CONCORD, Calif. /California Newswire/ — Gold Pan California, a gold prospecting supply shop located in the Bay Area, is shining light on a California State Budget loophole which is being exploited by Legislators to enact last minute laws on pet projects and further increase California's budget deficit.
"Californian's have no idea how much their local Legislators are really costing the State," says Mike Dunn, owner of Gold Pan California. "Through secret use of budget trailer bills, Legislators are feverishly creating last minute laws with no bill numbers and no accountability or fiscal responsibility for these new laws."
In this instance, Jared Huffman (D) San Rafael is in the glare of Dunn's spotlight.
Budget Trailer Bills are intended for the implementation of fiscal decisions, and statutory changes to implement those decisions are constitutionally due to the Legislature by February 1, five months before the budget deadline of June 15th.
Yet, three weeks ago Huffman inserted four paragraphs of new "language" i.e., statutory changes, into a 100-page resources folder, which will be given a trailer bill number and presented to the Governor shortly. Governor Brown does not have line-item veto authority in this scenario.
This last minute legislation-by-default totally circumvents participation by the public. Equally wrong, it absolves the Legislator from any financial consequences or accountability for the legislation, since his name isn't on it. Numerous calls to Huffman's office have gone unanswered this week.
The practice of stuffing trailer bills is familiar among gold prospectors. Huffman also used the tactic during the 2011 budget countdown.
Modern day gold prospecting is conducted by suction dredging underwater. Huffman's 2011 trailer bill legislation caused a temporary moratorium on suction dredging for gold until 2016. His current trailer bill language would essentially ban the practice forever.
Suction dredging for gold is touted as being environmentally harmful by the Karuk tribe and environmentalists. Curiously, the same anti-mining foes are seeking $9 million from California taxpayers to dredge for mercury in the State waterways. Dredging is legal in virtually every waterway, year round for numerous purposes – unless, that is, you're dredging for gold. That's outlawed in the Golden State.
The news gets worse for California taxpayers if the new language becomes law. The State is involved in seven lawsuits between gold prospectors and anti-mining foes. Those lawsuits have been active since 2005, and if Huffman's trailer bill language is schlepped over to the Governor, the State will be committed to spending untold amounts on future litigation, before the current multi-million dollar lawsuits are settled.
There are 56,000 gold claims in California, with just 6 being in Huffman's district. The title of Huffman's four paragraphs is "Suction dredge cleanup language."
"If I were one of his local constituents," states Dunn, "I would be quite interested in seeing what else was being crammed in un-named envelopes during the late-night budget negotiations."
With seven lawsuits already underway and deep budget cuts on the imminent horizon, hopefully Huffman will pull his four paragraphs out of the budget trailer bill to save the few million dollars for badly needed social services or education.
http://www.dof.ca.gov/fisa/bag/process.htm .
About Gold Pan California:
The company was founded in 2008 by Mike Dunn, an international gold mining specialist who has been suction dredge gold mining for 34 years.
More information: http://www.goldpancalifornia.com/ .
Copyright © 2012 CaliforniaNewswire® and Neotrope®. California Newswire is a publication of the Neotrope News Network and a U.S. reg. TM of Neotrope.
This whole trailer bill thing is a crock. I’ve been helping a friend out contacting legislators about trying to turn around a trailer bill which arbitrarily outlaws gold suction dredging (which contributes over $100M yearly to CA’s economy). The opponents to suction dredging forced the state to complete an supplemental EIR and when they found out that the EIR wasn’t enough to shut down dredging, they did it legislatively.
What an exercise in futility. This bill appeared from nowhere, no one knows who the author is; for the last month it has had no name, no number or any other form of identification. I called every representative in the state and NO ONE knew anything about it. Hello? Someone must know something, as they voted on it in late May.
My main question is if this is being done to destroy the suction dredge industry, what other “surprises” are there in the rest of the trailer bills which also appear to be orphans too?
One legislative analyst I talked to said that since the public passed the simple majority vote law (instead of 2/3′s) the Majority party just needs to depend on their representatives voting along party lines and EVERYTHING they want gets passed. He was a Republican aid and he was pretty upset about it.
So what can be done to stop the back-door lawmaking via trailer bills?
CALL HIS OFFICE..HUFFMAN S OFFICE DECLINES TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE TRAILER BILL.
I HAVE CALLED AND FAXED HIS OFFICE TO NO AVAIL.. 916-319-2096 AND
707-773-0606
We need John and Ken from KFI am radio to help..
CALL EVERYONE ON THE BUDGET COMMITTEE..
I am totally appalded that tax payers are not being told about these bills and that news stations are not covering this topic on how our legislators are taking American rights away from them without their knowledge. Looking back at history the Native American had their right and lands taken from them by American Government. Now the American people are reliving the life of the Native american losing their rights and land by that same government. What happened to the land of the free and the american dream. California is in such a deficite now, legislator Huffman is just making it worst with this bill for the tax payers of California by creating law suits and spending tax payers money that the state could use where it is needed the most. If the Karuk indians are for protecting their fisheries, why aren’t they lobbing to deal with the preditor that man and the native american had been a huge part in the population control of the sea lions that are now protected and over populated at the mouths of our rivers and streams consuming massive amounts of salmon each year before they can even make it up the rivers to spawn? These groups are missing out on a great resource, if miners and environmentalist would work together. The miners could continue mining for gold besides removing the toxic mercury and lead from the waterways and at the same time be used to open up water flows to allow fish to get up stream. The money spent on these court battles and law suits could even fund stream restoration projects, Fish hatcheries, improve local economy and most of all help with the states budget. There is always a correct way to handle a problem and thats working together on a commond goal and fighting there is really no winners just distruction. This is what made America strong that we came together to over come a problem, worked out the issues and made it work for all.
Mike Phillips, (Kitfox) California Chumash Indian, Wildlife Specialist, Environmental Health Department.
Trailer Bill??? Absolute BS and I don’t mean Barb Streisand!
I don’t understand how our elected legislators can get away with these dirty politic tactics? It seems a blatant disregard for the oath they took when entering office. I suggest having our state legislature meet only every other year, that’s how Texas does it…They would then be forced to get REAL jobs like the rest of us and be subject to the laws they pass like the rest of us!
Calif will continue to lose business and the tax base with tactics like this.
Or in other words go broke
This article is a perfect example how to create an unstable and unpredictable business climate in the former golden state. Make people feel their representatives are able to be manipulated by last minute influence by a privileged few.