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Armstrong says park opt-out
fee takes
advantage of unsuspecting citizens
House approves measure to change opt-in park fee
to opt-out on license tabs
Rep. Mike
Armstrong says a measure that would require people to opt-out of
paying a $5 fee for state parks on their vehicle license tabs is
deceptive and would take advantage of unsuspecting people, especially
senior citizens. The House of Representatives voted Monday night, 56-42,
to approve
House
Bill 2339.
Currently, an opt-in box
allows citizens to choose whether to pay an additional $5 fee to support
state parks when they renew their vehicle license tabs. HB 2339 would
change that to an "opt-out" box, requiring the additional $5 fee to be
paid unless the person renewing the vehicle license tabs checks that
box.
Armstrong said many senior
citizens will end up paying the fee without realizing they can opt out.
"Are there provisions in
this bill to give Grandma and Grandpa back their $5? When they want
their money back, who is going to give it to them? What do we do when
they say, 'Nobody explained this to me. I'm on a fixed income and I
can't afford to pay any more. Who's going to pay it
back?" asked Armstrong, R-Wenatchee.
Armstrong also questioned
why the state is spending millions of dollars to purchase new lands for
state parks when it cannot afford to keep existing parks open.
"Why are you buying more
lands to put more parks on, when you can't take care of 40 parks you want
to close now? That's a fair question and I don't know how to answer it,"
said Armstrong. "I guess the answer is that we're going to get Grandma
and Grandpa to pay for it without them knowing it."
House Republicans offered
an amendment to transfer $25 million from the Washington
Wildlife and Recreation (WWR) accounts for the maintenance and operation
of state parks. The WWR account is used, among other things, to purchase
new lands. Majority Democrats rejected the amendment.
Armstrong said he
supported the original opt-in method of funding of state parks, which
allowed people to consciously choose whether or not they would like to
pay an additional $5. He added, however, this latest proposal is a
sneaky way of taking money from people.
"I'm a no on this bill and
it breaks my heart, because I love state parks. My wife and I raised our
kids with fond memories of going to state parks. However, it is not fair
to the citizens of Washington to deceive them and make them pay for
state parks when they don't know they're doing it," concluded Armstrong.
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For more information, contact:
John
Sattgast, Senior Information Officer: (360) 786-7257
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