There are two subcommittees that will be deciding
recommendations for the future of the Department
of Boating and Waterways (CAL Boating).
CBSOA Board members will be in attendance and hope
many of the membership can be in attendance too.
If you can not attend you can contact the Senators
and Assembly Members on the committees to express
your view on the importance of DBW to you and your
department.
The best is if you have one of these members
representing your area, contact them directly and
ask for a meeting... Education, real life stories
and experience are critical.
Please take some time and do your part for public
safety on the water and surrounding areas in
California.
Here is a concise listing of date/time/place for
the two hearings...please feel free to distribute
this information widely.
Senate Budget Subcommittee #2
Resources, Environmental Protection, Energy and
Transportation
Date:
March 21
Time:
2:00 p.m. or upon adjournment of Rules
Committee (That could mean anytime in the
afternoon. Get there early and plan on a
full day)
Cal Boating (Department of Boating and
Waterways) survived another challenge this summer
from the Governor's Office. All of our voices made
a difference.
Cal Boating remains an independent department
at this time. Thank you all for your letters and
support of keeping Cal Boating independent. This
is a fluid issue that may again surface. We will
continue to keep you posted and advise if the
current situation changes.
Again Cal Boating/DBW is up
for elimination. The time is now to make another effort
(may be the last effort) to save what we
know as Cal Boating. The only day public input will be
taken in Sacramento is June 2nd. We are
working on a plan for that day, and will make
public comments on behalf of the CBSOA
membership.
The key now is to contact the
listed below Budget Conference Committee Members
and make your voice heard. A letter or faxed
letter with key points below would be awesome.
We know we have been
dedicating a lot of energy for this efforts. We
need to press on as Cal Boating is paramount to
boating safety, the boating safety officer, and
the boating public in California.
We thank you all for you
time and efforts to make sure the CBSOA and your
voice is heard.
Yours in Marine Safety,
Cary Smith
President CBSOA
Governor Continues Effort to
Eliminate Cal Boating
By: Louis Gerlinger |
Wednesday, May 27, 2009 12:00:00 AM
Last updated: Friday, May 29,
2009 10:53:00 AM
LOG NEWS SERVICE — The recent rejection
by a Senate subcommittee of Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger’s proposal to eliminate the
California Department of Boating and
Waterways and transfer its functions to
the Department of Parks and Recreation
does not appear to have dampened the
governor’s support for the measure.
Three recently released documents — one
from the Department of Finance (“2009-10
May Revision General Fund Proposals”) and
two from the governor’s office (a two-page
fact sheet “May Revise 2009-2010: Savings
in State Government” dated May 14, and a
transcript of a weekly radio address “Gov.
Schwarzenegger Presents Excerpts of May
Revision Budget Proposals in Weekly Radio
Address” dated May 15) include specific
references to his intent to push forward
with his plan to eliminate the Department
of Boating and Waterways, also known as
Cal Boating.
In the weekly radio address,
Schwarzenegger said “… and I’m proposing
once again to eliminate or consolidate
more than a dozen state departments,
boards and commissions, such as the
Integrated Waste Management Board and the
Department of Boating and Waterways, and
so on.”
A press release announcing that the
Senate subcommittee had removed
consideration of his proposal from its
agenda, issued by the boater advocacy
group Recreational Boaters of California
on May 13, warned that the “proposal to
eliminate the independent Cal Boating
could still surface in the state Assembly,
in a formal reorganization proposal or
even among the budget solutions the
governor plans to release tomorrow (May
14) to address a dire critical state
situation.”
Gov. Schwarzenegger has said that the
goal of his proposal is to save money and
to promote efficiency. However, many in
the boating community believe the real
goal of his proposal is to make it easier
to divert money from the Harbors and
Watercraft Revolving Fund — a special
state fund, which is funded by boat
gasoline taxes and used by Cal Boating to
finance recreational boating facility
projects throughout the state — to other
uses.
“We urge all boaters to contact the
members of the newly appointed Budget
Conference Committee in opposition to this
proposal,” said David Breninger, RBOC
president.
Members of the joint legislative
bipartisan committee, chaired by Assembly
Member Noreen Evans (D-Santa Rosa),
include: Assembly members Kevin de Leon
(D-Los Angeles), Bob Blumenfield
(D-Woodland Hills) and Senators Denise
Ducheny (D-San Diego), Bob Dutton
(R-Rancho Cucamonga), Alan Lowenthal
(D-Long Beach) and Mimi Walters (R-Laguna
Hills).
