ACTION NEEDED - Raid on Our OHV Fund

[KTMrad 516]

Proposal to take $21 million from OHV fund vote May 23

Write letters now to urge Senators to oppose

Call or send an email now before the Budget Committee hearing on May 23, 2012.

EASY TO TAKE ACTION BY CLICKING HERE

The California Legislature Budget Committee led by Senator Simitian is preparing to raid the State's Off-Highway Vehicle Trust Fund to bail out the financially strapped California State Parks. The figures cited by Senator Simitian are incorrect.

When the Simitian plan was devised, no one from State Parks was consulted. No one from the OHV Division was consulted. The group Senator Simitian cited in his presentation was the California State Parks Foundation.

Senator Simitian says there is $142 million in the OHV Trust Fund. He is only taking $21 million; so that leaves $121 million within OHV; $42 million in trust, $54 million in operational funds, $21 million in grants and $25 million in capital outlay. We know that isn’t true.

The truth is, the $21 million comes from a $75 million dollar program that is well managed and accountable. The consequence of losing that money is a loss of recreation in grant areas and, in a short time, a disintegration of the SVRA system because we will not have enough money to handle the growing need.

Simitian says that you can take $21 million local assistance grant money and not impact the opportunities made available right now in OHV. He says there will be no closing of parks, there will be no loss of recreational opportunities.

Really?

[KTMrad 516]

Budget Briefing: The OHV Trust Fund—Where’s the Trust?

Senators Bob Dutton (R-Rancho Cucamonga) and Bill Emmerson (R-Hemet) voiced serious concerns about the future of the Off Highway Vehicle (OHV) Trust Fund following a May 9 hearing of the Senate Budget Subcommittee No. 2 on Resources, Environmental Protection and Transportation.

During the hearing, committee chairman Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto) dismissed concerns that his plan to fund California state parks relies on stripping funds that have already been dedicated to OHV programs. However, these OHV funds are 100 percent paid by OHV enthusiasts. His proposal would strip $21 million from the OHV trust fund and divert it all to California state parks for the 2012-13 budget.

“Here we go again. This is just another example of one of Sacramento’s broken promises,” Senator Emmerson said. “This was a legislative agreement that was made for funding OHV parks and legislative Democrats want to steal that money away for other purposes. This is nothing more than legalized theft. It’s time we start keeping our promises.”

“Funding for state parks is critical, but so is maintaining the public’s trust,” said Dutton. “If dedicated OHV funds can be taken so easily, what’s to protect other dedicated user fees? This is not the first time that taxes and fees collected from OHV enthusiasts have been drained for other purposes and that’s unacceptable.”

In the last four budget years, a total of $133 million has been raided from the OHV trust funds for other uses. In fact, in a 2011-12 budget trailer bill, an additional $10 million of dedicated OHV trust funds were taken for the state’s general fund.

No action on the proposal to strip OHV funds was taken during the May 9 hearing. The proposal will be considered again on May 23.

[SDlineman 0]

Any update on this? I am also wondering if there has been any talk of using this money to establish new OHV areas within the state parks. Anza Borrego SP covers a vast area, there must be some land they could open up and maintain with that money and augment their budget at the same time. It seems like a win-win that way. This could be a great opportunity to actually add some accessible riding land instead of losing it all the time.

[KTMrad 516]

Any update on this? I am also wondering if there has been any talk of using this money to establish new OHV areas within the state parks. Anza Borrego SP covers a vast area, there must be some land they could open up and maintain with that money and augment their budget at the same time. It seems like a win-win that way. This could be a great opportunity to actually add some accessible riding land instead of losing it all the time.

No update yet.

State Parks are broke...they want to steal our OHV money out of the OHV trust fund to do other stuff for State Parks, NOT add OHV trails, areas, etc.

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