The Recreation HQ wanted to share the following SACBEE article related to the ongoing theft of monies from the OHV Trust Fund.
June 3 SACBEE – Quit Taking Our OHV Trust Fund Monies (quotes from BRC, PEER, OHMVR)
http://www.sacbee.com/2011/06/03/3673670/public-eye-lawmakers-take-10-million.html
According to D36’s Dave Pickett, over the 40 year history of the program over $200 million dollars has been stolen from the OHV program. I remember back in the early 70s when the OHV program was invented. Back then, environmentalists and the legislature told riders that if you let us take your state off-road fuel tax refund… we could have our own user-pay/user-benefit self-funded program
Well after recently doubling the green sticker fee it now looks like enviros and some legislators want to break that promise and continue stealing money from our Trust Fund.
Because of an unquenched thirst for funds from one of the only self-funded state programs, the enviros and some in the legislature feel a sense of entitlement from a program where riders already feel double-taxed and betrayed by the long history of “loans.”
Rather than steal money from the OHV program, PEER and some legislators should look for ways to make regular state parks more relevant, cost-effective, and self-funded.
Regarding the $200 million dollars - HQ wants to cite a quote from a popular and funny TV ad…”It’s MY money and I want it back.”
HQ says quit taking our money and pay back what you have stolen. And, stay off the slippery slope of interagency money shifting.
Posts
We should commend the Sacramento Bee for running the piece. Being a rather liberal newspaper I'm surprised. Too bad they ended it with the quote from the PEER perspective instead of the OHV perspective.
ReplyDeleteIt is important to understand that the current OHV program (2007 - SB 742) was passed (with all of its funding steams) with almost a unanimous vote from the legislature with support from mainstream environmental groups such as the California Wilderness Coalition and the California. Wilderness Society.
ReplyDeleteI think was you are reading in the SACBEE comments is nothing but sour grapes from a few disgruntled and vocal enviros who continue to lust after forbidden fruit from the OHV program.
They call it a loan, what they are doing is just borrowing the money, legally they can't take unless they pay it back, but California is billions in the hole so how in the hell are they going pay it back? They are not going to pay back anything, just S%$@ on the little guy who pays $52 every two years for one bike. what about the guy who has 3 or 4 bikes? (family of 4). Just keep taking, one day there will be nothing to take and the government will be holding an empty bag. Oh wait I think it's already empty?
ReplyDelete