Yesterday,
May
15th, we sent out an email with a one day
victory for DBW and the below information...
It
was a short lived Victory as the Governor
announced his new budget proposal plans
yesterday after noon and DBW is near the top
of the list again on the California
Performance Review.
The governor's
new budget proposal has DBW Elimination
8th on his list again,
released yesterday, May 14th,
afternoon.
Summary
of Major Solutions by Category Reorganization,
Consolidations
and Capitalizing on State Assets
—Continuing the Work of the California
Performance Review
Number
8 on Page 4
"Eliminate
the Department of Boating and Waterways and
transfer its functions to the Department
of Parks and Recreation."
At
this point we are waiting to see how things
shake out. The elimination of DBW is coming
from the Governors office. We are working on
a new strategy for Phase 3 of the efforts.
Letters to the
Governors Office and the Big Five can not
hurt. Please click on the link above "How to
Help in 6 easy steps" and do everything you
can to make your point of view heard.
Will
keep you posted. Thanks for all of your
efforts.
Look
forward
to seeing you on the water soon.
Yours
in Marine Safety,
Cary
CBSOA
members were in Sacramento May 13th
to meet with Senator Simitian and
Senator Benoit.
They were
advised the issue of the proposed
DBW elimination and merger with
Parks would not be heard in
Sub-Committee 2 on May 14th, as it was pulled
from the agenda, and is a dead
issue for now.This may all
change again after the special
election on May 19th.
For now DBW
will not be eliminated or merged
with the Department of Parks.
Thank you
all for your letters and calls. All
of you in Boating Safety and all of
the supporters in the Boating
Community made a difference.
We can only
hope this will be the last challenge
to DBW and the last proposed
elimination of DBW. We shall see...
We look
forward to seeing you all on the
water soon.
Yours in
Marine Safety,
Cary
Smith
President CBSOA
President
Cary Smith needs
your help..
State
Senate
Sub-Committee 2 Meets on Thursday May
14th to vote on the elimination of
Department of Boating and
Waterways and placing its functions
under the Department of Parks.
There
are three voting members on the
Sub-Commitee. Senator Lowenthal has said he
will vote in opposition to DBW elimination.
Today
we need your help. We need you to call the
office's of Senator Benoit and Senator
Simitian and voice your opposition to the
proposed elimination of DBW. It
will only take a couple of minutes to
make your voice Heard. We need one vote from
the two Senators to save DBW again for now.
Please
call now: Voice your opposition to
DBW Elimination
Senator
John
Benoit at his Sacramento Office
916-651-4037
Senator
Joe
Simitian at his Sacramento Office
916-651-4011
Anyone
who is available to be in attendance at the
Sub-Committee meeting is welcome to join the
effort. We will be meeting at the West
Entrance to the State Capitol at 0900 on
Thursday May 14th to make some noise and
show support for Boating Safety and DBW at
the Sub-Committee meeting.
Thanks
for you assistance and efforts. Time is
critical and if DBW is no longer there will
be major consequences to all in Boating
Safety.
Yours
in Marine Safety,
Cary
Smith
President
CBSOA
~Committee Agenda~ Subcommittee
No.
2
on Resources, Environmental Protection, Energy
and Trans.
THURSDAY, MAY 14, 2009
BUDGET AND FISCAL REVIEW SUBCOMMITTEE NO. 2 RESOURCES, ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION, ENERGY AND TRANSPORTATION SIMITIAN, Chair 9:30 a.m. or upon adjournment of session Rose Ann Vuich Hearing Room (2040) OPEN ISSUES Item Description 2660 Department of Transportation 2665 High-Speed Rail Authority 2720 Department of California Highway Patrol NATURAL RESOURCES 0540 Secretary for Resources 3340 California Conservation Corps 3600 Department of Fish and Game 3680 Department of Boating and Waterways 3790 Department of Parks and Recreation FINANCE LETTERS AND OPEN ISSUES
Senators
to Discuss Eliminating Cal Boating,
May 14
Last updated: Thursday,
April 30, 2009 12:32:00 PM
LOG NEWS
SERVICE — A
California Senate
subcommittee is
scheduled to hold
a hearing May 14
on Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger’s
proposal to
eliminate the
independent
Department of
Boating and
Waterways (Cal
Boating).
