Reef Bill Failed

[Captain Dave Wittenborn]

To all,
 
I'm sorry to report that Bill A3986 was not heard by the General Assembly tonight.
 
Optimistically, I watched most of the proceedings on-line thru the day. Surprisingly at 10:45, bill sponsor Assemblyman Sean Kean addressed Speaker Roberts and asked that, all though not posted, A3986 be heard and voted upon before the 2007 session ended.  The request was an irregular and bold move by the Republicans.  Immediately another assembly member countered by making a motion that A3986 be tabled for another time.  A vote followed resulting in a close 40 to 31 decision in favor of the opposition. 
 
Moments later Republican Leader Alex DeCroce called me from the Assembly floor to describe their efforts and apologized for failing.  He reported that our so called bill co-sponsor, Assemblyman Jeff Van Drew (Democrat from Cape May),voted against A3986 being heard.  Van Drew is the Senate candidate that the RFA campaigned for, helped get elected and was supposed to be on our side.  It became blatantly clear that Van Drew is a turn-coat and has been on the commercial industry's side all along.  We have been duped!
 
We lost the battle but not the war!  We were very, very close to a win and all of us should be commended for our efforts.  What we have accomplished in less than a year is most impressive.  Our crusade will continue and we shall prevail!
 
Reef Rescue will schedule a meeting for later in the month.  I look forward to future strategy.
 
Thanks to all,
 
Pete Grimbilas
Reef Rescue
 Cell: 973-454-0315

[mboy]

Remember what I said couple months back about people wanted to send letters thanking candidates for promising to do something for us?  I specifically think it was to sponsor a bill for us (altho bill pertained to our general rights to hunt and fish I believe).

This is why I said DO NOT until they actually do something!

[IrishAyes]

Those in his district should immediately place Assemblyman Jeff Van Drew's name on their calendar for the day prior to election and note his opposition to the reef bill.
By putting it on your calendar now you will be reminded you when you go to the polls to vote against him and anyone who favors ANY of his ideas.

Dave, can we get a list of the other 39 who voted to table this bill?  Their name should immediately go on the calendar also!  Let them know that they are the enemy and they will not be supported again and be given the opportunity to screw us again.

[njdiver]

The Bill was NOT posted! Assemblyman Sean T. Kean motioned for a roll call vote on the Bill and the Majority Leader Assm. Watson Coleman motioned to table it. Here are the results:

Asm. 1/7/2008 - MOTION TAB MOTION - Yes {41} No {32} Not Voting {7} Abstains {0}

Albano, Nelson T. - No Barnes, Peter J., III - Yes Baroni, Bill - No Bateman, Christopher - NoBeck, Jennifer - No Biondi, Peter J. - Not Voting Blee, Francis J. - No Bodine, Francis L. - Yes Bramnick, Jon M. - No Burzichelli, John J. - Not Voting Caraballo, Wilfredo - Yes Carroll, Michael Patrick - Not Voting Chatzidakis, Larry - Not Voting Chivukula, Upendra J. - No Cohen, Neil M. - Yes Conaway, Herb, M.D. - Not Voting Conners, Jack - Yes Connors, Christopher J. - No Corodemus, Steve - No Cruz-Perez, Nilsa - Yes Cryan, Joseph - Yes Dancer, Ronald S. - No DeCroce, Alex - No Diegnan, Patrick J., Jr. - No Doherty, Michael J. - No Egan, Joseph V. - Yes Epps, Charles T., Jr. - Yes Evans, Elease - Yes Fisher, Douglas H. - Not Voting Giblin, Thomas P. - Yes Gordon, Robert M. - Yes Green, Jerry - Yes Greenstein, Linda R. - No Greenwald, Louis D. - Yes Gregg, Guy R. - No Gusciora, Reed - Yes Handlin, Amy H. - No Holzapfel, James W. - No Jasey, Mila M. - Yes Johnson, Gordon M. - YesKarrow, Marcia A. - No Kean, Sean T. - No Lampitt, Pamela R. - Yes Malone, Joseph R., III - NoManzo, Louis M. - Yes Mayer, David R. - Yes McHose, Alison Littell - No McKeon, John F. - YesMerkt, Richard A. - NoMoriarty, Paul D. - YesMunoz, Eric - NoO'Toole, Kevin J. - NoOliver, Sheila Y. - Not VotingPanter, Michael J. - Yes Payne, William D. - Yes Pennacchio, Joseph - No Pou, Nellie - Yes Prieto, Vincent - Yes Quigley, Joan M. - Yes Roberts, Joseph J., Jr. - Yes Rooney, John E. - No Rumpf, Brian E. - No Russo, David C. - NoScalera, Frederick - Yes Schaer, Gary S. - Yes Stack, Brian P. - Yes Stanley, Craig A. - Yes Stender, Linda - Yes Thompson, Samuel D. - No Truitt, Oadline D. - Yes Vainieri Huttle, Valerie - Yes Van Drew, Jeff - No Vandervalk, Charlotte - N oVas, Joseph - Yes Vega, Silverio A. - Yes Voss, Joan M. - Yes Watson Coleman, Bonnie - Yes Whelan, Jim - Yes Wisniewski, John S. - Yes Wolfe, David W. - No

The "No" votes were on our side!

[Luna Sea 5]

 

[ped579]

Here we go boys, hoist the Jolly Rodger, ready the canons, make sure the powder is dry and get ready for battle.  The Dems and any stray Rep. want to rumble lets show them that we mean business.

Take no prisoners...

Paul

[njdiver]

APP

January 8, 2008


Lobster trap ban dies in Legislature
By KIRK MOORE

Legislation to ban lobster traps and other commercial fishing gear from New Jersey's artificial reefs died in the final hours of the 2007 Legislature, after supporters could not get enough votes in the state Assembly to bring the measure up for a final vote.
The bill's prime sponsor, Assemblyman Sean T. Kean, R-Monmouth, sought a vote on Monday only to see the lower house vote to table the measure 42 to 31. The legislation had passed the state Senate unanimously last Thursday and backers among the state's recreational fishing groups had hoped the Assembly version would pull through and go on to Gov. Corzine's desk for his signature.

"Sean Kean wanted a vote,'' said James Donofrio, executive director of the
Recreational Fishing Alliance and an advocate of the reef bill. But the Garden State
Seafood Association was successful in persuading Assembly leadership not to hold a vote, Donofrio said.

With the end of the 2006-2007 legislative year, the bill has now died and supporters need to decide whether to seek re-introduction in the new Legislature, Donofrio said.

Meanwhile, the state Department of Environmental Protection has proposed seasonal reef exclusion rules that would keep lobster and fish traps off the reefs from May to October. That measure is proceeding through the DEP administrative process and could take effect this year, state Division of Fish and Wildlife Director David Chanda said at last Thursday's meeting of the state marine Fisheries Council.

As planned by DEP officials, the rule would first apply to reefs within the state's
three-mile territorial limit. But the agency also plans to ask the Mid-Atlantic Fishery
Management Council, a quasi-government board with authority in federal waters, to apply the same rule to artificial reefs outside three miles.
http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/art...D=200880108042