Guys,

Read from the bottom up- From Rep Matt Lesser




Thanks - you should also urge other sportsmen to contact their state reps and senators and ask them to co-sponsor HB 5038 "An Act Concerning Sportsmen and Camping Fees"- we currently have just six legislators signed on and more support will make this easier.

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Don,

I sponsored legislation last week to roll them back. I will do my best - it's a very difficult budget environment but you have my full support.

Matt
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Representative Lesser,

Have there been any new developments for amending the prices for hunting and fishing licenses?

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Don,

Thanks for writing.

Two weeks ago I sent a letter to Speaker of the House Christopher Donovan in support of a roll-back of the recent increase in sportsman license fees. In addition, I am working with legislative leaders to examine the possibility of providing free or discount hunting and fishing licenses to families receiving food assistance.

I share your concerns about the impact of steep fee increases on hunters and fishers in Connecticut and will fight to make sure that whatever increases do occur are proportionate.

The national recession has forced the state into a fiscal crisis, but we should not balance the budget on the backs on the businesses and families that make up Connecticut's sportsman community.

Best wishes and happy holidays,

Matt Lesser
State Representative


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Representative Lesser,



I email you to ask you to aid some of the sportsman in your respective community. Due to the states budgeting crisis from this year, the State saw it fit to raise our Hunting and Fishing Licenses. In fact, they doubled the fee. I ask you to support a bill that I've heard is in the workings to repeal the increases to license fees. I know of a large majority of sportsman in the Durham, Middlefield, Middletown & Rockfall area. Up until recently, the cost associated with hunting and fishing were at a reasonable rate, which middle and lower class families could afford. Doubling them has put a greater strain on these families. What once was a $28 license will now be a $56. Add on top of that all the special tags that one gets for a year, and this has quickly reached a couple hundred dollars. Feel free to email with any questions.



Don DeToro

33 Mack Rd.

Middlefield, CT 06455

203-640-6962

I don’t want to discourage anyone from writing or calling their local representatives to complain about our fee increases_ however you should be able to recognize that your state reps are blowing smoke. They can't change these fees and they know it. Their support is pure bull_ All they are doing is profiling and campaigning.
The budget (including our fees) is a done deal. ANY reduction in revenue must be off-set by a spending reduction. Don't look now but your little "reps" have no control over the spending side of the plan. The spending plan comes out of the ruling party "leadership"_ In this case the democrats. The party "leadership" doesn't give a crap about your fee increases and it doesn't seem the least bit interested in any significant spending reductions.

The fee increases aren't the problem_ the way people think about government is the problem.

and might I add that I fight for this for our hunting and fishing,..But I also have a battle in the recreation business that this state is trying vigoursly to attack,...fortunately we have the Golf COurse Owners Association, that has "voice" and a Specific agenda to fight the state in order to provide a recreational service to our patrons..........It's not pretty on either side!!!!! FYI......Recreation costs... in this state, and it is abundantly clear they have agendas to wreck that HARD EARNED right even more.....



STAND UP AND FIGHT GOD DAMMIT! IT TAKES 10 minutes..........

Guy's I've been quiet and perhaps silent on the side lines for a while and studying all the posts and responces received from "OUR ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES"

Enough is enough........ if the state's deficate is as bad as they attest to doubling my fees for my driver's liscense, registration, my pistol permit, my hunting/fishing liscense, and all the hunting permits/tags I get and each and every one of you purchase wont make any difference. It's only a drop and a small one for that fact in the black bottomless bucket, ie the states budget and deficate.

If the state really wants to turn things around I have a couple idea's that will show immediate results.

1) Connecticut should immediatly start building toll booths on each and every interstate that runs thru the state. Ma.,N.H.,Me.,N.Y., N.J., and Pa. all have toll roads and collect revenues from me every time I travel thru them.

2) Connecticut should install and start charging each and every vehicle that stops in any full service rest area and charge the operator for the time spent in said rest area. Easy to do... just put in automatic ticket machines and have a collection booth on the way out.

3) Each and every Truck or any vehicle for that fact that spends the night in a rest area should be charged for the luxury. Why sould you and I have to pay for the upkeep, cleaning, and mantainace of rest areas for travelers and truckers? Many of us never use them, and the cost of keeping them open is considerable.

4) Trucks should be fined for parking on the side of the interstate highways when the driver gets caught in the bunk sleeping.

5) Trucks should be fined for running their engines overnight while parked (except refer trailers) It's a waste of fuel and adds to the states air pollution.



If they need to raise funds they should look at the commodities used by the entire populus of the entire state.

