Here is the CCA CAL perspective thru the eyes of board member Jim Hendricks...
"THANK YOU ALL!
If you haven't heard, the California Senate Appropriations Committee adjourned today without taking action on Assembly Bill 3030, placing the bill on hold in committee. As a result, it is highly unlikely that AB 3030 will move to the California Senate floor for a vote this year.
As a board member of Coastal Conservation Association of California and working member of its marketing and communications committee, I would like to offer my heartfelt thanks to everyone who read my many posts and calls to action regarding AB 3030. I am so grateful to those who took the time to visit ccacalifornia.org to send a Voter Voice note to their senators, signed the CCA CAL petition and contributed money to help defeat AB 3030. Your many passionate call-ins during the Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee meeting in opposition to AB 3030 brought tears to my eyes.
Though AB 3030 has been placed on hold for this session, its sponsors will likely attempt to resurrect the bill. We hope next time that they will work with the sportfishing community in good faith to draft language that we all can accept.
To put this all in perspective, CCA CAL and the sportfishing community is not against conservation, biodiversity, or clean ecosystems. We need all of those elements for good fishing. CCA CAL agrees that climate change needs to be addressed along with issues of ocean acidification, and water and air pollution. We also believe in improving access to the water and fishing for under-served communities. But as our many hard-working team members explained to the sponsors, we don’t see how this bill addresses those issues.
I would be remiss if I did not also thank CCA CAL's tireless staff -- Executive Director Wayne Kotow and Assistant Director Chris Arechaederra -- as well as the entire board of directors of CCA CAL, including my good friend, President Bill Shedd.
Again, thanks so much for your support. And to learn more, please visit
www.ccacalifornia.org."