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Rob VanGorder
06-10-2009, 02:08 PM
With regard to the state budget bill and the rumors about the “death” of the Ohio muskie program, I’ve been asked by several members of the club to post the explanation of the process that I gave at last night’s meeting. So here goes. First and foremost, this is my own opinion and my personal take on the issues at hand. This stuff is complicated and these are tough times, and I may not have it all just right.

The state’s fiscal year ends June 30th. The legislature has to pass a budget bill (signed into law) that will go into effect on July 1st. The State House of Representatives passed their version of the budget bill. The State Senate passed their version as well. Since these two bodies are controlled by different political parties, it should come as no surprise to anyone that the versions were quite different. Once both of them pass their own versions, the bill goes to a conference committee which in this case will include the chair, vice-chair and ranking minority members of the finance committee in both the House and the Senate. Six people total, three democrats and three republicans because of the current majorities that exist. The conference committee will work out the differences and come to a version of the budget bill that both bodies would be expected to sign and pass. The conference committee is getting ready to convene for this year’s budget, and they are expected to get it done by the end of the month. 20 days from now.

In the Senate version of the budget bill, there were four amendments that were added that are creating the rumors that have been going around. One gives free licenses to grandchildren of landowners, one give free licenses to National Guard members, one gives resident license status to non-resident landowners, and the last forces the DOW to create a separate check-in system for landowners for deer and turkey. If passed with these four amendments, the DOW would incur a loss of revenue plus the added cost of creating a new system that would lower their expected budget by around $2 million. It should be noted that these amendments are not budget cuts. They are user-fee reductions and a mandate to spend money to create a new system in lieu of using the one that is currently in place. If their budget is lower, then the DOW has to spend less. Simple economics. They have already made cuts, frozen spending and are mandating furloughs for their employees, so these cuts would have to come from somewhere else. None of the amendments specifically mention the muskie, steelhead or pheasant programs. The legislature is not going to tell the DOW to cut the muskie program. But they might give them less to work with and tough choices would have to be made. Although the muskie community is an incredibly passionate group of sportsman, we are a very small percentage of the angling community and therefore are very vulnerable. To debate that however, is putting the cart before the horse so to speak. Right now, the bill is in conference committee and there is something each of us can do.

If you are taking the time to write or call your representative or senator, then the best thing that I believe you can tell them at this time is to remove these amendments from the bill. At a minimum, let these amendments be debated and proposed as their own stand alone legislation and not ride along on a budget bill. The current budget is like none other we’ve seen in a while. I’m not downplaying or advocating the importance of any of one of the amendments personally. I’m a veteran, and I could probably make a pretty good argument in favor of the benefit for the National Guard. However, I would like to see these issues get the gainful debate they deserve and be addressed in their own bill, at a minimum.

It is hard to think about this without looking to the future and asking “what if?” If the DOW has to endure additional costs and revenue cuts, then they will have to make tough choices. There would be a lot of programs at risk of reduction or cuts were that to happen, and not just the muskie program.

Regards,

Rob

Rob VanGorder
06-11-2009, 01:38 PM
The conference committee was named:

Rep Vernon Sykes, D-Akron
Rep Jay Goyal, D-Mansfield
Rep Ron Amstutz, R-Wooster
Sen John Carey Jr., R-Wellston
Sen Mark Wagoner, R-Toledo
Sen Dale Miller, D-Cleveland

This group has to sort out 579 differences between the house and senate versions of the budget bill in the next 19 days, and balance a budget facing up to a reported $3 billion (with a "B") shortfall.

I don't see how any of the four amendments we discussed would help them balance the budget problem facing the state. I am hoping they remove the amendments from the budget bill and concentrate on the other 575 differences.