California may Force Ahart to Increase Prices
New Status 2010/10/20
On October 19th, 2010, Governor Schwarzenegger signed SB 856 (the
budget trailer bill) which delays the implementation of AB48 until
end-of-month, July 2011.
So, what's next? We're going to be working with the senate
between now and then to STOP AB48 completely, so we don't have to
worry about it EVER Again!
For everyone that assisted us with phone calls, letters, or
emails, THANK YOU! You made the difference in this
fight.
I plan on keeping this web page going, to let everyone know when
we achieve final victory or if we need your help again.
New Status 2010/08/23
Assembly Bill 1889 Passed the Senate! This bill allows for
the exclusion of flight schools from the effects of AB-48!
This is QUITE the victory!!!! The next step is for this bill
to get approved by the State Assembly, but since the author of the
bill is all for excluding flight schools, it should pass the
assembly.
After this, we need to get the Governor to sign the bill.
Stay tuned because we will make a concerted effort, together, to get
the terminator to sign the bill on behalf of the aviation industry
in California!
YAHOOOOOOOOO for Aviation in California!
Status (as of 2010/08/23)
Assembly Bill 1440 is pretty much dead! We just can't seem
to get anywhere here. Assembly Bill 1889 is alive again, and
could possibly be what we need to make sure we don't get, once
again, overburdened financially by our state government. We
can only hope.
The Sacramento Bee just published a letter - small, but at least
some press is better than no press. You can find the link
here:
http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2010/08/legislation-leaves-flying-scho.html
If you haven't written yet to your state senator, we need your
help. You can find details below.
Go to the web page below, type in your zip-code, and then call
your state senator. Identify yourself as a resident in their
district and politely urge them to Support AB 1140 and sign the
related Caucus Letter that is being circulated by Senator Padilla.
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/yourleg.html
Status (as of 2010/08/02)
Assembly Bill 1440 is near to approval in the state Senate.
This bill will allow for an 18 month pause on AB-48 which would
require huge financial burdens to be placed on flight school.
NATA has issued a more
formal
statement on the status of this issue.
We need you to call your Senator, NOW!
Status (as of 2010/08/02)
We're down to the wire here! AOPA has gotten heavily
involved, and if you already got an email from them and have
acted...
Thank you!!
If not, I have copied the AOPA email below. Please, if you
have ever looked for something you can do to help keep General
Aviation alive in California, this is the one thing that will
help the most! Call your state senator and let them know that
Assembly Bill 1140 must be approved!
AOPA's Letter:
The potential for disruption of flight training in California
from bureaucratic requirements and significant fee increases
resulting from AB 48 is again on the agenda in Sacramento this week.
Assembly Bill 1140, which would postpone the imposition of these
fees until a permanent resolution is achieved, needs the support of
your Senator. Because broad support is critical in
successfully passing legislation, your Senator's voice is needed to
ensure that quality flight training remains available and that the
general aviation industry remains strong in California.
Back to Ahart:
Go to the web page below, type in your zip-code, and then call
your state senator. Identify yourself as a resident in their
district and politely urge them to Support AB 1140 and sign the
related Caucus Letter that is being circulated by Senator Padilla.
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/yourleg.html
We all need to help, and
NOW is the time! Thank you!
Ahart Management
Status (as of 2010/07/19)
Well, we met with Assembly Member Mary Hayashi in Hayward
California today with some very positive results. Assembly
member Hayashi thinks that this legislation definitely needs to be
changed so as to not cripple general aviation in California or drive
important, revenue generating businesses 'out of business'.
Assembly Bill 1140, currently in the state senate, has provisions
in it to put an eighteen (18) month moratorium on the implementation
of Assembly Bill 48 which is causing all of the trouble.
During that eighteen months, we can then help the state of
California architect new legislation in 2011 to make sure general
aviation is not destroyed in the state of California.
So, what's next? We need to tell our representatives to
pass Assembly Bill 1140! Do whatever you can to contact your
state senator or assembly person and let them know how you feel.
