March 9, 2005
HB125 Passed Out of Committee.
Bob Cox, Spencer and I were in Montgomery yesterday for the committee meeting on HB125. Our bill was passed forward by unanimous vote and now will be sent to the entire House of Representatives to be voted on. This should happen in the next few weeks. We had to compromise some with the Alabama Historical Commission(AHC) but we can fully support the bill as long as no more changes are made. This bill will allow divers to dive all of Alabama without a permit and to find isolated finds. It will have an Oversight Committee that will control issuing permits to salvage shipwrecks. The Oversight Committee is very important and should treat everyone the same and not just allow insiders to get a permit if one is needed. The insiders affiliated with the AHC have been issuing themselves permits while actual divers, collectors and historians have been excluded. HB125 and SB128 will encourage diving and tourism in Alabama. People will come to Alabama to dive instead of being afraid of being arrested. We will be able to save some of the isolated bottles and relics in our rivers before they are destroyed by dredging of channels and nature.
If we can get the new law passed it will put some common sense back into our diving laws. All we want is access to our public lands and waters for the public. No special treatment for insiders. Representative Cam Ward is our sponsor in the House and Senator Jack Biddle is our sponsor in the Senate. These men have been a great help working for the public. Lets remember to support them in their efforts when they need us. I also want to thank Representative Billy Beasley for spending much time with me while I explained what the bill will do and what the amateur historians and collectors are really about.
We now need to contact all of the legislators to ask them to support our bills and to get them on the calendar for a vote. It has taken 6 years of hard work to get this far. There is still opposition from the special interest insiders. They are contacting the legislators and opposing our bills for their own benefit. Please make a total effort to let the legislators know what the public wants. Many of the special interest insiders are in the Mobile and Baldwin County area. The legislators from these areas especially need to hear from us so that divers will be able to dive in Mobile Bay and the Gulf. Please contact as many as possible and get your family and friends to do the same. Here is a link to the legislators contact information:
House Members http://www.legislature.state.al.us/house/representatives/houseroster_alpha.html
Senate Members:
http://www.legislature.state.al.us/senate/senators/senateroster_alpha.html
Steve Phillips
Save Our Lost History
4515 5th Avenue South
Birmingham, AL. 35222
205-595-3052
http://www.ssdsupply.com/
HB125 Passed Out of Committee.
Bob Cox, Spencer and I were in Montgomery yesterday for the committee meeting on HB125. Our bill was passed forward by unanimous vote and now will be sent to the entire House of Representatives to be voted on. This should happen in the next few weeks. We had to compromise some with the Alabama Historical Commission(AHC) but we can fully support the bill as long as no more changes are made. This bill will allow divers to dive all of Alabama without a permit and to find isolated finds. It will have an Oversight Committee that will control issuing permits to salvage shipwrecks. The Oversight Committee is very important and should treat everyone the same and not just allow insiders to get a permit if one is needed. The insiders affiliated with the AHC have been issuing themselves permits while actual divers, collectors and historians have been excluded. HB125 and SB128 will encourage diving and tourism in Alabama. People will come to Alabama to dive instead of being afraid of being arrested. We will be able to save some of the isolated bottles and relics in our rivers before they are destroyed by dredging of channels and nature.
If we can get the new law passed it will put some common sense back into our diving laws. All we want is access to our public lands and waters for the public. No special treatment for insiders. Representative Cam Ward is our sponsor in the House and Senator Jack Biddle is our sponsor in the Senate. These men have been a great help working for the public. Lets remember to support them in their efforts when they need us. I also want to thank Representative Billy Beasley for spending much time with me while I explained what the bill will do and what the amateur historians and collectors are really about.
We now need to contact all of the legislators to ask them to support our bills and to get them on the calendar for a vote. It has taken 6 years of hard work to get this far. There is still opposition from the special interest insiders. They are contacting the legislators and opposing our bills for their own benefit. Please make a total effort to let the legislators know what the public wants. Many of the special interest insiders are in the Mobile and Baldwin County area. The legislators from these areas especially need to hear from us so that divers will be able to dive in Mobile Bay and the Gulf. Please contact as many as possible and get your family and friends to do the same. Here is a link to the legislators contact information:
House Members http://www.legislature.state.al.us/house/representatives/houseroster_alpha.html
Senate Members:
http://www.legislature.state.al.us/senate/senators/senateroster_alpha.html
Steve Phillips
Save Our Lost History
4515 5th Avenue South
Birmingham, AL. 35222
205-595-3052
http://www.ssdsupply.com/
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