob Dutton - Fax 916-327-2272 (phone 916-651-4031)br /Senator.dutton@senate.ca.gov/ppMark Leno - Fax 916-445-4722 (phone 916-651-4003)br /Senator.Leno@senate.ca.gov/ppAlan Lowenthal - Fax 916-327-9113 (phone 916-651-4027)br /Senator.lowenthal@senate.ca.gov/ppMimi Walters - Fax 916-445-9754 (phone 916-651-4033)br /Senator.walters@senate.ca.gov/ppstrongCut and Paste Sample Letter:/strong/ppDear [insert name of Legislator],/ppAs a resident of California and a member of the off-highway vehicle (OHV) community, I am urging that as you search for funding for California Sate Parks, you do not attempt to redirect any funds from the Off Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Division budget. The OHV Division of California State Parks is completely funded by fees generated by OHV recreation. These user-generated fees should not be directed to uses that have nothing whatsoever to do with how the funds were generated./ppIn 2005, the California Bureau of State Audits found that Parks misappropriated millions of dollars from the OHV Trust Fund for use at facilities with no OHV opportunity.nbsp; Sadly, it appears that Parks is once again attempting to balance its books on the back of the OHV program.nbsp;/ppThe OHV Division is a nationally-recognized model of a quot;user-pay/user-benefitquot; program. This success is due to the State's ability to collect fees generated by OHV recreation on local, state and federal lands, and use these fees to support management of OHV recreation on these same lands. It is essential that both the operations of the State OHV Parks and the grants provided to local and federal agencies where OHV recreation occurs continue in order to maintain the success of this program.nbsp;/ppI understand the serious nature of California's budget crisis; however, the state has already borrowed $90 million dollars from the OHV Trust Fund. I again urge you to avoid redirecting any OHV Trust Funds to non-OHV-related projects or programs./ppbr /Sincerely,/ppName br /Address/ppThanks for your attention to this very serious matter./ppDon Amadorbr /Western Representativebr /BlueRibbon Coalition/pimg src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BlueRibbonCoalition/~4/NWvoyU0i9pM" height="1" width="1"/
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