I just returned from the Capitol.
After two days of lobbying and today testifying in support of the bill, the bill was defeated in the Senate Natural Resources Committee. I will write more tomorrow but am very tired and disappointed.
The good news however, is that the request for an audit of the Fish and Game Preservation Fund received a unanimous vote. The audit will take around 4 months.

Assemblyman Dave Cogdill wants to thank all of you who showed such great support for his bill and he will continue to fight for our hatcheries.
This email was sent out to supporters and explains what happened today.

Brad







I email you with a very heavy heart. AB 2280 did not receive enough votes to move out of Sen. Natural Resources, despite all the efforts by all of you, Mr. Cogdill, and his staff. The analysis written by the committee was very biased and did much harm. We found the arguments against the bill to be specious. In the same breath, the opponents say that the bill does nothing and yet it ties the hands of DFG who has already been beaten up. We are very disappointed but we don't stop here...
Yesterday, the Joint Legislative Audit Committee approved our request that the State Auditor conduct an audit of the Preservation Fund which should be completed early next year. That is a victory. Likewise, we are still rallying behind funding in the budget from the Tideland Oil pot of money, which provides the immediate fix. Mr. Cogdill is still committed to ensuring that the hatcheries are fully funded. This issue is not going away just because we suffered a defeat.
I will continue to keep you updated on any progress in any of these matters. Thanks for your continued support.
Erin M. Guerrero
Office of Assemblyman Dave Cogdill
916-319-2025