AP Report: Calif. ‘Raided’ Special License Plate Fund Intended for 9/11 Victims
- Posted on May 29, 2012 at 4:17pm by
Becket Adams
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SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP/The Blaze) — After the 2001 terrorist attacks, California lawmakers sought a way to channel the patriotic fervor and use it to help victims’ families and law enforcement. Their answer: specialty memorial license plates emblazoned with the words, “We Will Never Forget.”
Part of the money raised through the sale of the plates was to fund scholarships for the children of California residents who perished in the attacks, while the majority — 85 percent — was to help fund anti-terrorism efforts.
But an Associated Press review of the $15 million collected since lawmakers approved the “California Memorial Scholarship Program” shows only a small fraction of the money went to scholarships. While 40 percent has funded anti-terror training programs, $3 million was raided by Gov. Jerry Brown and his predecessor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, to plug the state’s budget deficit.
Yes. You read that correctly. Two Californian governors raided a fund set up for the families of 9/11 victims so they could do something about their ballooning deficits.
Millions more have been spent on budget items with little relation to direct threats of terrorism, including livestock diseases and workplace safety.
Moreover, the California Department of Motor Vehicles has been advertising the plates as helping the children of Sept. 11 victims even though the state stopped funding the scholarship program seven years ago. The specialty plate fund continues to take in $1.5 million a year.
Californians who lost loved ones in the attacks take the raid on the license plate fund as an affront to the memory of those who died.
“I can’t believe that they would do that,” said Candice Hoglan, who lives in the San Francisco Bay Area and bought a plate to commemorate her nephew, Mark Bingham. “We’re paying extra for the plate; we’re making a point, and it means a lot to us.”
Bingham was killed on United Airlines Flight 93, which crashed in Pennsylvania, and was one of the passengers who led the attempt to wrest control from the hijackers. His mother, Alice Hoagland, also was troubled by the program’s apparent drift from its original purpose.
“I’m sorry that as we retreat in time from 9/11, we seem to be retreating in our resolve never to forget,” she said in a telephone interview.
[In this April 21, 2012, photo, Candice Hoglan poses for a portrait with her vehicle with a license plate commemorating the events of Sept. 11, 2001, in Sunnyvale, Calif. Hoglan's nephew Mark Bingham was one of the passengers of United Airlines Flight 93, which was hijacked by terrorists on Sept. 11. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)]
The plates, which cost an initial $50 plus a $40 annual renewal fee, feature an American flag partially obscured by clouds and the “never forget” slogan. Residents of California, where all four jetliners were bound when they were hijacked, have bought or renewed the plates more than 200,000 times since 2002.
Of the other states directly associated with the 2001 attacks, only Virginia has established a similar specialty plate program. Yet it did not set up a special fund for the proceeds of its “Fight Terrorism” plate.
For the past decade, the California DMV has said on its website that the money will “fund scholarships for the children of Californians who died in the September 11, 2001, terror attacks and helps California’s law enforcement fight threats of terrorism.” It advertises the program with the slogan, “Be a patriot.”
While the DMV description of the program was not “totally disingenuous,” the department should probably remove references to the scholarship program, said Joe DeAnda, a spokesman for the state treasurer’s office, which disburses the money.
“It‘s out of date and it’s on DMV to update that,” he said.
Late Friday, the department modified the description of the license plate on its website to remove the reference to the scholarship program in response to the investigation by the AP, which began in March. Spokeswoman Jan Mendoza said the reason promotional materials were not updated sooner was “unknown.”
The DMV still lists the scholarship program on the online and hardcopy form drivers fill out to buy the license plates, but Mendoza said the department will change this next time the forms are printed.
The legislation establishing the plates had earmarked 15 percent of the revenue for scholarships. Yet only $21,381 has reached the children and spouses of the three dozen California residents killed during the terrorist attacks. The state treasurer’s office closed the scholarship program in 2005, the sign-up deadline for potential recipients, and has $60,000 in reserve.
The total amount dedicated to scholarships was 1.5 percent of the $5.5 million raised through the sale of the plates through 2005.
