Senate “Sweeps Back” Snowmobile Funding

June 16, 2008, Albany, NY --- The New York Snowmobile Association (NYSSA), the volunteer organization representing more than 100,000 New York snowmobilers throughout the Empire State, praised today’s State Senate passage of legislation that would restore $1 million in funding to the State’s Snowmobile Trail Development and Management Account.

“We’re delighted the Senate has taken decisive action to have this funding that is solely generated by snowmobile registrations returned to snowmobile trail maintenance and safety. Snowmobiling is a critical part of the Upstate economy generating jobs and attracting tourism,” said Mike Fischer, President of New York State Snowmobile Association (www.nyssnowassoc.org).

In March of this year, the Director of the Budget directed the State Comptroller’s office to transfer $100 million in available fund balances to the state’s General Fund. As part of this transfer of these funds, $1 million was transferred from the Snowmobile Trail Development and Management Account.

“The money that was swept comes from the registration fees paid by snowmobilers and is desperately needed for maintaining and developing the statewide trail system. Trail maintenance is critical to safety and a priority for the 237 snowmobile clubs throughout the state who are willing to do the hard work, but are not willing to have their registration money taken by the Division of the Budget to plug a hole in the state budget,” said Fischer.

The Senate unanimously approved legislation, sponsored by Senator Joe Griffo and Senator Betty Little, that directs the Comptroller to put the $1 million back into the State’s Snowmobile Trail Development and Management Account, and directs the Commissioner of Parks to file an annual report with the Governor and Legislature accounting for all the money disbursed from the fund.

According to Fischer, in the past few years, NYSSA member clubs successfully urged the Legislature to raise snowmobile registration fees in order to increase the dedicated trail monies in the Snowmobile Trail Fund. These increases were desperately needed to keep pace with escalating costs to safely maintain the snowmobile trail system. Snowmobilers only agreed to these increases because these funds were to be set aside to reimburse snowmobile clubs for trail maintenance expenses including fuel for trail groomers, signs and other necessary costs.

“We commend the Senate for taking the lead. Now it’s up to the Assembly and the Governor to step up, stand up and restore this funding. Without passage of this legislation, many clubs will face severe budget cutbacks that will jeopardize their ability to safely maintain and groom the trail system next year,” said Fischer.

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We need to put on the pressure in the Assembly -Please make sure to call, e-mail, fax and snail mail letters ASAP.

Thanks for your patience and support making this happen.

Gary Broderick
Vice-President, NYSSA

Definitely a big step in the right direction!

Assembly tourism committee should be voting tomorrow and hopefully it will hit the floor for a full vote. Please keep calling

Newest letter from NYSSA-please use this:

Assembly Tourism will be looking at this tomorrow, hopefully they will vote and move it to the floor tomorrow. Please keep calls, faxes and e-mails coming. Format is here:

Date

Honorable (first& last Name)
NYS Assembly
(Room) LOB
Albany, New York 12248
Re: A11009

Dear Assemblyman or Assemblywoman (last name):

As a member of (name of club), I am again urging you to support Assemblywoman Destito’s bill, A11009 (S8144 Griffo), introduced in response the Budget Director’s recent transfer of $1 million from the snowmobile trail fund to the general fund that has been vehemently opposed by our club membership and the NYS Snowmobile Association.

Senator Griffo’s bill, S8144, has just been passed by the Senate unanimously and we need your help to get Assemblywoman Destito’s bill, A11009, out of the Assembly Tourism Committee and passed in the Assembly. Please call Assemblywoman Destito and Assemblyman Englebright to voice your support for this bill.

This bill recognizes the damage to the State’s snowmobile program resulting from the $1 million raid on the trail fund and rightly directs the State Comptroller to restore the money by the end of the fiscal year. It also imposes fiscal transparency by requiring the Commissioner of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation file an annual report with the Governor and the Legislature accounting for all the monies to be disbursed from the snowmobile trail development and maintenance fund.
.
As you are aware, this money comes from the registration fees paid by snowmobilers and is desperately needed for maintaining and developing the statewide trail system. Trail maintenance is an ongoing process for my club and the other 236 snowmobile clubs throughout the state that make up the 100,000 member NYS Snowmobile Association (NYSSA). These clubs take on the responsibility and the financial obligation to maintain the trails throughout the year. Snowmobilers who use the trail system are willing to pay for it but they are not willing to have their registration money taken by the Division of the Budget.

Snowmobiling is an important component of State tourism creating much-needed jobs and generating vital revenue to many Upstate and Western New York businesses and communities. Many small businesses rely on snowmobiling for their survival and are able to sustain themselves through the winter. According to the New York State Department of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, snowmobiling contributes over $875 million to the state’s economy each year.