The
department’s
functions would be
moved into the
Department of
Parks and
Recreation, which,
the governor said,
would result in a
savings of
$600,000 per
fiscal year and
“allow for better
coordination and
management of
projects and
grants relating to
boating access and
safety programs.”
No specific
details were
offered as to
where these
$600,000 “savings”
would come
from.
The
proposal was
included as one of
“18 ways to make
government work
better for the
people,’ included
in a fact sheet —
“The Governor’s
Roadmap for More
Efficient
Government,” —
released by the
governor’s office
Jan. 16.
Cal
Boating is
entirely supported
by boater-paid
fees and interest
on loans it
provides for
construction of
new boating
facilities
statewide. Many in
the boating
community claim
that the real
purpose behind
efforts to
eliminate Cal
Boating is to be
able to divert
more of the
gasoline taxes and
fees paid by the
boating public to
other agencies,
where those funds
could be used for
non-boating
purposes.
Recreational
Boaters of
California, one of
the many groups
and organizations
opposing the
governor’s plan to
eliminate Cal
Boating, has urged
members of the
Senate Budget and
Fiscal Review
Subcommittee No. 2
(the subcommittee
scheduled to hear
the proposal) to
vote against
it.
“The proposal is of great
concern to the recreational boating
community,”
David Breninger, president of RBOC,
said in a letter to the committee.
“Cal Boating is a near-perfect example
of government efficiency.”
Breninger urged individual
boaters to express their support for
retaining an independent Department of
Boating and Waterways to the following
subcommittee members:
Letters may also be mailed to
individual senators at their capitol
address -- State Capitol, 10th and L
Streets, Sacramento, CA 95814.
Help the
CBSOA make a difference again! This
is not over!
Update: We are getting ready for Phase 2 in
the effort to save DBW from elimination...
We wanted to alert you that the Department
of Boating and Waterways has been added to
the Senate Budget Subcommittee 2 agenda for
May 7, 2009. We will discuss the
proposed reorganization of the department
into the Department of Parks and Recreation.
Budget and Fiscal Review
Subcommittee No. 2 on Resources,
Environmental Protection, Energy and Trans.
BUDGET AND FISCAL REVIEW
SUBCOMMITTEE NO. 2
RESOURCES, ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION, ENERGY AND TRANSPORTATION
SIMITIAN, Chair
9:30 a.m. or
upon adjournment of session
Rose Ann Vuich Hearing Room (2040)
Item
Description
3360 Energy
Resources Conservation and Development
Commission
3600 Department
of Fish and Game
3680 Department
of Boating and Waterways
3790 Department
of Parks and Recreation
8570 Department
of Food and Agriculture
8660 Public
Utilities Commission
We will also send email alerts as we
finalize strategy...
Governor
Borrows $29 Million from Boating Fund
By: Log News
Service | Friday, March 06, 2009 12:00:00 AM
Last
updated: Wednesday, March 04, 2009 6:02:00
PM
LOG NEWS SERVICE — Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger has signed legislation
transferring $29 million from the Harbors
and Watercraft Revolving Fund to the
state’s General Fund.
Photo
by: AP Photo/Rich
Pedroncelli
A
Stroke of the Pen -- With
the new California budget,
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger
also signed a measure to
borrow $29 million from
boating project funds.
The measure, SBX3 2, is one of a package
of bills designed to close California’s
$42 billion budget shortfall
Schwarzenegger signed Feb. 20. It
transfers the money as a loan and
stipulates that repayment shall be made
“so as to ensure that the programs
supported by the Harbors and Watercraft
Revolving Fund are not adversely affected
by the loan, but no later than June 30,
2013.
The Department of Boating and Waterways
uses money from the fund — which derives
the lion’s share of its income from the
state fuel tax and vessel registration
fees paid by boaters — to provide loans
and grants for the construction and
maintenance of recreational boating
facilities throughout the state.
The $29 million loan is scheduled to be
transferred from the fund during the
current fiscal year ending June 30 —
leaving the fund with an estimated balance
of only $9.54 million at the beginning of
the 2009-10 fiscal year July 1.
Although it does not appear to affect
funding for current projects or those
included in the governor’s proposed $75.13
million budget for the department
beginning July 1, the $29 million loss is
expected to be felt in subsequent years.
