edward
01-17-2009, 03:25 PM
The Arizona State Horsemen’s Association
Hires a Lobbyist & now has a 501 C3
Effective January 1, ASHA hired a lobbyist. And while this will not be a panacea, we expect to accomplish several important objectives. Among those are the following:
1) A review of each piece of new legislation for its impact on equestrians
2) We will be scheduling meetings with the House and Senate Natural Resources Committees to present the impact of the Horse Industry in Arizona
3) Introduce ASHA and the horse world to key political decision makers to educate them about us.
This is just the beginning and is limited by our budgeting constraints. Given the funding, we could do much, much more. This is where your help is needed. You can contribute in one of two ways:
1) Make a contribution
2) Join ASHA and make a contribution
Both of these can be done by check made out to ASHA or done on the website at www.azasha.com We now have Paypal for your convenience.
ASHA-Equine Education & Research Corporation
On January 5, 2009 the IRS approved ASHAERC. What began in June 2007 has now become reality. This separate corporation is a 501 C3. That means all contributions to it are tax deductible. This corporation now has the responsibility to raise the funds necessary to complete a new Equine Impact Study for Arizona at a cost of $ 150,000-$175,000. It is also charged with raising money to fund Equine education, research and scholarships here in our state. Its President Jean Anderson is taking on the responsibility for this formidable task. She asks that you contact her at 602-390-6806 or redbug@fastq.com for more information.
What are the some of the issues that will impact us in 2009?
The Economy
The Arizona Budget Deficit for 2009 is now estimated at $1.6 Billion (AZ Equine Industry coincidentally contributes $1.6 Billion to the state’s economy).
In today’s economy no one is interested in investing in anything. Governments are cutting to the bone. Businesses are laying off workers and worried families are watching every dollar they spend.
So, where does that leave equestrians? Probably pretty much in the same place as we have been, but now the pressure of budget cuts will replace the pressure that has come from development.
What we must not only remember, but also act on, is that government is citizen driven. Now is the time to establish Equine Advisory Councils in every city and county throughout the state. City council members, Boards of Supervisors and Boards of Adjustment, along with the Directors of Planning & Zoning have a DUTY to the citizens to carefully evaluate any proposal that is presented to them whether it is from a developer, neighborhood, or an equestrian driven group.
In 2009 what’s need most is a groundswell of support from Equestrians around the state. If we do not get that support, if no one shows up at city council meetings or planning & zoning workshops and other meetings where equestrians are affected then you are going to continue to lose. Access to parks, riding on state land, arena lights, ropings, the right to have horses at home, setbacks and everything else related to enjoying our way of life is at great risk
Monte Roberts and a host of other horsemanship pros have touted the concept of “Join Up” as the solution to many horse behavioral issues. The same is true to help solve many of our Equestrian Rights Issues. If you don’t “JOIN UP” (with ASHA) AND “SHOW UP” (at Public meetings in your town or county), then don’t complain later because you have “GIVEN UP” your fundamental right to make it happen.
If Equestrian Issues do not have a Ground Swell of support then you have given the government the right to blindly drive ahead with their budget cutting or development or restrictive rural/equestrian zoning proposals.
JOIN UP AT WWW.AZASHA.COM WE NOW HAVE PAYPAL
Parks
The city of Phoenix has begun to actually lose population. As a result you can look forward to Cost Cutting in earnest. Parks are closing to all users. Horselovers Park in Phoenix will be one of the first to go unless you show up at public meetings. For a schedule go to www.Phoenix.gov
State Trust Land Permits
In November we were notified that the State Land Permit fees were raised to a shocking and morally unacceptable level. Group Permits appeared to start at $1440. At that time we spoke to the president of the Wickenburg Horsemen’s Assn (who also is a city councilman). Subsequently, the city of Wickenburg passed a resolution and forwarded a request to other cities to do the same. As a result of the increase in fees Wickenburg felt it was financially harmed due to a loss of revenue from the cancelled ride.
Mid November ASHA wrote a letter to the State Land Department with a cc to the governor. On November 24th ASHA President Chip Wilson met with Jamie Hogue Deputy Land Commissioner of the Arizona State Land Department. The response to that meeting was a letter to President Wilson dated January 9, 2009. What follows are excerpts from that letter that will describe the States’ current position on this issue.
“ASLD will no longer be issuing annual group permits for clubs or groups.”
“ASLD will now focus on issuing permits to groups based on events. Our focus has been on revising our methodology for non-commercial group activities. For groups of 12 or fewer people wanting to recreate on State Trust Lands, they will continue to need only an individual recreational, permit from ASLD. We are asking that groups of between 13 and 50 people obtain a Group Recreational Permit. These permits provide notice to ASLD so that we can appropriately work with our lessees in advance of the proposed activity to ensure that any potential issues can be resolved prior to the event occurring. Groups of more than 50 will still need to obtain a Group Recreational Sp Land Use Permit for their activities and we will be revising the fee schedule to reflect a per person price that we believe will be much more equitable to all groups.”
“Participants that are covered under a Group Recreational or Special Land Use Permit are NOT required to obtain an individual permit to attend the approved event. However if individuals access State Trust Lands for other activities, they should obtain an individual permit for those other activities.”
We are continuing to address the fees now with State Legislators through our Lobbyist and direct contact. We will be pushing to address the major increase at all levels of State Government.
Other Issues for 2009
Special Use Permits in Maricopa and Pinal, Zoning in Mesa, Permanent Equine Zoning and more are all issues at the forefront that cannot be resolved with a lobbyist. But with your help and financial support, we will continue to make some serious progress. (Details to follow in the next issue.)