The Legislative Session is coming to a close and we need your help now to get A11009 Destito out of the Assembly Tourism Committee and passed in the Assembly. Without passage of this legislation, many clubs will face severe budget cutbacks that will jeopardize their ability to safely maintain and groom the trail system next year.

Sincerely,

(sign you name)

Congratulations to John Linton !

Saw you on TV this morning, 7:30am Capital News 9, almost a 3 minute story! Excellent story on the $1M sweep.

News Story Video Link
http://capitalnews9.com/Video/BuildASX.ash...&adId=10820

Keep the calls, e-mails and letter coming all !

More News ---------------------

Snowmobile funds make tracks through Senate, wait for Assembly
Article from the Rome Sentinel

Sent mine to Mike Cole today!



Good Post!

Glad to see that things might be working out!! Let me know if I as an out of stater can send anything!!

I got a 2nd letter now from my Senator, Bill Larkin, saying they strongly oppose the sweep and are still fighting it. Attached with his letter was a letter from the Budget Director Laura Anglin stating that what they did was perfectly legal and was done to fix the "fledging NY budget" It also said something about they are basically set up to do the same thing in 2009 so be ready for it to happen again. Larkin said they are doing everything they can an are fighting it. All I say is keep the pressure on and I was thinking why don't we all just not register their sleds this year. If there is no money in the fund they can take it - RIGHT?!

If everyone did NOT register their sleds this year, where would the clubs get the funds to maintain the trails? Would every single rider send $60.00 per sled to their club of choice so that we can safely build, clear, sign, and groom "your" trails?

I think the easiest thing to do would be to spend the money, and then there wouldn’t be anything for them to take. No more saving for a rainy day!
Not to practical, I know.

I would gladly give $60 per sled directly to my club rather then the f%&king thieves in the state of New York anyday. Matter of fact I give my club money and I pay for Old Forge trail permits on top of the club money and I do it with a smile as I know where the money is going. Tell me where all the money that went to NYS is right now!!!!!!!

We are working to get the legislation out of Ways and Means Committe to the floor for a vote. Please, by all means, continue writing, e-mailing and faxing to the Assembly. Once this bill is signed we will be ramping up the campaign to the governor.

Thanks,
Gary

p.s. Example letters are listed at www.nyssnowassoc.org

The push is on-we need to call our Assembly men and women and ask them to work on getting A11009 out of Ways & Means and to the floor for a vote. Please call them, be sincere and polite-we need this bill. The Senate voted unanimously for it, we need the Assembly to send the same message to the Governor.

Just in case you're curious, A11009 never made it off the table in Ways and Means. The bill is now dead until next January. NYSSA's upper management has failed us again. Sorry Gary, I don't mean to be a dick and I realize you tried very hard at getting this through but the half assed pussy PC approach NYSSA takes on every situation we encounter never amounts to shit. You guys need to grow a set!

Read my post 7 posts up (post #8). I am telling you all I got a letter from my Senator that had a letter attached that was from the Budget Director Laura Anglin and she states what they did was legal and they plan to do it again in 2009. Like I said - Do not register a snowmobile in NYS and they will not get you money.

HAWLEY STANDS UP FOR SNOWMOBILERS
Calls on Governor to Return $1 Million Fund

Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R, I, C – Batavia) was joined by his colleagues from the Assembly in calling on the Governor to return the $1 million to the Snowmobile Trail Development and Maintenance Fund. The regular legislative session ended with the funds unreturned; as such, Hawley and his colleagues delivered hundreds of signed petitions from New Yorkers and State Legislators to the Executive Chamber in the State Capitol today.

“This issue is not just about snowmobilers – it is about government trying to grab every single penny, from every source, without being held accountable. The snowmobile fund was a dedicated fund that Albany should not have been able to spend. The misguided actions of our state government and their raid on the snowmobilers’ fund will not only impact recreation, it affects the economies of our communities all across the state,” said Hawley. “Many of my constituents who snowmobile at home also travel to the Tug Hill Plateau or Old Forge on vacations with their families. These areas benefit from this economic stimulus.”

After learning that this year’s State Budget swept $1 million from the snowmobile fund, Hawley was the first to call on the state to immediately return the money. He authored and introduced legislation, Assembly Bill 10732, to prevent the transfer of funds from accounts that are specifically supported with a dedicated fee, such as the Snowmobile Trail Development and Maintenance Fund. He also spearheaded a statewide petition drive, which collected thousands of signatures from concerned New Yorkers, as well as personally circulating a petition to state lawmakers, asking for their support in returning the funds. Over 60 members of the Assembly, from both sides of the aisle, signed the petition.

