Executive Director's
Report
I am
thrilled to announce that we have hired a new employee
at the MSSA office. On March 10th we hired David Smith
as our Associate Executive Director. David comes to us
with a background in politics and the legislative
process. Dave worked three years on Capitol Hill in
Washington, DC as an aid to a couple of Senators.
Dave
will take on the duties as my assistant and will be
responsible for developing better communications with
the press, MSSA membership and our major sponsors. Dave
is already assisting in redesigning the MSSA website,
has distributed several press releases and has attended
committee hearings in Annapolis. Dave will be a great
asset to the MSSA!
Although I am writing this message on the 10th of April,
I am sure that our 25th Annual Spring Tournament will be
a great success. I am looking forward to attending the
Captain’s Meetings and seeing the many friends that I
have met over the years. Boater’s World will have some
great door prizes for our contestants. I’m predicting
that someone could walk away with over $75,000, if he
enters all of the TWT’s.
On
the legislative front, this year has been a fairly quiet
year. We monitored over a dozen bills and testified on
several bills in both the House and Senate. One
particular bill that stood out and was very
controversial was Senate Bill 673 – “Clammers- Clamming
Appliance and Income – Compensation”. Approximately 50
watermen were in attendance to support the bill which
would have given compensation to hydraulic clam dredgers
who worked the back bays of the Atlantic Coast. The
bill would have compensated certain eligible clammers
for equipment and diminished earnings. MSSA opposed the
bill since it did not state that clammers surrender the
equipment for which they were being compensated.
Another flaw with the bill is that the compensation
program was extended to clammers from September of 1994
to October 1, 2008. MSSA suggested that the clammers
only receive compensation if they have clammed the back
bays of the Atlantic Coast for the past three years. In
addition, MSSA submitted an amendment stating that any
equipment that the clammers were compensated for must
be surrendered to the Department. The bill was
defeated in Committee.
Remember to return your renewal notices within 30 days
so that you can be eligible for the $250 gift
certificate from Boater’s World. The first drawing for
2008 will be on July 1st. You could be the lucky
winner.