CTF writers,

As we work to raise awareness of this issue with legislators, we should also be aware of the role of the OPM Chief and Governor in getting any fee reductions implemented. Please see the attached email string between one of our subject matter experts and the Governor's office. We need to continue writing to the Governor and OPM to be sure they feel our touch as well.

NOTE: I"ve removed the author's name and email address,since we don't want to put him in an awkward position with his former colleagues. With that said, his correspondence with the Governors office and notes to me are as follows:

Dave,

I sent a copy of the Hartford Courant editorial and a cover letter (similar attached) to the Governor's office and about 12 legislators, including all of the leadership.


See GOV aide's response and my response to him. Having been there, I know how things work. Professional letter writers making you feel your comments were appreciated. The only way to make the point stick is by generating more correspondence from more people.

However, as we try to exert some pressure on the legislature - DON'T FORGET THE GOVERNOR'S OFFICE. SHE AND THE OPM CHIEF CAME UP WITH THE 100% FEE INCREASE IN THE FIRST PLACE. Any effort by the Legislature to roll the increase back to 25% will have to get past Secretary Genuario. We need to keep reminding him that the 100% increase did more harm than good. It was a mistake that can and should be fixed.

Regards,
XXXXX

--- On Fri, 2/5/10, xxxxxxx@sbcglobal.net> wrote:


From: xxxxxxx
Subject: Re: Response from Governor Rell's Office
To: "Louis MFulinello" <Luigi.Fulinello@ct.gov>
Date: Friday, February 5, 2010, 1:58 PM


Mr. Fulinello:


Thank you for the reply. I have sent a similar letter to several of the legislators.


My understanding is that the 100% fee increase was contained in the initial Governor's proposal in 2009. Much of the session was spent convincing the legislators that a 25% fee increase was more appropriate: that it would actually generate more revenue than a 100% increase without destroying the constituent base.


Sportsmen and wildlife supporters were surprised that the final budget that passed had reverted back to the Governor's initial 100% fee increase. It seems to have been an oversight.


I recognize that legislative action will be required to roll back the fee increase to 25%. However, I want to make sure that the Governor and Secretary Genuario are aware that the 25% increase will not decrease revenue. It is fairer, will retain more constituents, and will increase revenue. Therefore, I trust they would support these efforts.


No need to respond, although I would appreciate it if you would forward my comments to the Governor and Secretary Genuario.


Thank you.


XXXX XXXX

--- On Fri, 2/5/10, Fulinello, Louis M <Luigi.Fulinello@ct.gov> wrote:


From: Fulinello, Louis M <Luigi.Fulinello@ct.gov>
Subject: Response from Governor Rell's Office
To: xxxxxx@sbcglobal.net
Date: Friday, February 5, 2010, 11:36 AM




February 5, 2010



Dear Mr. XXXX:



Thank you for your correspondence to Governor Rell regarding your concerns about permit and license fee increases. The Governor truly appreciates the time you took to write to her office. Please accept this response on the Governor’s behalf.


The state budget that was passed by the General Assembly in September 2009, included General Fund permit and license fee increases effective October 1st. New legislation would need to be proposed and passed by the General Assembly to repeal or reduce any of these fee increases. Therefore, I would suggest that you also contact your legislative representatives to voice your concerns.



Thank you again for contacting Governor Rell. The Governor promises to keep your comments in mind.


Sincerely,



Luigi Fulinello

Staff Assistant

Office of the Governor

SAME BULLSH!T Letter i got back. Please accept on behalf of the govenor,.. I think Monday outght be a 1000 call day,...WHAT C'hal' think...

Chris, you are one of the few CTF popular-guys demonstrating leadership,and hopefully we can get other popular-guys with a “P”, “O” and “C” before their name to join you.The initiative needs CTFers to put CTF popularity aside and flat-out kick-ass inside the site and along side our "Hartford-insiders”. This initiative needs CTFer like you to set an example.

IMO, phone calls are great, but a letter with the Financial Impact Flyer enclosed leaves a stronger footprint.

