Cabin Coalition 2& OFHA
Partners in Keeping Oregon Permit Fees Affordable
April 23, 2010 - C2 Returns from DC. To read the latest to go the NFH Blog.
April 22, 2010 - Click here to listen to the audio or review the text of the H.R. 4888 Hearing
March 19, 2010 - Cabin Fee Act of 2010 is now H.R. 4888
The Cabin Fee Act of 2010 (CFA) was introduced late Friday afternoon andhas been assigned to the House Committee on Natural Resources. The bill number is H.R. 4888. For the full text of the bill, click here.
To track the status of the bill, view the govtrack website.
H.R.4888 Title: To revise the Forest Service Recreation Residence Program as it applies to units of the National Forest System derived from the public domain by implementing a simple, equitable, and predictable procedure for determining cabin user fees, and for other purposes. Sponsor: Rep Hastings, Doc [WA-4] (introduced 3/19/2010) Cosponsors (11) Latest Major Action: 3/19/2010 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.COSPONSORS(11), ALPHABETICAL [followed by Cosponsors withdrawn]:
Rep Bishop, Rob [UT-1] - 3/19/2010
Rep Chaffetz, Jason [UT-3] - 3/19/2010
Rep Costa, Jim [CA-20] - 3/19/2010
Rep Herger, Wally [CA-2] - 3/19/2010
Rep Lummis, Cynthia M. [WY] - 3/19/2010
Rep McClintock, Tom [CA-4] - 3/19/2010
Rep McMorris Rodgers, Cathy [WA-5] - 3/19/2010
R ep Nunes, Devin [CA-21] - 3/19/2010How does a bill become a law? Check out this "I'm Just a Bill", a Schoolhouse Rock! segment. It is entertaining and the lyrics and music was written by a Portland musician, Dave Frishberg.
Feb. 11, 2010Following the announcement from Congressman Doc Hastings (R-WA) that he would be introducing the new bill for setting permit fees, CFA of 2010, 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 will email an update as soon as we have a firm hearing date.
Jan. 15, 2010 - Rep. Hastings Holds Press Conference to Announce..... CFA 2010!
The following update was provided by Pete Bailey, C2 Leg. Contact Chair.
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). Attached is a Press Release announcing this introduction.
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 bothDemocratic 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.
Regards,
Pete Bailey
C2 Legislative Contact Committee chair
Jan. 6, 2010 - C2 has had a welcome, although brief, respite over the holidays from the usual slate of meetings and emails. To update you on the progress of C2:
CFA = Cabin Fee Act of 2009. This is the proposed C2 User Fee/Transfer Fee proposal that was sent to the Congressional Drafting Office in December. This preliminary draft legislation is now called CFA.
Sponsors = Rep. Doc Hastings (R-WA) has agreed to co-sponsor the CFA of 2009. As directed by our NFH Washington Representative, Aubrey King, our principal immediate goal is for cabin owners to ask your local Congressmen to step up as a co-sponsor to the CFA. At this time we are urging only Representatives, not Senators, to join Representative Doc Hastings in introducing the Cabin Fee Act. Now that the holiday recess has passed and Congress is returning to work, C2 is asking all tracts to please email, call or write a letter to your Congressmen.
In the next few weeks, Representative Doc Hastings (R-WA), Ranking Republican on the House of Representatives Natural Resources Committee, will introduce in Congress the Cabin Fee Act (CFA) that has been developed by cabin owners to replace CUFFA and establish a much more equitable and reasonable basis for determining cabin permit fees. We believe the following Representatives, who have many cabin owners in their Districts, should be willing to join Representative Hastings in introducing this historic legislation. Please make every effort to communicate with your Representative (and any others you may know) and urge him or her to join in introducing the Cabin Fee Act. Your Representative's staff can contact Jim Streeter, Minority Staff Director of the Natural Resources Committee, at 202.226.2311, for information about the new bill and when it will be introduced. As always, let us know about your efforts and what you hear from your Representative.
Though we still have much work to do, let's hope that this is the year that results in a long-term solution to cabin fees. Many continuing thanks to you, your contacts and your communication network for getting us to this point.
In Oregon contact the following representative depending on the location of your cabin:
For Lake of the Woods, Rocky Pt. Fish Lake, Upper Rogue, Crescent lake, Odell Lake, Elk Lake, Paulina Lake, Metolius, Anthony Lakes, Boulder Park, Spout Springs, Pearson and Frazier tracts, contact Greg Walden.Greg Walden
843 E. Main St. Suite 400
Medford OR 97504
(541) 776-4646
http://walden.house.gov
Washington DC Office:
2352 Rayburn House Office Bldg
Washington DC 20515
(202) 225-6730For Diamond Lake, Agness, all three McKenzie tracts (Delta A, Delta B & Scott Creek) and Salt Creek tracts, contact Peter DeFazio.
Peter DeFazio
405 E. 8th Ave #2030
Eugene OR 97401
(541) 465-6732
http://www.defazio.house.gov/
Washington DC Office:
2134 Rayburn House Office Bldg
Washington DC 20515
(202) 225-6416For Stahlman, Marion Forks, Fernview, Hoodoo, Breitenbush & Devil's Creek tracts, contact Kurt Schrader.