We have gotten a lot of signed letters from our customers, but we
need more. To find your representative, you can go to this web
site:
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/yourleg.html
Thank you to everyone who is concerned about general aviation and
how our state spends its money. We are close, but we can't
stop!
Status (as of 2010/07/01)
Some VERY encouraging news! Assembly Bill 1889 has had text
added to it that would defer the implementation of AB-48 for
another six months. This change has been approved by the
senate, but we believe is will have problems once it gets to the
governor's office because of other spendint issues inside the bill.
However, this doesn't change the fact that California is trying to
suck money from all of us and possibly even cripple general aviation
in the state.
So, a new bill - AB-1140 - is up for approval and it contains
text that would put an 18 month hold on the implementation of
AB-48. This is not a complete solution, but it is a step
forward and will give us enough time to legally get the laws
changed.
NATA, National Air Transportation Association, has issued a press
release telling people about AB-1140 and what we can all do to get
it passed. I believe this bill has a much better chance to be
approved by the state, so we really want to see this get through!
You can find the NATA press release
here.
Some more news - I am scheduled to speak with an assembly member
in Hayward on the 12th or 19th of July to discuss this legislation.
It was a surprise to me, but I was told I was going to be
'educating' the assembly person on the problems with this
legislation. This is a great step forward as well because they
wouldn't have come to me unless you, our customers, had not been
sending letters, emails and making phone calls. THANK YOU!
We're not there yet though. We still need to let our
legilators know that we will not stand for them destroying general
aviation in the state! If you have already sent an email,
letter or made a phone call, thanks. Continuing with another
would only help. If you haven't contacted your assembly person
or state senator, now is the time to do it!
You can search for your senator and assembly person by going to
this web site and typing in your zip code, or, you can pick from the
names below. Call them! Write them! Email them!
This is VERY important!
http://www.legislature.ca.gov/cgi-bin/memberinfo
To find the email for
your senator:
http://www.senate.ca.gov/~newsen/senators/senators.htp
Livermore and Pleasanton Senator(2):
Loni Hancock
510-286-1333
1515 Clay Street
Oakland, Ca. 94612
http://dist09.casen.govoffice.com/
Ellen Corbett
510-577-2310
1057 MacArthur Blvd
San Leandro, Ca. 94577
http://dist10.casen.govoffice.com/
Assembly Member for Livermore and Pleasanton:
Joan Buchanan
925-328-1515
2694 Bishop Dr.
Building G, Suite 275
San Ramon, Ca. 94583
Alberto Torrico
510-440-9030
39510 Paseo Padre Parkway
Suite 280
Fremont, Ca. 94538
Mary Hayashi
510-583-8818
22320 Foothill Boulevard
Suite 540
Hayward, Ca. 94541
Letter to our
Legislators
Where to Send the Letter
Thank you everyone for your help!
Status (as of 2010/06/26)
Our lobbyist in Sacramento has gotten quite a response from our
legislators, and your letters and emails have really helped!
Sacramento is tired of listening to everyone complain about this, so
they are putting a line item in another bill to be sent to the state
Senate very soon! Wonderful!!! The text of the change is
shown here. It doesn't mean we're out of the woods yet, but
instead, the state will work on this for the next year to figure out
just how this may hurt the aviation industry.
SEC. 2. Section 94874.3 is added to
the Education
Code, to read:
(a) For the period of July 1, 2010, to July 1, 2011, inclusive,
the bureau shall not enforce this chapter against institutions
certified to
offer educational programs in flight instruction and aircraft
maintenance by
the Federal Aviation Administration.
(b) The Legislature shall hold public informational hearings for
the purpose of reviewing the appropriateness of regulating
educational
programs in flight instruction and aircraft maintenance under this
chapter.
We have to let our state Senators know just what this is going to
do to general aviation if it doesn't get through. Please make
phone calls to your representative(s) this next week (week of the
28th of June) before their fourth of July recess to let them know
just how horrible this legislation is!