The original legislation said the remainder of the money would go to “law enforcement, fire protection, and public health agencies“ to be used ”exclusively for purposes directly related to fighting terrorism.”
But in 2008, former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger borrowed $2 million to close a budget gap. Last year, Brown borrowed another $1 million.
The borrowers: California Gov. Jerry Brown, left, and former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, right, borrowed a respective $3million from the fund to close budget gaps
(via Daily Mail)
Neither loan has been repaid nor are their deadlines to ensure they will be. Elizabeth Ashford, a spokeswoman for Brown, said the loans have done no harm.
“We’re trying to simultaneously balance the budget and fund important programs,” she said. “If there was an indication that borrowing this money was going to negatively impact this program, we wouldn’t borrow the money.”
The rest of the money has gone to a wide array of budgets and programs.
The Legislature sent $3.7 million to the California Department of Food and Agriculture, according to the Department of Finance, to establish an online food monitoring database and implement a variety of worker safety programs, including hiring industrial hygienists to tend to worker health.
But it is difficult to say precisely where the money has gone. Late Friday, the agriculture department delivered documents it said were in response to a California Public Records Act request the AP filed eight weeks earlier.
The response contained itemized budget reports going back six years and listing payments for all types of government functions, ranging from salaries and benefits, to printing costs and communication equipment. Among the details: $18,163 for furniture in 2006 and $11,492 for auto inspection in 2009.
[Investigators flocked to the Pennsylvania field where Flight 93 went down; California residents are upset that the money meant for relief for victim's families were not used for that purpose
(via The Daily Mail)]
The response also included a legislative report on the threats the agriculture department is targeting with an online database the license plate program helps fund. A similar report from 2006, when the license plate money was first authorized, lists bioterrorism as a potential danger. But the 2011 report focuses on food safety and livestock concerns, including foot-and-mouth disease and meat and poultry monitoring.
Director of Animal Health and Food Safety Services Annette Whiteford said the department does not track license plate money separately from other funds.
She said it would be wasteful to reserve the money exclusively for anti-terrorism work. For example, the department uses some of the money to buy safety suits that would be essential during an anthrax attack but also are useful for routine food investigations.
“The things that I worry about in the animal food safety division are very high consequence events, but very infrequent. So I always try to leverage those resources,” she said.
Another $2 million has gone to programs that aim to protect Californians from all manner of potential threats, not just those related to terrorism.
The California Emergency Management Agency used nearly $1 million in memorial license plate money for general operations, including administrative costs, buying and fueling cars, and hiring a person from 2007 to 2009 to coordinate five so-called “fusion centers,” according to documents obtained through a Public Records Act request.
The other $1 million went directly to the fusion centers, which were founded after the 2001 attacks to focus on terrorist threats but have since switched to an “all crimes” approach that includes gang activity and natural disasters.
Herb Wesson, who wrote the license plate bill when he was speaker of the California Assembly, said he was saddened to hear how the money had been spent.
“I understand the financial climate they find themselves in, but they are not following the spirit and intent of the legislation,” said Wesson, now president of the Los Angeles City Council. “The lion’s share of the money was supposed to be given to local law enforcement so that they could beef up their anti-terrorism operations.”
About 40 percent of the total raised to date, or $6 million, has gone to anti-terrorism training programs for firefighters and law enforcement officers. There is a slight discrepancy between the DMV‘s revenue figures and the Department of Finance’s expenditure figures that neither agency could explain.
[In memoriam: Mark Bingham (left) was a passenger on United Airlines Flight 93; the aircraft crashed outside Shanksville, Pennsylvania on September 11, 2001 (via Daily Mail)]
“That’s California,” said Anderson, who now lives near Austin, Texas. “It’s kind of a given these days – nothing is spent on what it’s supposed to be.”
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Comments (54)
inferno
Posted on May 29, 2012 at 9:44pmThis is not new. Ask the politicians in Sacramento how the tax on gasoline is spent. It was instigated to cover the cost of maintaining highways, instead it went the general fund to by votes, by funding every cockeyed scheme they could think of, to keep their names in front of votors. If you or I did this, we would be prosecuted and seerve time.