Kurt Schrader
112 8th Street
Oregon City, OR 97045
(503) 557-1324
http://schrader.house.gov
Washington DC Office:
1419 Longworth House Office Bldg
Washington DC 20515
(202) 225-5711All 10 Mt. Hood tracts should contact Earl Blumenauer.
Earl Blumenauer
729 NE Oregon St. Suite 115
Portland OR 97232
(503) 231-2300
http://blumenauer.house.gov/
Washington DC Office:
2267 Rayburn House Office Bldg
Washington DC 20515
(202) 225-4811No cabins exist in David Wu's 1st Congressional district. But if your primary home is in district 1, you should also contact Wu.
David Wu
620 SW Main Suite 606
Portland OR 97205
(503) 326-2901
http://www.house.gov/wu/
Washington DC Office:
2338 Rayburn House Office Bldg
Washington DC 20515
(202) 225-0855Dec. 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.
At that point in time, C2 will be seeking a high level of support from you, cabin owners across the state of Oregon. 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.
In addition, many Oregon tracts and cabin owners have made generous donations to the C2 effort this fall. Again, C2 thanks you for your support. And if you have any sales data for your tract, please go to the NFH website and share the information. C2 is attempting to put together concrete numbers on the sales prices of cabins. The information we need is described at NFH.
Nov. 3, 2009 - The Fee Moratorium became law today! This is a huge first step to overall success! Thanks to all who have been engaged in the process. Efforts at the state and local levels have been key. The Moratorium is as follows:
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.Oct. 26, 2009 - The second NFH/C2 survey closed yesterday. Thank you to the 273 Oregon cabin owners who took the time to complete this important research data. This is 16% of the cabins in Oregon. Results will be posted as soon as they are available.
Oct. 22, 2009 - Rep. Walden has signed on to the Moratorium! This support by Rep. Walden is very important. At this time the Senate Appropriations bill is waiting for conference and approval by the House of Representatives. It is possible that the moratorium could be removed from the appropriations bill if C2 does not have the necessary support in the House. With Rep. Walden signed on, our chance of approval is greatly strengthened. Rep. Walden's staff has requested that all Oregon cabin owners be told of his support and C2 has assured his staff this will occur. Please thank Rep. Walden and his staff for supporting the moratorium (Section 430 of HR 2966) and for their continued engagement by using this link. Click here to read Walden's letter of support.
October.... C2's Steering Committee is working on drafting legislation around the fee model introduced to our congressional staffers during the week in D.C. Stay tuned. Late in the month the drafted document will be presented to all C2 committee members in the monthly meeting.
C2 Returns from a Successful Week in D.C.
Sept. 28, 2009 - C2 Representatives spent last Wednesday through Friday in Washington D.C., presenting the Permit Fee Porposal to the Forest Service, Senate and Representative staff, and key committee contacts. Visits were made with staff in Senator Wyden's office and Representative DeFazio's office. Wyden has stepped up and signed his support to the Moratorium (2507) attached to the Senate Appropriations Bill. Take a moment to call or email Senator Wyden to thank him for his concern for Oregon cabin owners. Remember, the Moratorium is not final until it passes the House also. C2 is watching the progress closely and will inform you as soon as we know. To read a full recap of each day in D.C. visit the NFH Blog.
C2 Presents Our Recommended Permit Fee Proposal!
This information includes an introductory letter to all cabin owners, a description of the proposal and an analysis of the proposal. Take a few minutes and review this proposal. Many, many hours have been spent wrestling with ideas and numbers to develop a fee method that is fair to everyone.C2 Meets with Wyden's Oregon Staff
Sept. 15, 2009 - C2 Representatives Sharon Karr (Diamond Lake, OR), Eric Paulson (Mt. Hood - Cool Creek) and Dick Almy (Lake Wenatchee, WA) met with Mary Gautreaux, Senator Wyden's State Director. Also included in this meeting was Chris Endresen, Senator Cantwell's State Director. The meeting was disappointing in that Senator Wyden will not call a hearing while he is fully occupied with health care. The lengthy meeting included discussion on how to best obtain a moratorium and move forward in garnering support for C2's fee proposal toward a hearing and legislation.Sept. 3, 2009 - Oregon data gathered by the NFH Economic Impact Survey (EIS) is available. Oregon cabin owners provided atremendous response rate which lends validity to the statistics.
Aug. 18, 2009 - Michele Miranda, from Senator Wyden's Wash. D.C. office took a tour today of Lake of the Woods tract in southern Oregon. It was her first visit to a cabin tract, where she was provided a tour by the past LOW association president, Larry Hildebrandt.
June 26, 2009 - Mt. Hood appraisals took place over the last weekend. Results likely won't be published until early 2010. With new appraisals completed for Oregon's national forests, except Mt. Hood, and the rescinded moratorium, permit fees are increasing dramatically for many Oregon cabin owners. How will this affect your cabin? Will you bring in a partner, try to sell, pass it along to a younger generation family member? Let us know the hardship created for your cabin if you have a high appraisal. (Review Oregon appraisal results)
Thank you for your interest and stay tuned for updates from C2 and OFHA. If you have questions, don't hesitate to email your Oregon C2 Representatives, Bill Kennedy or Sharon Karr.