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  • AB 1512 (Bauer-Kahan) Off-highway vehicular recreation: Carnegie State Vehicular Recreation Area: Alameda-Tesla Expansion Area AB 1512 is in the Senate Appropriations Committee Suspense File to be heard on Thursday, August 26th, Upon Adjournment of Session

AB 1512 (Bauer-Kahan) Off-highway vehicular recreation: Carnegie State Vehicular Recreation Area: Alameda-Tesla Expansion Area AB 1512 is in the Senate Appropriations Committee Suspense File to be heard on Thursday, August 26th, Upon Adjournment of Session

August 18, 2021 5:19 PM | CORVA Administrator (Administrator)

California Legislative Alert

AB 1512 (Bauer-Kahan) Off-highway vehicular recreation: Carnegie State Vehicular Recreation Area:  Alameda-Tesla Expansion Area

AB 1512 is in the Senate Appropriations Committee Suspense File to be heard on Thursday, August 26th, Upon Adjournment of Session

The Off Road Vehicle Legislative Coalition is comprised of several statewide or regional organizations of OHV enthusiasts.  Our coalition has reviewed AB 1512 and strongly opposes this bill.   AB 1512 would deny opportunities for local Bay Area residents, including the elderly and disabled and motorized recreation enthusiasts.

  • It will set a precedent, allowing for the sale of any State Park where neighboring property owners seek relief from a perceived “wrong” in that Park.
  • There are legislative and institutional processes in place to dispose of State Parks properties. These processes were deliberate in their development to ensure careful consideration of all factors before these assets would be sold or redesignated.  AB 1512 seeks to do an end run around these institutional processes. 
  • Opposition to the Carnegie State Vehicular Recreation Area (SVRA), whether the expansion property or the current park, is a local issue. Statewide legislation is an abuse of legislative resources. Consider that this is the fifth year in a row such legislation has been introduced, and it still is directed at a single State Park.
  • SB 249 (Chapter 459, Statutes of 2017) outlines specific processes and standards for State Vehicle Recreation Areas such as Carnegie, that exceed the standards for other State Parks. The proposed conservatorships would not be required to meet these high standards nor be required to be accessible to the California public.
  •  Carnegie SVRA meets the standards established for an urban park. Elimination of this resource is in direct conflict with this standard.

Contact your Senator and Governor Newsom NOW to oppose AB 1512

Senate Appropriations Committee List:

SENATE APPROPRIATIONS Committee

Member

District

Party

Room

Phone

Portantino, Anthony (Chair)

25 

D 

5050 

916 651 4025 

Bates, Patricia (Vice-Chair)

36 

R 

3063 

916 651 4036 

Bradford, Steven

35 

D 

2059 

916 651 4035 

Jones, Brian

38 

R 

4088 

916 651 4038 

Kamlager, Sydney

30 

D 

4062 

916 651 4030 

Laird, John

17 

D 

4040 

916 651 4017 

Wieckowski, Bob

10 

D 

4085 

916 651 4010 

Senate Appropriations Committee Social Media

Senate Appropriations Committee Social Media

Legislator

Dist

Party

Facebook

Twitter

Portantino, Anthony (Chair)

25

D

https://www.facebook.com/portantino/

https://twitter.com/Portantino

Bates, Patricia (Vice-Chair)

35

R

https://www.facebook.com/patbatesca/

https://twitter.com/senatorpatbates

Bradford, Steven

35

D

https://www.facebook.com/BradfordforSenate

https://twitter.com/SteveBradford

Jones, Brian

38

R

https://www.facebook.com/senbrianjones/

https://twitter.com/senbrianjones

Kamlager, Sydney

30

D

https://m.facebook.com/SenSydneyKamlager/ 

https://twitter.com/sydneykamlager

Laird, John

17

D

https://www.facebook.com/SenatorJohnLaird/ 

https://twitter.com/SenJohnLaird

Wieckowski, Bob

10

D

https://www.facebook.com/bobwieckowski

https://twitter.com/BobWieckowskiCA

Don’t know who your senator is?  http://findyourrep.legislature.ca.gov/

If your Senator is not on the committee list above, please contact Senator Toni Atkins, Senate President Pro Tempore, and Governor Newsom; tell them of your OPPOSITION to AB 1512.