1) Raise the liqour taxes, peoples of every ethnic group frequent liqour stores and consume alcohol.

2) Raise Cigarette taxes, peoples of every ethnic group smoke.

3) Increase the cost of Lottery tickets, peoples of every ethnic group purchase lottery tickets.

There are many ways they could cut spending too!

1) Reduce the amount of benifits those on Welfare receive each time they have another child instead of giving them more moneys.

2) Have manditory drug testing for those receiving welfare or on unemployment. Not everybody but there are many who abuse the system and have been doing it for years. Nothing lasts forever and that system needs to be reviewed and revised. I don't know about all of you but I'm turning 50 this year and I was never out of a job for an extended period of time. Work is work and a four letter word and I've had a good number of jobs I didn't like or want to perform but did so because I consider myself responsible.

3) Eliminate all the state funded halfway houses. If you do the crime you should expect to do the time if caught. and that means all the time not a portion of your sentence.

4)Have a state freeze on wages, I know many of us have had to except not getting raises during these tough times. Have state employees work a normal 40 hour work week instead of the 35 normal they do now for the same pay. Most are Salaried anyways and why should they have a 35 hour work week anyway? Every full time job I ever had was a 40 hour work week.

I could go on and on if I continued to think about it?? Do you get my point? there are SO many ways the state could reduce costs and increase revenues wiht out effecting the leasure time and privilages it's law abiding and financially supportive sportsman.

What the heck why even buy a liscense? Somebody shot moose a couple years ago and got off with a small fine, The only thing he did wrong was get caught like Nixon and Clinton did!

Don't get me wrong...I don't have a hair across my azz for truckers, Infact I was one for 20 years and miss driving and still have a current class A CDL in my wallet just in case to fall back on should I loose my current job. Connecticut can do more in many different area's if they give it some thought. They are "our elected reps."
working for us right ?




O-BASS...Mikey I got some old rods and reels, years of combo liscense's, years of hunting permits, Tags, metal possession tags,old waders, and all kinds of stuff including early vintage "Connecticut Fish and Game" signage I'm ready to send to Hartford. You just say when and where!

Oh I am "off my ass”. Not only that I am willing to sacrifice by NOT purchasing one single tag or license from the glorious state of CT until the prices return to normal.
Also… before and after I DON”T SPEND MY MONEY I am telling every person at the capital I can contact about it. I also remind them that because I am not paying for hunting or fishing tags I am also NOT buying line, ammo, a new scent-lock suit, any new reels, bait, a slip, new lures or hooks, gas for my boat, quad registration and on and on the list goes. That is what happens when a person decides not to cave into the scum at the capital and takes action instead of making talk. You want to stand up and fight. Okay. Go for it! but don’t try to convince me you are fighting when you have already paid for a tag. And don’t lecture me about getting out there helping. If anyone thinks you can accomplish something in 10 minutes then better be prepared to accomplish nothing.

Most of what I see here is about meeting with or mailing politicians I don’t see anything actually happening. What this looks like to me is one more squeaky special interest group trying to get its share of favor from the great exalted government deity.

I really had to laugh at the posting with 8 revenue suggestions and 4 token spending reductions. You are well represented in the state legislature my friend. 99.99% of them think exactly like you do.

What is so completely amazing to me is the number of people in CT who can't even imagine what it would be like if big-brother-government-nanny wasn't there for them. Buy us some open space so we can hunt, make us a boat launch, teach our children, blah blah blah blah blah.. This thinking that the mighty state-god is the great provider is the problem. The fees are just the inevitable result. You won't roll the fees back by talking or writing letters or believing lying politicians_ Ain't happening.
Want the fees reduced?? DON”T BUY A LICENSE!!!!!

What the brainiacks in hartford need to do is pull in the check book. Kick 1/3 of the people off welfare. Lay off 50% of the state employees starting at the TOP of the departments. Close the state beaches, cut payments for medical stuff, add whatever you can think of here.. Tell your rep to do that and the license fees will take care of themselves. While you are at it tell your town people that they better stop spending on stupid things like "math curriculum coordinators" making $180K a year just because “back in the day” he was pals with the guy who is now the superintendent and needs a place to sell his "new" math book. (anyone in Tolland listening?) Replace both of those useless leaches with a rubber stamp and copy the school plan from the next town over. They are all basically the same anyway.

Oh wait_ before anyone can tell their reps any of that they have to believe it. Silly me. So there is the rub_ you can’t change the way government works because most of the time you like the way it works. You like the “free” boat launches and that duck hunting area. Hmmm_ so maybe now we are getting a little closer to the reason these fees were increased. Maybe all we need to assign some blame for these fees is a mirror.