In a report submitted to the Boating and
Waterways Commission Feb. 27, the
Department of Boating and Waterways said
that assuming the same level of revenues
and expenditures over the next several
years, the fund will have a deficit
beginning in fiscal year 2010-11 through
at least 2013-14. Options to be
considered, it said, include increases in
transfers and revenues and decreases in
transfers and expenditures from the fund.
This article first appeared in the March
2009 issue of The Log Newspaper.
All or parts of the information contained
in this article might be outdated.
Posted 2/18/09 1530 hrs
Thank you for all of your efforts in writing
letters, sending emails, and showing up in
Sacramento to help our law makers know the
importance of DBW.
It seems the CBSOA's principle efforts in Sacramento
had a good outcome. As of today it looks like
Cal Boating will not become part of the Department of
Parks and Recreation! That was our ultimate
goal.
We were successful in Phase 1 and DBW has not been
eliminated. Now we will be gearing up for Phase 2.
The next challenge will be to insure DBW monies stay
with DBW. There is already rumor of a 29 million
dollar loan of funds from the DBW Budget, not to be
paid back until 2013. This would mean a 38%
reduction of the DBW Budget. We will again ask for
your help when the budget is finally pasted to make
sure they know in Sacramento boating funds need to
go back to boaters and the boating safety officers
that protect them on the water.
Posted 2/11/09 1200 hrs
CBSOA
representatives
met with legislators in Sacramento Tuesday, February
10th. The outlook is still not looking good
for DBW. We believe progress was made, but we
still need
you to send emails and make phone calls, as
the budget vote should be Thursday or Friday of this
week.
If you haven't yet joined our efforts, click here to quickly learn how a
few minutes of your time can help.
Thank you for your cooperative efforts in this
attempt to save DBW. We'll keep you posted as
the budget goes to vote and more details emerge.
We are storming the Capitol in Sacramento at 1000AM on
Tuesday February 10,
2009 to try to save Cal Boating/DBW from
elimination. This may be the last
chance. We are all meeting near the West Entrance outside
of the Capitol. If it is
raining we will be meeting in the Rotunda Area.
Hope we will see some
of you there.
Thanks for your efforts!
Look forward to seeing you on the water soon.
Yours in Marine Safety,
Cary Smith
President CBSOA
Posted 2/6/09 1655 hrs
Thank you all for you letters and phone calls to the
Capitol. The battle is not over yet and we need to
continue to spread the word to the boating community
to call your Senator's and Assemblyman and ask them
to ask the Governors Office to withdrawal the
proposal to eliminate DBW.
Extraordinary times call for
extraordinary measures.
Tuesday
February 10th the CBSOA will be meeting at the
Capitol with as many of you that can make the trip
at 1000 hours (Location to be determined) At 1100
hours we will be fanning out across the Capitol.
We are
asking that you call to set up a meeting time with
your representatives in the Senate and Assembly as
constituents. We will have a one page list of
points you can make with these representatives. If
time is not available ask for the chief of staff
or legal analyst.
Time is not on our side and this will be the last
chance we have to make a stand, educate and
put face with the boating safety officer.
We thank you for your time, efforts and support for
California Boating Safety.
If you are able to make the trip to Sacramento
please send an email to president@cbsoa.org
so we ave an idea of how many can help in this
endeavor.
Posted 2/5/08 1930
hours
Next steps:
President Smith spent a productive day in Sacramento
meeting with legislative officials and the water is
coming in fast.
We are
asking CBSOA members to make the trip to
Sacramento on Tuesday, February 10th. CBSOA
and our supporters will meet at 10:AM at the
capitol. (Exact location to be
determined.) It is important that you call
your senators and assembly members to schedule
meeting for that same day after 11:00AM.
They will not see you without a meeting. These
face-to-face meetings are necessary for them to hear
our efforts to try and stop the elimination of DBW.
This is of crucial importance. We will provide
a one page letter for a strategy for contacting
senators and legislators with points we need to
make.
This will be our LAST chance for the possibility to
make a difference if the budget goes to vote before
that, it will be too late.
Again, here is the contact link: http://www.assembly.ca.gov/defaulttext.asp
Type in "find my district" to get the phone numbers
of the person in your area to speak with.
