Arizona Outdoorsmen Getting Ripped Off
Posted: Thu Jun 19, 2008 6:21 pm
I received a quite disturbing email today. Due to Arizona having alarge deficit they recently raped the AZGFD fund to pay for other agencies lack of funding. Here is the article and a link to help out.
Legislative Alert
Ask the Legislature and Governor
Not to Sweep Wildlife Dollars
Issue: The Legislature and Governor’s Office swept $7,560,695 dollars from Arizona Game & Fish to balance the 2008 budget deficit. Another $5.6 million was taken from State Lake Improvement and Off Highway Vehicle funds from State Parks. Negotiations between the Legislature and the Governor’s Office are occurring as we speak to address the projected $2.2 Billion budget shortfall for 2009. AGFD is again being considered for more funding sweeps.
While $13 million was swept from the AGFD and State Parks 2008 Budgets, some agencies were not swept or only minimally affected and others appeared to have actually received net increases. The difference between the Arizona Game & Fish Department (AGFD ) and other state agencies is the manner in which it is funded.
As noted in the most recent edition of The Sportsmen’s Connection, the AGFD does not receive one penny of general fund revenues. Aproximately 80% of AGFD's revenue in any given year is generated by sportsmen. Sportsmen have time and again asked the legislature to increase the fees that they pay. The Joint Legislative Budget Committee estimated that the most recent fee increase in 2005 would yield a 30% increase in revenues to the AGFD by 2009. A similar amount was generated from the previous fee increase in 1999. And these fee increases were not easy to obtain as both increases required a super majority vote of the legislature.
Sportsmen know just how difficult it is to get the state to repay swept funds for Arizona's wildlife. In 2006, AZSFW asked the Legislature to repay $15 million in funds that had been swept over the prior four years. Mind you this was a time when the state was flush with dollars and voted to increase their total budget expenditures by approximately 9%. After an aggressive campaign, AZSFW felt fortunate to obtain a general fund appropriation of $3.5 million for critical wildlife habitat projects.
It is time for the sportsmen and women
of this state to stand up and say
“no more AGFD fund sweeps”.
http://www.arizonasportsmenforwildlife. ... ction.html
Legislative Alert
Ask the Legislature and Governor
Not to Sweep Wildlife Dollars
Issue: The Legislature and Governor’s Office swept $7,560,695 dollars from Arizona Game & Fish to balance the 2008 budget deficit. Another $5.6 million was taken from State Lake Improvement and Off Highway Vehicle funds from State Parks. Negotiations between the Legislature and the Governor’s Office are occurring as we speak to address the projected $2.2 Billion budget shortfall for 2009. AGFD is again being considered for more funding sweeps.
While $13 million was swept from the AGFD and State Parks 2008 Budgets, some agencies were not swept or only minimally affected and others appeared to have actually received net increases. The difference between the Arizona Game & Fish Department (AGFD ) and other state agencies is the manner in which it is funded.
As noted in the most recent edition of The Sportsmen’s Connection, the AGFD does not receive one penny of general fund revenues. Aproximately 80% of AGFD's revenue in any given year is generated by sportsmen. Sportsmen have time and again asked the legislature to increase the fees that they pay. The Joint Legislative Budget Committee estimated that the most recent fee increase in 2005 would yield a 30% increase in revenues to the AGFD by 2009. A similar amount was generated from the previous fee increase in 1999. And these fee increases were not easy to obtain as both increases required a super majority vote of the legislature.
Sportsmen know just how difficult it is to get the state to repay swept funds for Arizona's wildlife. In 2006, AZSFW asked the Legislature to repay $15 million in funds that had been swept over the prior four years. Mind you this was a time when the state was flush with dollars and voted to increase their total budget expenditures by approximately 9%. After an aggressive campaign, AZSFW felt fortunate to obtain a general fund appropriation of $3.5 million for critical wildlife habitat projects.
It is time for the sportsmen and women
of this state to stand up and say
“no more AGFD fund sweeps”.
http://www.arizonasportsmenforwildlife. ... ction.html