Stop LD 633!
Dear Fellow Ice Anglers,
We need your help to stop LD 633. Please send in a letter to the Joint Committe on Inland Fisheries and Wildlife TODAY opposing this bill. The members of the committee are:
Senator Bruce S. Bryant (D-Oxford), Chair, Senator Joseph C. Perry (D-Penobscot), Senator Walter R. Gooley (R-Franklin), Representative Troy Dale Jackson (D-Allagash), Chair, Representative Walter A. Wheeler, Sr. (D-Kittery), Representative Jacqueline A. Lundeen (D-Mars Hill), Representative Mark E. Bryant (D-Windham), Representative Edward D. Finch (D-Fairfield), Representative Jane E. Eberle (D-South Portland), Representative David E. Richardson (R-Carmel), Representative Earl E. Richardson (R-Greenville), Representative Everett W. McLeod, Sr. (R-Lee), Representative Thomas B. Saviello (U-Wilton)
You may use the sample letter below as a guide, or if you prefer, fill out the form at the end and the sample letter will be sent to the Joint Committe on Inland Fisheries and Wildlife on your behalf:
To: All members of the Joint Standing Committee on Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, and Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Commissioner Roland D. Martin
I am sending you this e-mail to register my concerns and opposition to this bill. I ask that you vote against this bill, I think that it is counter productive and creates more problems than it solves.
LD 633 is a bill that would force snowmobile owners to join a club or face higher registration fees.
Please consider the fact that many of us use our snowmobiles for ice fishing and never use Maine's trail system to recreate. I think that it is unfair to force us to join a club and to subsidize the snowmobile tourist industry. This bill is essentially the government using tax policy to force membership in a private organization. If this standard is set in law where does it end?
If it is determined that more money needs to be spent to promote snowmobile tourism, then other sources of funding need to be looked at and found.
A financial breakdown of current registration fees shows that a significant portion of the current registration fee goes to Maine's General Fund. Perhaps this money would be better re-directed from the General Fund to fund trail grooming activities in support of Maine's snowmobile economy.
Another concern is that once again the Maine sportsman is being singled out and forced to pay higher taxes/fees in order to fund infrastructure that ultimately benefits all Mainers. Why do we not see bike registrations to pay for our bike paths? Or bird watching and hiking licenses to pay for public land?
If the Committee is insistent on raising user fees for snowmobilers is it essential that the users that are actually using the trails should pay it. Perhaps using some type of a sticker system where only riders that are using the trails will be forced to pay.
Before that happens, I think the our Legislators needs to look for ways to cut spending someplace else to pay for this program, just like I have to do with my personal budget. I understand tough choices will have to be made but it is impossible to continue to fund everything we desire.
I appeal to your good judgment and common sense to vote against LD 633 and find other ways to accomplish maintaining a robust snowmobile trail system in Maine.
Thank You,
Created by Contact
Form Generator
This page is sponsored by The New England Outdoor Voice