Greetings All,

Following the announcement from Congressman Doc Hastings that he would be introducing the CFA, you have heard little more.  Here’s the scoop.  The introduction of the CFA has not taken place, yet.  The delay is due to concerns about which committee the Bill would be assigned to.  We have been focused on the Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Park, Forests and Public Lands.  Mr. Jim Streeter, who is working for Cong. Doc Hastings and is the minority Staff Director for the Natural Resources Committee, believes that the bill, as written, would probably be referred instead to the Agriculture Committee and then assigned to a sub-committee that has few members representing cabin states.  We are concerned that this subcommittee’s interest level in our concerns would be less than with the Forests Subcommittee.  Therefore, we have made a few slight changes that we hope will encourage the House Parliamentarian, who refers all bills to designated committees, to send the CFA to Natural Resources.  None of the substance of the bill will be changed, only that we are suggesting a study to include Bureau of Reclamation cabins and targeting cabins on the Forest Reserves because the Natural Resources Committee has that jurisdiction.  These are minor technical and/or temporary revisions to the bill that we hope will influence the assignment in our favor.

A tentative hearing date was set for February 25.  However, with the question about committee assignments and the total shutdown in DC due to record snow and the Congressional recess (just like in grade school) planned for next week, we believe there will be a change in that date.  Regardless, C2 has been pressing ahead with planning and organizing for that hearing date.  Testimony is being written, supporting documents are being finalized and organized and potential witnesses are being identified.  We are doing our best to present a clear, concise picture of the problem to Congress and present a solid defensible solution in the CFA.

I’ll update everyone just as soon as we get the word from Aubrey about the bill introduction and committee assignments. In the meantime, you can be preparing your next appeal to your Congressmen and women to support and co-sponsor the CFA.  Wishing all well.

Peter D. Bailey

NFH Director & C2 Legislative Contact chair

Greetings All,

Yesterday at 10:00 am in Yakima, Washington in the presence of over 25 cabins owners, Congressman Doc Hastings (R-WA) held a press conference and announced that he will introduce new cabin fee legislation, called the ‘Cabin Fee Act of 2010′ (CFA), in the House of Representatives next week. This legislation is designed to replace the Cabin User Fee Fairness Act of 2000 (CUFFA).  The Press Release announcing this introduction is available at www.nationalforesthomeowners.org.

Please distribute this Press Release to all cabin owners on your distribution lists.  We have been asked to encourage sharing this document with your local newspapers.  Cong. Hastings welcomes broad distribution of this Press Release.  Please Help.  Also, share this immediately with your Representative and Senator to keep them informed.

Next week, following formal introduction in the House and the assignment of a bill number, cabin owners everywhere will be asked to contact their Representative (again) encouraging them to join Cong. Hastings in co-sponsoring this legislation.  It is especially important that we get both Democratic and Republican Representatives to make this a bipartisan bill.  This is an important time.  Your state and tract level efforts and follow through will be critical to our ultimate success.  Also, this may not be the last time we request your support in contacting your Representatives and Senators.  Please do your part.

I’ll be contacting everyone again next week once the bill is formally introduced.  Again, to all, Thank You for every effort made.  We share the burden and the results.

Pete Bailey
C2 Legislative Contact Committee Chair

As of Dec. 17, 2009 – C2 has made measurable progress as we near the end of 2009. Our search for a bill sponsor in the House is proceeding well. We are seeking both a Democrat and a Republican as lead sponsors and success is near. C2 hopes to announce the sponsors for the legislation soon after the holiday break.  Legislative Drafting is now writing the actual legislation. We do not expect it to differ from what C2 has already proposed. After Cabin Coalition 2 reviews this official draft, we expect the legislation to be formally introduced in the House in January.  We will then have a bill number and the draft legislation will be available for review.

C2 will be seeking a high level of support from you. We want to find and encourage as many additional co-sponsors of the legislation as we can. The more sponsors the better. This will be the next big push C2 will need from all cabin owners. C2 will let you know who to contact in January 2010.

Happy New Year,

Sharon Karr

The last two months have been busy for Coalition 2 members. September saw a visit to Washington, D.C. by a Coalition delegation that met with the Forest Service and 17 select House and Senate committee representatives. During this visit the Senate passed the Tester Amendment which imposed a one year moratorium on fee increases in 2010. The matter was referred to the House.
In October, a joint House-Senate Conference Committee included a similar amendment in the Interior Appropriations Bill which set a limit on fee increases for 2010 at 25%. This was passed by Congress and the bill was signed into law by the President.
In early November, the Coalition drafted a proposed statute and legislative summary which sets forth the “user fee/transfer fee” method, the fee reform proposal previously posted and discussed in detail by Coalition spokesmen at the NFH Sacramento Forum. These have been forwarded to our NFH Washington Representative Aubrey King who is discussing them with prospective sponsors in Congress. Once a sponsor steps forward, and the bill is introduced, we will publish it here.

The Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010 (H.R. 2996) was signed into law by President Obama on October 30,2009. It is now P.L. 111-88. The moratorium on 2010 cabin user fee increases greater than 25% more than 2009 fees is found in Section 433.

Last evening both houses of Congress passed the 2010 Interior Appropriations bill, which contained a 75% moratorium on recreation residence fee increases for 2010. There is every expectation that the President will sign this bill into law in the next several days. While this was not quite what we’d hoped, the moratorium limits increases to 2010 to no more than 25% more than a cabin owner’s 2009 bill. Following is the language of the bill:

CABIN USER FEES
SEC. 433. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, none of the funds made available by this or any other Act may be used by the Secretary of Agriculture to increase a recreation residence user fee for calendar year 2010 by more than 25 percent of the recreation residence user fee applicable to the recreation residence for calendar 2009.

Even with this moratorium, cabins will be lost in some areas where exorbitant 1998-era appraisals are already being phased in and the burden is already too heavy. Work is under way to provide assistance to these cabin owners.

In parallel with the moratorium effort, work has proceeded on the drafting of a new fee bill and it is in the final stages of review before its presentation to Congress, hopefully by the end of next week.

C2 is working on fulfilling the commitments we made during the trip to D.C. in late September. We heard time and again that the user fee/transfer fee model was viable. What’s next then? We listened, and listened closely. Draft the fee model into legislation. This next step is in progress…. C2 will bring you more on this topic within a few days.

Thanks for checking in.

Sharon Karr

Thanks to everyone who participated in the NFH/C2 survey. The data you provided will be compiled into results that C2 will share with you and use as needed as supporting information for the new fee model, the user fee/transfer fee. This information will be critical to strong negotiations and informing discussions and hearings going forward.

Stay tuned.

Sharon Karr

This is your opportunity to complete the 2009 Cabin Sales and Appraisal Survey. The survey will be available through Oct. 25, 2009. Click the following link to participate.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=X4tioBYaT21M4GSVjskIJQ_3d_3d

Thank you,

Sharon Karr
C2 Rep.

There is a supplemental hearing scheduled on this Study on Wednesday, October 28, 7-9 pm, at NE Valley City Hall Auditorium, 7747 Foothill Blvd., Tujunga CA 91042. Further info can be found at www.nps.gov/pwro/sagabriel