Chris, the following is a PM reply I sent to Tommy Tremble, that expands on the above points. (Tommy has been very proactive.)

Unfortunately, too many people think that a response to their letter is important, but at least they are writing letters.
CTfers need to send a letter voicing their concern and displeasure. The more voices sent through letters translates to more support for our lobbyist, insiders and politicking reps who are fighting for us.
Imagine how much we weaken the position of these Hartford insiders by not sending letters. The “insiders” are flat out fighting the fees increase and the diversions of fee $$ to the general fund.

Think of the overwhelming CTFer effect of not sending hundreds of letters. While we rant and rave to each other, in the "closed room" of our web site, our silence sends a message to the opposition; we don't care about the injustice.
Our “insiders” are not ranting and raving to each other; "Oh *****, the opposition is not responding. They are flat out fighting for us.We need mass numbers of letters sent to Hartford and we need to stop worrying about who is replying to whom; that was never the objective.

IMO CTFers that are writing letters are helping the cause, but they are falling short. If they are not pushing others to write letters, they contribute to the apathy demonstrated on this site.

The bottom line, a CFTer mass reaction or lack there of is hurting this initiative big-time.

Also who are these lobbyists and insiders you are talking about? Who is funding the lobbyist?

I don’t think we are in disagreement. IMO it would be politically wise and a courtesy for your rep to reply to your letter. If your rep does not reply you can assume the rep is the opposition, busy, discourteous and/or disorganized. Take your pick as to why the rep does not reply or add some of your own. If our reps don’t reply should our course of action be to “stop fighting. IMO if a CTFer is not participating in the fight, that CTFer supports the opposition. Those are the people we should rant and rave at.

Another point to be made, the fees fight is a political battle. We will loose some supporters and gain supporters. Our objective is to have a majority of supporters at the final vote. The final vote becomes a public record and you will know how your rep voted. After that vote you will be able to decide as to whether the rep has your vote at election time.

2. Response as to our Hartford insiders:

We are allied with groups that are in line with our interest, such as, Bob Crooks, Sportsmen’s Coalition of Connecticut Sportsmen & lobbyist,
John Larkin, lobbyist, and David Proulx, Ducks Unlimited. Post in this thread#1180712 - 02/05/10 11:15 AM.

