Save the Texas Dune Buggy

[Faron]

We have been working on this project for over a year & we have accomplished a lot. But we are not finished yet.
Thousands of dollars have been raised. (All Funds Raised go to support Save the Texas Dune Buggy, Sandrail & Kitcar. If you would like to donate, PayPal Faron@savethetexasdunebuggy.com or you can send in a check.)
Thousands of hours have been donated.
We hired the Lobbyist who is credited with getting the Polaris Slingshot Legal in the State of Texas. We have attended multiple TxDMV Board Meetings.
Attended 3 Working Group Meetings that the TxDMV Board, directed the Director of the TxDMV Title & Registration division to organize. (SEMA, as well as Factory 5 Racing, were both involved. SEMA is still keeping a close eye on the situation.)
Attended a Sunset Commission Meeting. (Where we were a topic of concern.)
Talked to just about everyone in the Texas State Capitol Building. (Most of whom do not understand why the TxDMV arbitrarily made this rule WITHOUT their direction)
Written hundreds of letters to Executives at the TxDMV.
Written hundreds of letters to Legislators.
Held a Rally on the South Lawn of the Texas State Capitol Building where Bruce & Winnie Meyers, the inventor of the Dune Buggy Attended. Mike & Lorie Ann Dario the President & Secretary of the International Manx Club with over 5000 members were also in attendance.
We have a Bill Written that we assume will be on the Docket of the next Legislative Session that starts in January of 2019.
All that, & we still have work to do! At the moment everything is pretty quiet due to a "Christmas Coma" & I assume that it will stay this way until after the first of the year. But that does not stop the bill that comes in every month to pay Ron our Lobbysit. Ron our Lobbyist still needs a monthly check & we are shy at the moment, please donate if you can. PayPal to faron@savethetexasdunebuggy.com We have come this far because of Rons guidance & hard work, it would be a shame if he had to slow down or quit because we can no longer pay him. Please help if you can.
Not long ago we asked that all of our fellow Texas Dune Buggy Owners send an email with their Name, City/Town, & Zip Code to faron@savethetexasdunebuggy.com for our records. We will also be sending specific updates that we would like to keep from the public eye AKA the prying eyes of the TxDMV who are still closely monitoring what we are doing. As of the time, this is being written, we only have 52 people on that list. We really need your help! Please send the above info to faron@savethetexasdunebuggy.com
The way we see it... we are in the third quarter of the Superbowl & the odds are in our favor. But we still need to continue to bring our A game. PLEASE HELP WHERE YOU CAN!

[Rick&Cyndi M]

Hello Faron,

I see that you have already raised $21,880 on your Go Fund Me website. In addition to that you have your own personal Save the Texas Dune Buggy account on PayPal which has obviously raised money, and have sold T-shirts, hats and stickers to raise additional funds. Would you please give us a detailed accounting of how much money you have received in total, and how that money has been spent up to this point? The money that you have received so far should be far in excess of what you have paid the Lobbyist in a year that the Texas Legislature is not in session. In addition to this, would you please provide an estimate of what you believe the total amount of money that will be needed to get this Bill passed, and if you expect it to happen in the 2019 Legislative Session?

Thanks,

Rick

[Faron]

Earlier Rick posted some legitimate questions about the money we have raised & how the money raised is being spent. In Ricks original post he assumes that the money we have raised “should be in excess” of what we have paid our Lobbyist in a year that the Texas Legislature is not in session. Before I posted this, I spoke to Ron Hinkle the Legislative Consultant or Lobbyist we hired in November of 2017. Out of Respect for Ron I asked if he was okay with giving the specifics as to what he is getting paid & this is the education that I received in return.
He said that every lobbyist, by law, must register to be a lobbyist ($750 Registration Fee) in Texas.
When a Lobbyist registers with the Texas Ethics commission they must fill out information as to who they are, what categories they represent (education, health, regulatory, transportation, economic development, etc.) and the name of the clients they represent.
In addition, the Lobbyist must check the Box of one of the 14 different annual compensation categories starting from $0 compensation to $10k-$24,999 to $25k-$49,000, etc to the maximum compensation box of $500,000 or more.
The AVCT Lobbyist falls in the third of the 14 categories.
The AVCT Lobbyst handles his own expenses and does not charge the client for any Additional activities that come with Lobbying.

At the Advice of Ron Hinkle, I have removed actual numbers. If you have questions about the numbers please give me a call at 505-688-7640.

Rick also asked that I provide an estimate as to what we believe the total amount of money that will be needed to get this Bill passed, and if we expect it to happen in the 2019 Legislative Session. There really is no real way to give a response other than to explain it like this. The legislative session begins the 2nd Tuesday in January and last 140 calendar days. Although Rick assumes that it cost more to pay a Lobbyist while the Legislation is in session, Rick is incorrect in his assumption. It does not cost any more to pay the lobbyist during the 140-day session. His monthly retainer is the same, (I have a signed contract that says so) but his work load increases significantly. It is expected that a bill relating to assembled vehicles is to pass this legislative session. However, we need to keep in mind that over 7000 bills are filed during this time and there are literally hundreds of associations, coalitions, corporations, private citizens, etc that are also vying to have their particular bill passed. The lobbyist we have is experienced and has already been in communication with numerous legislators since He agreed to represent Dune Buggy, Sandrail & Kitcar owners beginning in 2017. We need to keep in mind that many factors can jam up the legislative process, so it will take Dune Buggy Sandrail & Kitcar owners to assist in a Grassroots effort to continue to reach out to their specific legislators to help push the legislation designed to fix the problem known as Administrative Rule 217.3. We hope we can count on your continued financial support as well as your grassroots support when called on.

[johber41]

Thanks Faron....transparency is a beautiful thing! great effort sir! Thanks Rick....for asking the tough questions No one likes to ask!

[Faron]

Thanks Faron....transparency is a beautiful thing! great effort sir! Thanks Rick....for asking the tough questions No one likes to ask!

Ohh I have been and will always be transparent as far as the money goes. All that has to be done is GIVE ME A CALL (505)688-7640, send me an email faron@savethetexasdunebuggy.com, text me, & we can schedule a meeting, or we can discuss anything over the phone. After all, it is OUR money. Like I said in the post above, Ron advised that we remove the actual numbers because it is not appropriate to have them out in public view. BUT it is correct to share the numbers privately among people who ask!

[johber41]

Its hard work taking up for a cause and I want to continue to thank you for your efforts. it affects all of us!

[Faron]

Its hard work taking up for a cause and I want to continue to thank you for your efforts. it affects all of us!

Thank You