Report Post »Concernd4USA
Posted on May 29, 2012 at 8:08pmSeriously this is minor league stuff. Our president is a crook, my governor (Illinois) is a crook, most of the government officials are crooks. Princess Nancy has made tens of thousands in dirty money and nothing happens. Then they cry foul when someone does not pay their parking tickets. The more money is involved and the bigger the organization the more room for corruption.
Report Post »Carefreeflyer
Posted on May 29, 2012 at 7:41pmThe people involved with the theft of this money should be put behind bars for a very long time and made an example of for future would-be thieves.
Report Post »The Gooch
Posted on May 29, 2012 at 7:01pmLies! Lies, I tell ya! I have it on good authority (i.e., one the recurrent leftist posters that comments on this forum) that CA is in fine fiscal shape… it’s the rest of the country (especially those damn white trash, fly over states) dragging CA down.
Report Post »lukerw
Posted on May 29, 2012 at 10:26pmFunny… I heard that said about the Federal Gov’t… that Businesses were plotting with the GOP to make Obama look bad!
Report Post »POdVet
Posted on May 29, 2012 at 5:51pmHere’s a hint Schwarzenegger and Brown. When you take something with out any plan or even way to possibly pay something back. It is called STEALING! Lock both of tem up until they pay back what they stole out of their own pockets! Maybe if we do that on a national scale, politicians will begin to curb their theft just a little bit.
Report Post »JACKTHETOAD
Posted on May 30, 2012 at 1:51amAhnold should’ve put some towards a chin job for his wife. (She could change stations {in the ‘old days’} on a car radio with that bad boy.)
Report Post »JACKTHETOAD
Posted on May 30, 2012 at 2:04amJust lookin’ at that always did make me shriver.
Report Post »tksocal
Posted on May 29, 2012 at 5:42pmSimply put… Stealing!
Report Post »Bill Rowland
Posted on May 30, 2012 at 4:34amShow a politician money and he will find a way to spend it. Ever notice that they pass a temporary fee that never seems to get cancelled. It’s money they need to build tunnels under highways for turtles or for bridges to nowhere.
If your family managed their budget the way our politicians do the bankruptcy courts would be backed up for years.
Remember watch the other hand.
OMG 2012
Report Post »bobbyjoe
Posted on May 29, 2012 at 5:38pmI love California but please get me out of here
Report Post »JACKTHETOAD
Posted on May 30, 2012 at 1:59amYou can stay, BOBBYJOE. The rest need to go west.
Report Post »frogg
Posted on May 29, 2012 at 5:29pmBoth Govenors broke the law. Put them in Jail. Simple solution. Maybe that would wake Obma up and get him to obey the law? At least it would stop The State government in Califorinia from stealing the money from now on.
Report Post »ravinginfidel
Posted on May 29, 2012 at 5:19pmIf I had a charity and misappropriated the funds I would be arrested and sent to jail. Isn’t this the same.
Report Post »dadsrootbeer
Posted on May 29, 2012 at 5:09pmSo liberal progressive broke a## California is raiding more funds in order to pay the unions and all of the bogus monster pensions. Nothing new, they have been doing it for years. Check out what they did with the money the got from the deal cut with the banks for the housing meltdown. It was to go to the people who got hurt…Well, guess again, it didn’t and went to state workers instead.
Report Post »elosogrande
Posted on May 29, 2012 at 5:02pmWould you expect anything more from politicians? Their motto across the country is lie, cheat, steal, and NEVER let a dollar go unspent.
Vote them all out in November.
Report Post »PA PATRIOT
Posted on May 29, 2012 at 4:53pmDon’t Bogart that Joint Mr. Brown!
Report Post »pscully17
Posted on May 29, 2012 at 5:12pmkind of like the fed governemnet and the states ( maine here)…over committing to social, vote for me, handout programs, raiding funds set up by specific taxes like tghe gas tax… and now, the fed and states roads and bridges are falling apart, and the money is gone!! Maines state legislatutre just authorized a BOND inititive for the November ballot, to borrow $20+ MILLION for road and bridge projects…maine collects 26 cents per gallon of gas ( not including registration fees, and other vehicle related revenues)… the road repair funds are bankrupt.. whered the money go? Politicians Pockets!! certainly not back to the tax payer in the form of tangable goods/service/repairs. The bulok of that money is doled out to NON TAX PAYERS for social safetynet programs.. foodstamps, medical, and housing/heat aid… ITS BULL%$%#!!!