List of rep supporters are from Dave Proulx, Co-Chairman, SAC that was posted under#1179888 - 02/02/10 09:05 PM, SAC Forum, Post Copy Of Letters Thread.
The following are State Representatives & Senators who have indicated Support of the Sportsmen Fee Reduction to a 20-25% increase of the previous 2009 Fees rather than the 100% increase.
NEWLY ADDED: 1/27 (1-800 Toll Free numbers are within CT Only)
Rep. William A. Hamzy 800-842-1423 or 860-240-8700 William.Hamzy@housegop.ct.gov
Rep. Arthur J. O’Neill 800-842-1423 or 860-240-8700 Arthur.ONeill@housegop.ct.gov
Rep. Linda A. Orange 800-842-8267 or 860-240-8585 Linda.Orange@cga.ct.gov
2010 Support For Sportsmen Fee Reduction 01/25
Sen. Donald DeFronzo * 800 842-1420 or 860-240-0595 DeFronzo@senatedems.ct.gov
Rep. Joan Lewis 800-842-8267 or 860-240-8585 Joan.Lewis@cga.ct.gov
Rep. Craig Minor ** 800-842-1423 or 860-240-8700 Craig.Miner@housegop.ct.gov
Rep. Shawn Williams ** 800-842-1423 or 860-240-8700 Sean.Williams@housegop.ct.gov
Rep. Bryan P. Hurlburt ** 800-842-8267 or 860-240-8585 Bryan.Hurlburt@cga.ct.gov
Sen. Jonathan Harris ** 800-842-1420 or 860-240-0567 Harris@senatedems.ct.gov
Sen. Sam Caligiuri ** 800-842-1421 or 860-240-8800 Sam.Caligiuri@cga.ct.gov
Sen. Anthony Guglielmo ** 800-842-1421 or 860-240-8308 Anthony.Guglielmo@cga.ct.gov
Sen. John Fonfara 800 842-1420 or 860-240-0043 Fonfara@senatedems.ct.gov
Rep. Tim O’Brien * 800-842-8267 or 860-240-8585 tim@timobrien.org
Rep. Peter Tercyak * 800-842-8267 or 860-240-8585 Peter.Tercyak@cga.ct.gov
Rep. Betty Boukus * 800-842-8267 or 860-240-8585 Betty.Boukus@cga.ct.gov
Rep. Roberta Willis 800-842-8267 or 860-240-8585 Roberta.Willis@cga.ct.gov
Rep. Antonio Guerrera 800-842-8267 or 860-240-8585 Tony.Guerrera@cga.ct.gov
Rep. Sandy Nafis 800-842-8267 or 860-240-8585 Sandy.Nafis@cga.ct.gov 185
Rep. Karen Jarmoc *** 800-842-8267 or 860-240-8585 Karen.Jarmoc@cga.ct.gov
Sen. Andrew M. Maynard **** 800 842-1420 or 860-240-0584 Maynard@senatedems.ct.gov
Sen. Gary D. LeBeau **** 800 842-1420 or 860-240-0511 LeBeau@senatedems.ct.gov
Sen. Edward Meyer **** 800 842-1420 or 860-240-0455 Meyer@senatedems.ct.gov
Sen. Andrea L Stillman **** 800 842-1420 or 860-240-0589 Stillman@senatedems.ct.gov
Sen. John Fonfara **** 800 842-1420 or 860-240-0043 Fonfara@senatedems.ct.gov
Sen. Mary Ann Handley **** 800 842-1420 or 860-240-0441 Handley@senatedems.ct.gov
Sen. Edith G. Prague **** 800 842-1420 or 860-240-0579 Prague@senatedems.ct.gov

Sen. Bob Duff **** 800 842-1420 or 860-240-0414 Duff@senatedems.ct.gov
Sen. Thomas Colapietro **** 800 842-1420 or 860-240-0475 Colapietro@senatedems.ct.gov
Sen. Gayle Slossberg **** 800 842-1420 or 860-240-0482 Slossberg@senatedems.ct.gov
Rep. Vincent J. Candelora 800-842-1423 or 860-240-8700 Vincent.Candelora@housegop.ct.gov
Rep. Christopher D. Coutu 800-842-1423 or 860-240-8700 Christopher.Coutu@housegop.ct.gov
Rep. Steven T. Mikutel 860 240-8585 Steve.Mikutel@cga.ct.gov
Rep. DebraLee Hovey 800-842-1423 or 860-240-8700 DebraLee.Hovey@housegop.ct.gov
Sen. Paul R. Doyle 860-240-0498 Doyle@senatedems.ct.gov
Sen. Andrew W. Roraback 800 842-1421 or (860) 240-8800 Andrew.Roraback@cga.ct.gov
Sen. Antonietta "Toni" Boucher 800 842-1421 or (860) 240-8800 Toni.Boucher@cga.ct.gov
Sen. Dan Debicella 800 842-1421 or (860) 240-8800 (Dan.Debicella@cga.ct.gov
Rep. Ed Jutila 800-842-8267 or (860) or 240-8585 Ed.Jutila@cga.ct.gov
Sen. L. Scott Frantz 800 842-1421 or (860) 240-8800 Scott.Frantz@cga.ct.gov
Sen. Michael A. McLachlan 800-842-1421 or (860) 240-8800 Michael.McLachlan@cga.ct.gov
Rep. David K. Labriola 800-842-1423 or 860 240-8700 David.Labriola@housegop.ct.gov
Rep. Peggy Sayers 800-842-8267 or 860 240-8585 Peggy.Sayers@cga.ct.gov
* Special Letter of Support
** Attended the Sportsmen’s Fee Meeting, Nov.4th 2009 at Cabela’s
*** Held Fees Forum in District
**** Reduction proposal circulated among Senate Democrats (House Democrats not yet available).