* EMERGENCY LEGISLATIVE ALERT !!! Submitted by Bruce Dau
Subject: AB-2280 (Cogdill) - MANDATED FUNDING FOR HATCHERIES
Please write the California State Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Wildlife. Send a separate letter to Bruce McPherson, our State Senator.
Background:
For the second time in the past two years, a bill is moving through the legislature which would mandate an increased, fixed portion of our fishing license fees be allocated to the trout hatchery and fish planting program. The bill would increase the current percentage of fees allocated to hatcheries to one-third of total funds raised from fishing fees, more than double the 2004-2005 budgeted expenditure level. Since this is a fixed pot of money, every dollar increase for hatcheries will come at the expense of other important programs. Those programs which could suffer offsetting budget reductions include wild and heritage trout, enforcement, habitat conservation, and commercial fisheries management. This type of mandate, which would negatively affect a broad range of programs without factual justification, is bad public policy.

Current situation:
The NCCFFF was successful in stalling the bill on its first attempt last year. During this second incarnation, NCCFFF once again wrote opposition letters to each member in the two committees which held hearings on this bill, and NCCFFF representatives testified against AB-2280 at recent meetings of these two committees. With strong support from Mono County Supervisors, Mono County business owners, and two labor groups, AB- 2280 (Cogdill) favorably passed through the two committees in the Assembly and will next be considered by the State Senate. They were recently informed the bill has over 50 co-sponsors. It will soon be taken up in the Senate Natural Resources and Wildlife Committee. NCCFFF is in the process of mailing opposition letters to the Senate committee members. They are also mailing informational materials about the potential impact of this bill to Committee staff.

Action needed:
This Senate committee could be the best chance to stop the bill, but to do it the NCCFFF needs your help. Please fax or call the committee chair, Senator Kuehl, and tell her that this is a bad bill and it shouldn't leave the committee. The bill could be heard as soon as June 8, so please make your call or write a letter within the next week or so. Contact Numbers: Sheila Kuehl, Chair Tel (916) 445-1353 Fax (916) 324-4823
Bruce McPherson Tel (916) 445-5843 Fax (916) 445-8081
What to say:
You could say that your license fees support a very broad range of programs which are of great importance to you and other anglers with very diverse interests. This bill is bad public policy and would sacrifice many important activities to the benefit of a single program. For example, even without this bill, DFG has lost 100 Fish and Game Warden positions and expects to lose another 50 positions this year ... this during a period when California's population is increasing by more than 300,000 new residents per year. This pool of angling license money is getting smaller, not larger, so the damaging effect of a mandate like the one in this bill will be magnified.

* River Cleanup Dates
The Fishermen's Alliance of California plans on coordinating River Clean ups again this year. Last year's San Lorenzo River cleanup was a big success. The dates will be announced in late July. If you would like further details contact Frank Emerson at frankemerson@redshift.com.

Be sure to send any announcements that you think would be of interest to club members to Dougald Scott (doscott@cruzio.com).

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