The California Legislature just raised the price of boat ownership for California boaters.
The legislature recently passed a law the Guvenator signed on Oct 14, 2007, that could take approximately $5 million out of the pockets of California members of the PWC Nation over the next eight years. And it might take as much as $70 million from other recreational boaters. I am basing these figures on my own calculations since I couldn’t find any data from the legislature.
OK so for me, every 2 years I cough up an extra $10 that will improve boating safety and boating facilities in Cal., and heck, maybe put a couple more cops on the water to help maintain order. NOT! This new law is an absolutely crystal clear example of a legislature using and abusing their powers to tax people to pay for pet projects while calling it a “fee”.
Here is the real problem with this new law; the money is not doing a single thing to improve boating despite targeting boaters specifically to pay $75 million. Here is the list of worthy projects where the money will be spent according to the bill. http://www.assembly.ca.gov/acs/acsframeset2text.htm
1) Alternative fuel and vehicle technology research, development, demonstration, and deployment.
2) Research to evaluate the air quality impacts of alternative fuels
3) Implement the act in a manner to ensure the fair treatment of people of all races, cultures and income levels.
4) Provide funding consistent with other state goals and requirements.
5) Commence voluntary retirement of passenger vehicles and light-duty and medium trucks that are high polluters.
6) Evaluation of the full fuel-cycle of fuels including production, extraction, transport and storage.
7) Vehicle technology means any vehicle, boat, off-road equipment, or locomotive or components like engines, propulsion system, transmission or construction materials.
All this to be administered by a commission and a state board which will have an obligatory advisory board.
The details of the new law fill 12 pages with fairly small type. Who knew it would take 12 pages to describe how boat owners’ money will be spread throughout a bold new bureaucracy?
It is my opinion that despite the quantity of money involved, $75 million from boaters alone, and this money will disappear like rain drops in the desert. I can already hear the clamor of Legislators’ favorite consultants launching into a frenzy to get a cut of the funds. Plus, of course, the salaries for Commission and state board members and their staff, some of whom will doubtlessly be former legislators and former legislative staff.
Your AWA sent their appeal for rationality to the California Assembly but with little or no avail. I realize that like me, you probably accept that the extra $10 over two years is nothing. But this so called fee extracted from boaters is being used to fund projects for which the legislature could not find other funding. So they look at boaters and decide that these folks won’t be organized enough if they get stuck with another fee, no matter how unrelated to their sport its use might be
I have long since learned that one should not stand between a legislator and the public’s money, it is how a person could get crushed. A widely read political columnist has a way of describing the essence of this new law in more direct terms: “Being elected to Congress [or a state legislature] is regarded as being sent on a looting raid for one’s friends.” George Will
There is at least one important way to fight this sort of assault on recreational boating. That is to help the AWA grow and individually be ready to help the AWA respond to these patently unfair and egregious acts by the very people we have elected to represent our interests.