Posted
2/5/08
The CBSOA needs your help today please. As
part of California's budget cuts, the Governor is
proposing to eliminate the entire Department of
Boating and Waterways THIS WEEK!
Here's how you can help: (It takes like 30
seconds to do both.)
1) Go to http://www.assembly.ca.gov/defaulttext.asp
2) Click on "find my district"
3) Put in your address
4) Two names and phone numbers will appear in a pop
up window
5) Call one and say, "I do not support the elimination of
the Department of Boating and Waterways"
6) Call the other and do the same.
You're done. You will have made a big
difference in the livelihoods of every entity on the
water including Sheriff's, Police Officers,
Harbormasters, Port Captains, Lifeguards and more.
As well, you will help to ensure that California
waters are protected by talented, trained
individuals who save lives every day.
We truly appreciate your help and consideration.
Board of Directors
CBSOA
February
4, 2009 Update (previous correspondence is below)
Today CBSOA
President Cary Smith is in Sacramento going
face to face with legislators to explain the
importance of DBW. Joined by members of the
Los Angeles County legislators, they will plead for
DBW's survival. See below for how you can help
them. Please do everything you can to
participate in letting legislators hear us.
Stay tuned
for information regarding a possible rally in the
state capitol Tuesday, February 10th.
Posted to
cbsoa.org 2/4/09 Save the
California Department of Boating &
Waterways Contact State Legislators
NOW to Stop Your Boater Fees From
Being Hijacked! Unless boaters act now, Cal
Boating will be gone in 3 months, the
boating advocacy group Recreational
Boaters of California warns.
Please take a moment to e-mail
your California state
representatives: Send them a message
to show your support for Cal
Boating!
To locate your individual
representative, please refer to
this Web site: www.leginfo.ca.gov/yourleg.html.
Please take the time to write to
your representative or copy and
paste our sample letter below.
Here is the information the Governor and the
Legislator's are looking at for
the elimination of DBW. On the surface and from the
outside the proposal
seems to have some good points. Yet, for the CBSOA
member it is doom and gloom.
Note the information from Training and Financial Aid
to Law Enforcement
Training is not quantified. Equipment Grants and
Subvention monies are not
listed. There is no face to this proposed
elimination of DBW.
I have been informed by a well place source DBW will be
eliminated in the next 7
business days unless we can put Our faces in front
of Our Legislators and the
Governor. Letters will not be enough this
time. We need to get to
Sacramento to get the word directly to Our
representatives...
The CBSOA Board of Director is working on a mission
to Sacramento as you
read this. If you support DBW we are asking you to
consider making the trip
to talk to your representatives directly, FACE to
FACE.
The Mission will be to show how the Legislative
Analyst
Office (LAO) Report (See below) fails to show the
REAL IMPACTS to the BOATING
SAFETY OFFICER and the BOATERS Of California what
the elimination of DBW
means to boating and boating safety.
There is no transition plan for training, there is
no transition plan for
equipment grants, there is no plan to provide
subvention monies, there is no
plan that we can find that tells the Department of
Parks and Recreation how
to spend DBW dollars.
This is new for us and the CBSOA. We are facing a
very real challenge, to
eliminate a Department of Boating and Waterways that
has supported boating
safety for 50 years and the CBSOA and its membership
since the CBSOA was
formed over 36 years ago. THIS ELIMINATION
PLAN IS THE PERFECT STORM...
THIS IS OUR
FUTURE ON THE WATER, ACT NOW AND GET TO SACRAMENTO
ANYWAY YOU CAN, MAKE
SURE YOUR LEGISLATIVE REPRESENTATIVES KNOW YOUR
POSITION AND SEE THE
SERIOUSNESS IN YOU FACE...
We can not fail in this endeavor. Once a department
is eliminated there is
no going back.
WE ARE WORKING ON A RALLY TO GET THE WORD OUT IN
SACRAMENTO and a DATE TO BE
IN SACRAMENTO, FURTHER INFORMATION WILL BE SENT TO
YOU VERY SHORTLY..
The Honorable Arnold Schwarzenegger
Governor, State of California
State Capitol
Sacramento, CA 95814
E-Mail: http://gov.ca.gov/interact#email
(Once you type in your information and
select a general topic, it will open
a window for you to put the text of
your message.)
Below is
information you can use in your
communication.