You can search for your senator and assembly person by going to
this web site and typing in your zip code, or, you can pick from the
names below. Call them! Write them! Email them!
This is VERY important!
http://www.legislature.ca.gov/cgi-bin/memberinfo
To find the email for
your senato:
http://www.senate.ca.gov/~newsen/senators/senators.htp
Livermore and Pleasanton Senator(2):
Loni Hancock
510-286-1333
1515 Clay Street
Oakland, Ca. 94612
http://dist09.casen.govoffice.com/
Ellen Corbett
510-577-2310
1057 MacArthur Blvd
San Leandro, Ca. 94577
http://dist10.casen.govoffice.com/
Assembly Member for Livermore and Pleasanton:
Joan Buchanan
925-328-1515
2694 Bishop Dr.
Building G, Suite 275
San Ramon, Ca. 94583
Alberto Torrico
510-440-9030
39510 Paseo Padre Parkway
Suite 280
Fremont, Ca. 94538
Mary Hayashi
510-583-8818
22320 Foothill Boulevard
Suite 540
Hayward, Ca. 94541
Letter to our
Legislators
Where to Send the Letter
Thank you everyone for your help!
Status (as of 2010/06/24)
Well, we met with our new lobbyist and they are working hard to
get the word out to Sacramento legislators. Ahart is investing
money to pay this lobbyist as this is our business and all of our
future in general aviation.
But, we cannot stop now! I have created a letter (in
Adobe Acrobat
Format) which you can open, print and sign and then send to the
legislator's at the bottom of this we page. Please, do
everything you can to help out here to keep general aviation
profitable and fun in California!
Letter to our
Legislators
Where to Send the Letter
Thank you everyone for your help!
Status (as of 2010/06/18)
My trip to Sacramento was pretty good, but the consumer comission,
the group we testified in front of, has no power to reverse the bill
AB-48 as it is law. So, we stressed to them that we need more
time to make this write with the state or businesses and jobs could
be lost. We are hoping for an extension to January, 2011
before they being enforcing this law.
Also, a group of us flight schools have pooled together some
money to hire a lobbiest in Sacramento to get this thing changed.
We are hoping that an exemption for flight schools can be added to
AB 1889 and get that through the state senate and signed by the
governor. The problem here, though, is that AB 1889 has a
bunch of spending 'line items' in it which might force the governor
to veto the whole thing.
What can you do to help? Scroll down to the bottom of this
article and write letters, emails, make phone calls demanding that
something be done about this issue.
For those of you who have already helped. THANK YOU!
Your efforts are helping as the state legislature realizes that they
have made a mistake.
The Full Story
The state of California, using Assembly Bill (AB) 48, is putting
yet another state financial burden on Ahart Aviation Services.
This is going to force the company to close down or force us to
increase prices to our customers.
Assembly Bill 48 requires all California based flight schools to
meet the following requirement:
- Pay a $5,000 fee allowing Ahart Aviation
Services to apply to be a California based flight
school (this is only an application fee).
- Pay nearly 1% of our total gross income (not
profit, income) as a new tax to the State of
California for the honor to continue as a flight
school in the state.
- Pay nearly $30,000 annually to have the state of
California audit Ahart Aviation Services to make
sure we have a 1:1 asset to liability ratio.
The Cost?
The estimated payments Ahart will need to make to the State of
California for the first year is $65,000. Each year
afterwards, the fee's paid to the state of California will range
anywhere from $60,000 to $80,000 per year.
During 2009, Ahart Aviation Services was able, during a very
tough economy, to continue operations in support of our customers.
We did not profit from these operations in 2009, but the company has
been able to survive through a rough economy and depressed aviation
industry nevertheless. We are beginning to see a pick-up in
both the economy and the industry this year, but 2010 promises to be
yet another tough year for aviation.
Why is this happening?
