Wednesday, April 8, 2015

Filippi pushes fishing legislation opposed by fishermen

To him, ideology is more important than constituents’ needs
By Will Collette
Aqua-Flip to the rescue, whether you want to rescued or not

Tomorrow, Thursday April 9, Rep. Blake “Flip” Filippi (Tea Party-Lincoln) will have a hearing on H-5352, his bill which would eliminate the Rhode Island recreational salt water fishing license which currently costs fishermen $7 a year.

Normally, you would expect constituents to jump for joy at the prospect of not having to pay for a license. However, the reaction to Flip's bill has been exactly the opposite.

The 1,800 member Rhode Island Saltwater Anglers Association, whose members supposedly benefit from Flip’s bill, are adamantly opposed. And they’ve repeatedly delivered this message to Filippi to his face and by e-mail and phone call.

The Cranston Herald reports that Filippi's bill is also opposed by the RI Party & Charter Boat Association.

Flip told the Westerly Sun’s Brook Constance White that he has heard from those constituents and now, according to her report, “no longer wants to repeal the law [i.e. the license and fee] immediately.”

But there are two problems with that claim. First, the bill being heard before the House Environment and Natural Resources Committee on Thursday calls for immediate and complete repeal. Don’t take my word for it – read the bill HERE

Flip says that he wants to amend his bill to only cut the license fee from $7 to $3, but Flip has said a lot of things that has not panned out from the first day he started to campaign for state representative.

No matter how many times Flip says he really doesn't want to actually repeal the state license (just reduce the fee), the fact remains that he still done nothing to change H-5352 even though it's been almost two months since his constituents told him he had introduced a bad bill. By his actions - as opposed to his words - he wants total repeal.

Second, the saltwater fishermen like the $7 fee because the state uses the money to maintain and improve fishing facilities and also leverages lots of federal matching dollars. Those funds are then used for popular projects such as the newly renovated boat ramp at Galilee. 

They did not ask Filippi for a $4 reduction and they do not support such a reduction, but apparently Flip doesn’t understand that “NO!” means “no.”


Since Filippi first introduced the bill and drew immediate heavy flak from anglers, he has changed his story about the meaning and rationale for the bill and his true intentions. He has had several exchanges on this subject with my colleague Bob Yarnall by phone and e-mail.

When Bob pointed out that repealing the state $7 saltwater fishing license would mean that Rhode Island anglers would then have to get a $25 federal license (the RI license serves in lieu of the federal license), Flip said that what he really wanted to do was repeal the federal license, writing in a February 28 e-mail:
“My intent is to first eliminate the federal recreational fishing license, and then the state license. In the meantime, I intend to bring the cost of a state license down to $3 (the cost of administering the program), or preferably, $0.” 
Huh? He never explained how he, a guy who represents a rural legislative district in Rhode Island (where he doesn’t even reside) is going to get the feds to repeal the federal license.

Then Flipper told Bob that he felt the state license fee was unconstitutional, a claim he repeated to Ms. White at the Westerly Sun. Because Rhode Island citizens have a Constitutional right to beach access (though this right was abridged by a recent court decision out of Westerly – which the state intends to appeal) and the right to fish, Flip feels that the license fee, which he considers to be a tax, is unconstitutional.

I also support the right of all Rhode Islanders to access to all of our beaches and the right to fish. Progressive Charlestown has carried a number of articles on that subject including several by leading beach access activist Jim Bedell.

But Filippi’s notion that it’s unconstitutional to impose a fee or license on something that’s protected in the Constitution may be popular with the radical crowd Filippi hangs out with, but has no actual basis in reality or the law. 

Lots of things protected by the Constitution are subject to fees, licenses and taxes. I could give you a long list, but here's one example that demolishes Filippi’s point: guns.

"Nullify those federal fishing licenses or die!"
Filippi is pretty notorious for holding radical positions on the Constitution such as his support for “nullification,” the principle that states can ignore federal laws they deem unconstitutional. 

Nullification by the South over slavery was one of the proximate causes of the Civil War. In case you need reminding, the South lost that war and with that loss went any legitimacy for nullification. 

There is no support for the concept of nullification in the law, despite the claims of Flipper and his friends at the Tenth Amendment Center. Maybe it's enough to have the support of the neo-racists and militias in the states' rights movement.

Filippi set his sights on the federal license - over which he has no power - because the RI state Constitution has stronger language on beach and fishing rights. 

Under Filippi's discredited nullification theory, our state Constitution trumps federal law. To make his point, Filippi is willing to cause harm to Rhode Island anglers.

But maybe this is really the whole point of this exercise. It seems to me, based on Filippi's response to the fishermen, that he really doesn't give a shit about fishing or fishermen. 

Instead, he seems to want to make this issue a chance to push his states' rights/nullification agenda - at their expense. His February 28 e-mail to Bob Yarnall might have been the only instance of accidental honesty uttered by the Flipper during this whole episode.

Right now, the RI state license recognized in Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York. Oh, and older anglers (65+) get the RI license for free. 

If Flip’s bill passes, not only will Rhode Island saltwater fishermen have to get a $25 federal license with no discount for seniors, but they will also need to buy state licenses if they want to fish in our neighboring states. No reciprocity. 

Plus, Rhode Island loses the federal and state funding needed to maintain and improve our fishing facilities.

Flip has been told that his unsolicited “help” is unwelcome and actually causes a lot more harm, expense and aggravation than simply leaving well enough alone. Opposition to Filippi is coming not just from South County but across the state - read this article from the Warwick Beacon. But Filippi thinks he knows what is best.

He is the one that District 36 voters picked last November despite evidence that he doesn’t even live in the District and that he holds radical views out of step with the voters. At least until November 2016, we’re stuck with him.

Finally, I can tell you with absolute certainty that you never would have seen former Rep. Donna Walsh (D-District 36) pull a stunt like this.

To minimize the damage that he might do to saltwater fishing, the Rhode Island Salt Water Anglers Association urges you to contact members of the House Environment and Natural Resources Committee which must approve either this Filippi bill (H-5352) or some yet-to-be-unveiled substitute and tell them to leave well enough alone.

Here are the names of the members and their e-mail addresses:

House Committee on Environment and Natural Resources 

Legislator
Appointment
E-mail
  Representative David A. Bennett
  Vice Chairman
  Representative Blake A. Filippi
  Member
  Representative Arthur Handy
  Chairman
  Representative John J. Lombardi
  Member
  Representative Michael J. Marcello
  Member
  Representative Joseph M. McNamara
  Member
  Representative Helio Melo
  Member
  Representative Eileen S. Naughton
  Member
  Representative William W. O'Brien
  Member
  Representative Jeremiah T. O'Grady
  Secretary
  Representative Thomas A. Palangio
  Member
  Representative Justin Price
  Member
  Representative J. Aaron Regunberg
  Member
  Representative Scott Slater
  Member
  Representative Carlos E. Tobon
  Member