Thank you for taking the time to read this,
Ed O’Brien
VP ASHA
Publisher All About Horses.com
Hires a Lobbyist & now has a 501 C3
Effective January 1, ASHA hired a lobbyist. And while this will not be a panacea, we expect to accomplish several important objectives. Among those are the following:
1) A review of each piece of new legislation for its impact on equestrians
2) We will be scheduling meetings with the House and Senate Natural Resources Committees to present the impact of the Horse Industry in Arizona
3) Introduce ASHA and the horse world to key political decision makers to educate them about us.
This is just the beginning and is limited by our budgeting constraints. Given the funding, we could do much, much more. This is where your help is needed. You can contribute in one of two ways:
1) Make a contribution
2) Join ASHA and make a contribution
Both of these can be done by check made out to ASHA or done on the website at www.azasha.com We now have Paypal for your convenience.
ASHA-Equine Education & Research Corporation
On January 5, 2009 the IRS approved ASHAERC. What began in June 2007 has now become reality. This separate corporation is a 501 C3. That means all contributions to it are tax deductible. This corporation now has the responsibility to raise the funds necessary to complete a new Equine Impact Study for Arizona at a cost of $ 150,000-$175,000. It is also charged with raising money to fund Equine education, research and scholarships here in our state. Its President Jean Anderson is taking on the responsibility for this formidable task. She asks that you contact her at 602-390-6806 or redbug@fastq.com for more information.
What are the some of the issues that will impact us in 2009?
The Economy
The Arizona Budget Deficit for 2009 is now estimated at $1.6 Billion (AZ Equine Industry coincidentally contributes $1.6 Billion to the state’s economy).
In today’s economy no one is interested in investing in anything. Governments are cutting to the bone. Businesses are laying off workers and worried families are watching every dollar they spend.
So, where does that leave equestrians? Probably pretty much in the same place as we have been, but now the pressure of budget cuts will replace the pressure that has come from development.
What we must not only remember, but also act on, is that government is citizen driven. Now is the time to establish Equine Advisory Councils in every city and county throughout the state. City council members, Boards of Supervisors and Boards of Adjustment, along with the Directors of Planning & Zoning have a DUTY to the citizens to carefully evaluate any proposal that is presented to them whether it is from a developer, neighborhood, or an equestrian driven group.
In 2009 what’s need most is a groundswell of support from Equestrians around the state. If we do not get that support, if no one shows up at city council meetings or planning & zoning workshops and other meetings where equestrians are affected then you are going to continue to lose. Access to parks, riding on state land, arena lights, ropings, the right to have horses at home, setbacks and everything else related to enjoying our way of life is at great risk
Monte Roberts and a host of other horsemanship pros have touted the concept of “Join Up” as the solution to many horse behavioral issues. The same is true to help solve many of our Equestrian Rights Issues. If you don’t “JOIN UP” (with ASHA) AND “SHOW UP” (at Public meetings in your town or county), then don’t complain later because you have “GIVEN UP” your fundamental right to make it happen.
If Equestrian Issues do not have a Ground Swell of support then you have given the government the right to blindly drive ahead with their budget cutting or development or restrictive rural/equestrian zoning proposals.
JOIN UP AT WWW.AZASHA.COM WE NOW HAVE PAYPAL
Parks
The city of Phoenix has begun to actually lose population. As a result you can look forward to Cost Cutting in earnest. Parks are closing to all users. Horselovers Park in Phoenix will be one of the first to go unless you show up at public meetings. For a schedule go to www.Phoenix.gov
State Trust Land Permits
In November we were notified that the State Land Permit fees were raised to a shocking and morally unacceptable level. Group Permits appeared to start at $1440. At that time we spoke to the president of the Wickenburg Horsemen’s Assn (who also is a city councilman). Subsequently, the city of Wickenburg passed a resolution and forwarded a request to other cities to do the same. As a result of the increase in fees Wickenburg felt it was financially harmed due to a loss of revenue from the cancelled ride.
Mid November ASHA wrote a letter to the State Land Department with a cc to the governor. On November 24th ASHA President Chip Wilson met with Jamie Hogue Deputy Land Commissioner of the Arizona State Land Department. The response to that meeting was a letter to President Wilson dated January 9, 2009. What follows are excerpts from that letter that will describe the States’ current position on this issue.
“ASLD will no longer be issuing annual group permits for clubs or groups.”
“ASLD will now focus on issuing permits to groups based on events. Our focus has been on revising our methodology for non-commercial group activities. For groups of 12 or fewer people wanting to recreate on State Trust Lands, they will continue to need only an individual recreational, permit from ASLD. We are asking that groups of between 13 and 50 people obtain a Group Recreational Permit. These permits provide notice to ASLD so that we can appropriately work with our lessees in advance of the proposed activity to ensure that any potential issues can be resolved prior to the event occurring. Groups of more than 50 will still need to obtain a Group Recreational Sp Land Use Permit for their activities and we will be revising the fee schedule to reflect a per person price that we believe will be much more equitable to all groups.”
“Participants that are covered under a Group Recreational or Special Land Use Permit are NOT required to obtain an individual permit to attend the approved event. However if individuals access State Trust Lands for other activities, they should obtain an individual permit for those other activities.”
We are continuing to address the fees now with State Legislators through our Lobbyist and direct contact. We will be pushing to address the major increase at all levels of State Government.
Other Issues for 2009
Special Use Permits in Maricopa and Pinal, Zoning in Mesa, Permanent Equine Zoning and more are all issues at the forefront that cannot be resolved with a lobbyist. But with your help and financial support, we will continue to make some serious progress. (Details to follow in the next issue.)
Thank you for taking the time to read this,
Ed O’Brien
VP ASHA
Publisher All About Horses.com