Date: 02/25/2009 strongBRC CRITICAL ACTION ALERT/strongbr /br /strongGOVERNOR RAIDS OHV FUND TO PAY FOR ECO-TOURISM PROGRAMbr /IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUESTED/strongbr /br /Dear BRC Action Alert Subscriber,br /br /Mark Werkmeister, President of the New Mexico Off-Highway Vehicle Alliance (NMOHVA), sent us an urgent message late last night. Mark said the Governor is attempting a midnight raid on the New Mexico OHV sticker fund. br /br /A Special Appropriations bill (part of the state budget bill HB2) passed the House Appropriations Committee with a provision for a new "Governor's" initiative program. The provision provides $500,000.00 in 'seed' money to fund an "eco-tourism" program in the New Mexico Tourism Department. That 500 grand will come directly from your OHV fund.br /br /strongThat's right. Your OHV program money may be used to fund an "eco-tourism" program. /strongbr /br /Mark tells us that 'eco-tourism' is described in the bill as "promoting a nature-based form of specialty travel that conserves the environment and improves the well-being of the local community".strong It doesn't sound like the OHV users, the people doing the paying, will see any benefit, does it?/strongbr /br /Mark has described the convoluted path the bill will travel in his email update. br /br /He has requested that BRC ask all our members and supporters in New Mexico to take immediate action. Mark says sustained calls to the Governor and to the Senate Finance committee are critical if we are to thwart this lousy thievery.br /br /strongIt is absolutely critical that all OHV enthusiasts in New Mexico take action immediately./strongbr /br /We've included instructions below. Be brief. Be polite. Do it now. br /br /Thanks,br /Brian Hawthornebr /Public Lands Policy Directorbr /BlueRibbon Coalitionbr /208-237-1008 ext 102br /br /strongPS:/strong Groups like BRC and NMOHVA are not funded by the OHV manufacturers. We depend on memberships and donations from individual OHV enthusiasts to fund the work we do. For us, strongemmembership is our lifeblood/em/strong. I want to encourage BRC members to consider joining NMOHVA. br /br /strongBRC ACTION ALERT br /PLEASE TAKE ACTION IMMEDIATELY/strongbr /br /strongSITUATION:/strong A Special Appropriations bill (part of the state budget bill HB2) includes a provision to fund a new "eco-tourism" program using $500,000.00 of OHV sticker funds. br /br /strongWHAT YOU NEED TO DO:/strongbr /Contact Governor Bill Richardson and each member of the Senate Finance Committee. br /br /When you call, you'll speak to a staff person who answers the phone. Say you want to state your opinion about HB2.nbsp; Tell them that you are adamantly opposed to raiding the OHV fund to pay for an eco-tourism program. Tell them that the Legislature imposed the OHV fees on citizens in New Mexico who use OHVs in order to fund an OHV program - not an eco-tourism program.nbsp; Diverting these funds from the OHV program is contrary to the law.nbsp; br /br /Here is the number for the Governor's Office:nbsp; Governor Bill Richardson, 505-476-2200.br /br /Here is the contact information for the Senators on the Finance Committee:br /br /br /br /stronggt; /strongSenator John Arthur Smith, 505-986-4363, john.smith@nmlegis.govbr /br /stronggt; /strongSenator Carlos R. Cisneros, 505-986-4365, carlos.cisneros@nmlegis.govbr /br /stronggt; /strongSenator Rod Adair, 505-986-4385, radair@dfn.combr /br /stronggt;/strong Senator Pete Campos, 505-986-4311, petecampos@newmexico.combr /br /stronggt; /strongSenator Carroll H. Leavell, 505-986-4278, leavell4@leaco.netbr /br /stronggt; /strongSenator Howie C. Morales, 505-986-4863, howiemorales@yahoo.combr /br /stronggt;/strong Senator Steven P. Neville, 505-986-4266, nmsenate@msn.combr /br /stronggt; /strongSenator Gerald Ortiz y Pino, 505-986-4380, jortizyp@msn.combr /br /stronggt; /strongSenator Mary Kay Papen, 505-986-4270, marykay.papen@nmlegis.govbr /br /stronggt; /strongSenator Nancy Rodriguez, 505-986-4264, No email listedbr /br /stronggt;/strong Senator Sue Wilson Beffort, 505-986-4395, sue.beffort@nmlegis.govnbsp;img src="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~r/BlueRibbonCoalition/~4/wCLfNaS23bc" height="1" width="1"/
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