Insert this information into a
personalized letter or email, and send
it to the Governor and your legislator
IMMEDIATELY!
****WHEN CONTACTING YOUR LEGISLATOR
ASK HIM/HER TO CALL THE GOVERNOR AND
REQUEST
THAT THE GOVERNOR WITHDRAW HIS
PROPOSAL TO ELIMINATE THE
DEPARTMENT.****
posted
to
cbsoa.org
2/3/09 DBW is
critical to the future of boating
in California.
Some of What DBW funds do:
launch
ramp
construction
make
loans
for marina construction
construction
of
boating
safety centers
provide
boating
safety
and law enforcement programs
handles
abandoned
vessel
removal
public
outreach
programs
and
even
weed control in boating areas!
More
Benefits of the Department of Boating
and Waterways to the Boating Safety
Officer and public
. DBW provides 8
different training classes a year to
the boating
safety officer. These classes were
developed in a progression to enable
the
boating safety officer to perform the
critical duties they are expected to
perform on the water to save lives and
protect the boating public. Without
DBW and these classes the boating
safety officer would be put at great
risk.
. The DBW training
classes are available to the over 100
agencies in
the State that have Marine Patrol
Operations. The 20 classes in 2008
served
over 400 boating safety officers, and
many were the only opportunity these
officer's had to become proficient in
their job requirements on the water.
. 38 of California's 58
Counties receive monies from DBW to
support or
supplement their Marine patrol
Operations. Without this DBW funding
source
many Counties would be unable to
provide the vital service they perform
on
the water for the boating public.
. Without DBW and the
funding for Marine Patrol Operations,
not only
would the boating public be at great
risk, so would the security of vital
infrastructure these boating safety
officers protect and patrol.
. Without DBW equipment
grant monies many agencies would be
unable to
upgrade patrol boats, electronics and
critical communication equipment.
Equipment grants provide important
components that many agencies cannot
provide for out of their own reduced
department budgets.
. Include example of
personal experience with your training
or
department that DBW has made possible.
Additional benefits of the Department
of Boating and Waterways
(Use this information for your emails
and letters, but we suggest you
personalize it as much as possible to
avoid it looking like a form letter)
. DBW is completely
self-funded by boater's dollars.
DBW does not
rely on the State General Fund for one
penny to pay for the many
construction projects, programs, staff
or any of its operating expenses.
Eliminating the Department WILL NOT
help with the State's financial
problems.
. Boating is an economic
powerhouse: Recreational boating
contributes
approximately $16.5 billion to the
gross state product, which represents
about 1.2 percent of the State's
economy and generates about $1.6
billion in
state and local taxes. There are
more than 8,500 recreational
boating-related businesses.
Recreational boating also creates over
284,000
direct and indirect jobs. DBW's
efforts are dedicated to promoting
boating
and are critical to ensuring the
future economic health of California.
. DBW is the primary
funding source for boating
infrastructure
construction. Each year DBW
provides millions of dollars in the
form of
grants and loans for private
enterprises and public agencies for
boating
infrastructure projects. Without
the availability of these grants and
loans, boating infrastructure
improvements and repairs will be
severely
hampered, along with the much-needed
jobs these projects create.
. DBW loans money that is
paid back with interest. These
loans
generate approximately $20 million
dollars in revenue each year for the
Department through the repayment of
principal and interest on these loans.
DBW makes money for the State!
. DBW's safety programs
save lives. Boating accidents
are the
second-largest type of transportation
accident in the nation, exceeded only
by automobile accidents, and
California ranks second nationally in
the
number of boating accidents and
fatalities. DBW has an
aggressive safety
outreach program, including direct
financial support for law enforcement
in
high boating counties, that is
critical to saving lives on the water.
In short, the Department of
Boating and Waterways does an
excellent job that
has many direct and indirect financial
and other benefits to the State, all
without the help of the General
Fund. To allow this Department
to be
eliminated will have a serious impact
on the economy and the safe enjoyment
of boating.
REMEMBER:
WE NEED YOUR LETTERS AND EMAILS TO
STOP THIS PROPOSAL. UNLESS THE
GOVERNOR
AND THE LEGISLATURE HEAR FROM YOU,
THEY MAY NOT THINK SAVING THIS
CRITICAL
STATE DEPARTMENT IS IMPORTANT.
Thanks for your efforts and please
don't wait to get your message out.