Contact Senator Atkins and the Governor NOW to oppose AB 1512.

Senator Toni Atkins (D-San Diego) – President Pro Tempore

Capitol Telephone: (916) 651-4039; E-Mail: senator.atkins@senate.ca.gov

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/SDToni/

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/SenToniAtkins

 

Governor Gavin Newsom

Telephone: (916) 445-2841; E-mail:  https://govapps.gov.ca.gov/gov40mail/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GavinNewsom/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/GavinNewsom\

Comments

  • August 23, 2021 7:05 PM | Butch Meyner
    to my assemblymember Kalra:
    You have supported this legislation when it was presented multiple times before.
    It is an example of money buying favors at the expense of the public.

    You should not support this. These guys have managed to fool many who call themselves “environmentalists”. Please don't let that include you.
    They run a cattle ranch and hunting operation that is not environmentally sound. They want the OHV community to pay for remediation from past mining operations and deny the OHV community access to the land that that community has paid for.

    You have been to Metcalf Motorcycle county park; you have seen the OHV community coexist with nature. You saw elk!

    This is corruption or ignorance by the legislature. Last time it was vetoeed by the governor. I expect more from you.
    Please read the attached. These are the facts. The “Tesla Park” folks have been misleading, er, lying, all along. ("Stealing from the Poor... attached)
    Link  •  Reply
    • August 23, 2021 9:37 PM | Butch Meyner
      And… this is to my Senator, Cortese…

      This angers me on so many levels.. This a veiled give away to Garamendi/ Connolly disguised as an environmental preserve. In reality the bill would just help their elk hunting business. And their egos.

      Plans for the expansion area would be a preserve:
      A full third of the 3100 acres would be a buffer zone, dedicated to conservation and restoration with no motorized travel. The rest of the area calls for 4-wheel drive touring and backcountry camping. For disabled and elderly individuals this is an exciting proposal because there is no existing opportunity for drive-in camping in a rural setting in the greater Bay Area.

      As the repeated attempts to legislate the use of the expansion area from the OHV community have changed, I wonder about the remediation/ clean up costs associated with the previous mining operations will fall upon the OHMVR department even though that user group would be denied access to the area.

      It is legislators’ responsibility to answer this before supporting this legislation. That, and it is the role of special interest groups, through their donations and political influence, to micromanage State Parks? Is it legal? Can you be our Champion in challenging this questionable behavior?

      I will call when I have a chance.
      Link  •  Reply
  • August 24, 2021 9:38 PM | Butch Meyner
    I’m going to call the chairman’s office tomorrow with these points:
    Mark Connolly, an attorney with deep pockets to sue, and Celeste Garamendi, the sister of powerful, long-term Democratic John Garamendi, trading on their political influence, decided to do everything possible to destroy the planning effort for the Carnegie SVRA expansion area.

    Connolly Garamendi offer exclusive 4-day trips to hunt native tule-elk on their property at a minimum cost of $10,500 per person.

    Connolly Garamendi have been grazing cattle in the Alameda-Tesla Expansion Area.

    The remains of the Tesla coal mine still loom large with piles of dangerous mine tailings that require remediation evident in the park. State Parks estimates this remediation will cost from a low of $1.8 million to as much as $9 million...

    The subject legislation has been misrepresented as having funding ($9 million?) from Alameda County which does not exist. Altamont Landfill Open Space Committee have been used as a tool to separate this land from the public. Apparently that is against the rules.

    For five or more years, legislation has been repeatedly introduced to steal the Alameda-Tesla Expansion Area of Carnegie SVRA from the off-roading public that paid for its purchase [SB 799 (2021); AB 2551 (2020); AB 1086(2019); SB 767 (2019); SB 1316 (2018)]. Each time, similar but ever evolving mistruths are presented to the legislature by the authors of these bills that have included manipulated photos misrepresenting the condition of the current area in use…
    Link  •  Reply
    • August 28, 2021 4:38 PM | Butch Meyner
      We can't just let this level of corruption pass unchallenged. I just can't believe that our legislators support this. Letting special interests (rich neighbors) dictate use of a state park at the expense of thouse who paid for the park. Grrrr...

      How can we make this go viral?
      Everyone needs to contact their senator...
      Link  •  Reply
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