Despite bipartisan support, the regular legislative session ended last night without resolution on the issue. That’s why Hawley and his colleagues, including Assemblywoman Teresa Sayward (R, I, C-Willsboro), Assemblyman Marc W. Butler (R,C,I-Newport), Assemblyman Cliff Crouch (R-Guilford), Assemblyman Gary D. Finch (R,C-Springport), Assemblyman Joe Giglio (R,I,C-Gowanda), and Assemblyman Bill Reilich (R,C,I-Greece) met with Governor Paterson’s Director of Legislative Affairs and staff to deliver the petitions and urge the Executive Chamber to bring lawmakers back to Albany to resolve this issue.

“We stressed to the Governor’s office that if the legislature is not going to take action, we need to come together in order to develop a new registration system in order to protect snowmobilers and other groups from having their funds swiped again. I will continue working with the Governor’s office and my colleagues from both sides of the aisle in order to return the funds and ensure that Albany is held accountable for its spending,” stated Hawley.

NYSSA GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS UPDATE -- June 26, 2008

The 2008 legislative session has concluded with both the Senate adjourning on Tuesday, June 24th and the Assembly on Wednesday, June 25 at 12:27 AM. The legislative leaders ended this year’s legislative session, which has been one of the more bizarre periods, highlighted by the departure of its two biggest power brokers.

The six-month session ended nothing like it began: with a new Governor, David Paterson, who replaced the disgraced Eliot Spitzer in March, and new Senate majority leader, Dean Skelos, who was voted Tuesday evening as the Legislature’s top Republican following Monday’s surprising retirement announcement by Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno.

NYSSA’s legislation, S8144 Griffo, unanimously passed the Senate on June 16th. The Assembly bill, A11009 Destito was reported out of the Assembly Tourism Committee on June 18th but was not able to get out of the Assembly Ways & Means Committee for a vote. The argument by Assembly leadership was that advancing this legislation would have the undesirable effect of reopening the State Budget to other amendments.

However, the passage of this legislation by the Senate coupled with the enormous grassroots effort by our clubs and their members and Assemblywoman Destito’s meeting with the Budget Director, has provided NYSSA with the leverage needed to bring the NYS Division of Budget to the table in order to discuss a resolution to the unwarranted sweep of the trail fund.

On Wednesday, June 25th, President Mike Fischer and NYSSA’s lobbyists met with NYS Budget Director Laura Anglin, DOB Deputy Director Mary Beth Labate, Andy Beers, Executive Deputy Commissioner, OPRHP, Peter Finn, Deputy Commissioner for Finance & Administration, OPRHP, Mike Schell, Senior Advisor for Intergovernmental Affairs to the Governor, Steve Longo, Counsel to Assemblywoman Destito, and Geri Purcell, Administrative Assistant to Senator Griffo. President Fischer presented the position and concerns of NYSSA to the Budget Director. Essentially Fischer made the following case:

The $1 million that was “swept” didn’t come from taxpayers --- it came entirely from the registration fees paid by snowmobilers for the expressed sole purpose of maintaining and developing the statewide trail system. Trail maintenance is critical to safety and the top priority for the 237 snowmobile clubs throughout the state who willingly assume responsibility for maintaining the trail system and volunteer over 250,000 hours of labor each year.

Snowmobiling in New York State generates an economic impact of over $1 billion based upon NYSSA estimates. This tremendous economic engine doesn’t just happen- it is the result of partnerships between the thousands of volunteers, landowners, and the 55 local governments who sponsor the snowmobile trail program.

Many snowmobilers will simply refuse to register their snowmobiles, believing that they have been misled about the purpose of the registration fees. If this happens, the trail fund will not have enough to reimburse the ever-increasing club trail expenses. Club membership dues revenues will also decrease. Add to these factors the likely more than $5 per gallon diesel fuel costs for this upcoming season, and snowmobiling in New York will be in a crisis mode.

Many snowmobilers believe this trust has been violated by the budget sweep. Fischer asked for help to restore this trust by asking the state to return the funds that we paid into the trail system.

Overall, the meeting was informative and productive. During the meeting, the legislative aides and the Governor’s representatives noted the tremendous outpouring of concern expressed by snowmobilers through contacts with their elected legislators as well as to Governor Paterson. The budget director also specifically mentioned the press activity surrounding this issue. NYSSA members have done great work in helping to shape this important public policy and should be proud of their efforts.

Another meeting with DOB is planned for Thursday, July 3rd to see if an agreement can be reached on the restoration of the funds and to avoid this situation in the future. NYSSA leadership remains optimistic that the Governor will direct staff to resolve the concerns of the snowmobilers in New York State.

Until the meeting, we will again be asking the clubs and their members to send a new model letter to the Governor in order to keep the pressure on the DOB for a favorable resolution to the sweep issue.

A copy of the letter can be found at the following URL http://orleanscountysnowdrifters.com/forum.../file.php?id=31

I hope you guys have a good 4th of July. We are hoping to have some action next week. Please stay tuned. Your help is greatly appreciated.

Gary