Report Post »korbin
Posted on May 29, 2012 at 4:48pmWow people are so shocked its how the Government operates. We need to clean out every politician and start from scratch. First why is the Government in the money making business? taking advantage of the terrorist attack? How much has been donated to the victims by us tax payers through donations? did anybody that perished have life insurance? there has been lawsuits up the ring yang, insurance money paid, private and public donations I think it is time the Government gets out of the money making business period.
Report Post »momrules
Posted on May 29, 2012 at 4:46pmI am sickened by this but not at all surprised. Liars and theives with no accountability.
Report Post »LeadNotFollow
Posted on May 29, 2012 at 4:45pm…
Report Post »Arnold Schwarzenegger was a huge disappointment as Governor. Arnold claimed to be a Republican. He was married into the Kennedy family, so I always felt that deep down, he was actually a liberal like his wife and her Democrat family.
cvs334
Posted on May 29, 2012 at 4:44pmThe “Green Sticker” fund for OHV trials get’s raided all the time … how you like it? Sucks doesn’t it!! Cali, like the USA, sees a pot of cash and loots it.
Report Post »drbage
Posted on May 29, 2012 at 4:42pmAnother fine example of how the government (from town to federal) collect money for one thing and use it for another. Would love to see an audit of how much money was “borrowed” from the Social Security Trust Fund? Remember the big Florida Tobacco lawsuit and settlement–multi-billion dollars involved even after the lawyers took the majority of it. How many anti-smoking campaigns have been run; how many states have active programs to help people stop smoking?
Report Post »Vickie Dhaene
Posted on May 29, 2012 at 4:39pmHave they NO SHAME ??!!
Report Post »deerfawn
Posted on May 29, 2012 at 4:38pmif the governments in charge it probably isn’t a good thing.
Report Post »Best_Patriot
Posted on May 29, 2012 at 4:36pmThe Blaze: where it’s fire, flood, and famine 24/7. Always an emergency, always some problem, always some reason to panic, always (and I mean always) some conspiracy.
Report Post »13th Imam
Posted on May 29, 2012 at 4:47pmDEMOCRAT Theft is Rampant. Light is being shed on scurrying cockroach’s.
Report Post »CatB
Posted on May 29, 2012 at 5:39pmAmen 13th .. and note they don’t dispute the message (i.e. FACTS) .. just the messenger.
Report Post »hatchetjob
Posted on May 29, 2012 at 4:32pmIRA‘s and 401K’s are next to be robbed.
Report Post »crazyoz
Posted on May 29, 2012 at 4:31pmNext they will put a tax on condums, or did they?
Report Post »CatB
Posted on May 29, 2012 at 4:30pmDisgusting …. California … liberals … (yes Arnold is a liberal!)
Report Post »MittensKittens
Posted on May 29, 2012 at 4:26pmJust another spit in the face of the USA by a couple of communists. When are we going to get to the point of being sick enough to stop this rapping of our country.
Report Post »50Caliber
Posted on May 29, 2012 at 4:39pmNovember 6th 2012
Report Post »The_Almighty_Creestof
Posted on May 29, 2012 at 4:45pmNever…not as long as 50% of our populace are freeloaders. Let’s be honest here, unless the job is easy and pays a take home of at least 3 times what they receive in their “entitlement” programs, they wouldn’t take a job even if the owner drove to their home in a limo and begged them. They’ll take what they leech off of society until the very last penny is gone.
Any conservative leader, or any leader representing the spirit of our “old” America, is a threat to their pathetic way of life…and they’ll run as fast as they can to get away from them…even if it is straight into the arms of communism, socialism, etc.
I fear our country is doomed.
Report Post »ChiefGeorge
Posted on May 29, 2012 at 4:25pmIs nothing sacred in the US anymore….slush funds created with socalled good intent. Way to go CA!
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