There have been a few flight schools in the state of California
which have not been run by reputable business people. These
schools have collected customer deposits without managing them in a
responsible manner. Ahart Aviation Services is proud to say
that we have always made sure the 'money in the bank' matched or
exceeded our customer deposits making Ahart one of the most fiscally
responsible flight schools in northern California.
Ahart is currently regulated by the FAA, TSA, INS and other
government agencies, where we hold spotless records. The State
of California claims that they need to collect moneys from Ahart to
assure quality of customer service (the FAA, TSA and INS do not
require Ahart to pay them to regulate the company), but we believe
their reasons are not so honorable.
The state of California is placing this financial burden on
California flight schools for only one reason: to yet again collect
more and more money from the residents of this great state instead
of managing the state in a fiscally responsible manner. The state is
placing burdens on small, medium and large business to the point
where these business will either shut down or move out of the state
completely.
What Action are we Taking?
On June 7th, 2010, many flight school employees and owners are
going to meet with the state assembly in Sacramento to argue this
issue. Ahart is planning on attending.
If you are interested in helping, please email or write one, or
all of the state representatives below to voice your objection to
this new assembly bill.
If this bill is enforced, Ahart Aviation Services will either be
forced to close its doors or increase prices from 2% to 5%. We will
implement this price increase as a new California state tax for all
operations at Ahart Aviation Services (other than the sale of pilot
supplies). This new tax will allow
you to easily see what we/you are being forced to pay by the state
of California for the 'honor' of flying in this state.
Who can you contact?
Write letters, make phone calls, send emails to anyone on the
list below to voice your opinion(s) about this assembly bill.
This bill affects more than just Ahart, it affects anyone who is
interested or passionate about flying.
BPPE (Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education) Contact
Persons:
Joanne Wenzel
Staff Services Manager III
Address: 1625 N. Market Blvd., Suite S 202
Sacramento, California 95834
Telephone No.: (916) 574-7784
Fax No.: (916) 574-8652
E-Mail Address:
Joanne_Wenzel@dca.ca.gov
Diane McKernon
Address: 1625 N. Market Blvd., Suite S 202
Sacramento, California 95834
Telephone No.: (916) 574-7792
Fax No.: (916) 574-8652
E-Mail Address:
Diane_McKernon@dca.ca.gov
Assembly/Senate Contacts:
John A. Perez, Speaker
State Capitol
P.O. Box 942849
Sacramento, CA 94249-0046
916.319.2046
213.620.4646
speaker.perez@assembly.ca.gov
Charles Calderon, Majority Floor Leader
State Capitol
P.O. Box 942849
Sacramento, CA 94249-0058
916.319.2058
562.692.5858
assemblymember.calderon@assembly.ca.gov
Martin Garrick, Minority Floor Leader
State Capitol
P.O. Box 942849
Sacramento, CA 95814
916.319.2074
760.929.7998
assemblymember.garrick@assembly.ca.gov
Anthony Portantino, Author of (AB) 48!!!
State Capitol
P.O. Box 942849
Sacramento, CA 95814
916.319.2044
626-577-9944
assemblymember.portantino@asm.ca.gov
Marty Block, Chair (AB) 48 Committee
State Capitol
P.O. Box 942849
Sacramento, CA 95814-0078
916.319.2078
619.462.7878
assemblymember.block@assembly.ca.gov
Darrell Steinberg, President Pro Tem, State Senate
1303 10th Street
Capitol Room 205
Sacramento, CA 95814
916.445.7807
senator.steinberg@sen.ca.gov
Dean Florez, Majority Leader
1303 10th Street
Capitol Room 313
Sacramento, CA 95814
916.651.4016
senator.florez@sen.ca.gov
Dennis Hollingsworth, Minority Leader
1303 10th Street
Capitol Room 305
Sacramento, CA 95814
916.651.4036
senator.hollingsworth@sen.ca.gov
Thank you!
Everyone who plans on helping, we want to thank you all in
advance of your efforts to help keep prices low at Ahart and force
the state to live within its means.
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