Dear PLP Members and the Mining Community,
It has been a long time since there was any movement in the consolidated California dredging cases PLP first brought against the state in 2009. Since then other cases and other litigants (like the New ’49ers and WMA), have joined us in the fight which the court system combined into the consolidated cases. Yesterday, Nov. 14th, Judge Ochoa held a hearing to decide the next steps in the cases since the CA Supreme Court ruled against Rinehart (and all of us!) this past summer, reversing decades of law in a single very bad decision. Even though the U.S. Supreme Court is being petitioned on Brandon’s behalf by Pacific Legal Foundation, Judge Ochoa, who had previously put everything on hold until after Rinehart was decided, has moved off that position and per our attorney James Buchal “indicated that he did not see any virtue in continuing delay, suggesting that it was unlikely that the United States Supreme Court would even take the case, and announced his intention to set a trial date. This greatly discomforted the State, whose lawyers began to raise all sorts of objections…and the Judge agreed with me, ultimately setting a trial date of November 13, 2017.”
And now hearing the remaining cases separately, the CEQA hearing will be heard separately on April 21, 2017. The State has requested an opportunity to brief the impact of the California Supreme Court’s decision on the Judge’s prior decision (they want him to revise it, as he suggested he might, and this doesn’t bode well for the miners), and to address the federal supremacy issue as it relates to CEQA , etc. All briefs are due 45 days before the April hearing.
We have our work cut out for us, and we appreciate all of you who have stood with us in this fight over the many years since we filed the first lawsuit against the state of California in 2009. We keep fighting the fight in hopes that the courts will recognize that the miners have certain rights that have been stomped on and what’s more, we are not giving up and going away. It’s the right thing to do.
We will keep you updated as progress is made.
Another “thank you” is in order to our membership!
PLP’s proposal to update and amended its bylaws have been overwhelmingly approved by you. With quorum attained, as of October 16, 2016 the Corporation has placed these bylaws into effect as the new document that is fully compliant with California State law.
The Vote Breakdown:
Participation Rate: 52% of the Entire Membership
“Yes” Votes: 93%
“No” Votes: 6%
Ballots Returned Without a “Yes” or “No” Preference: 1.6%
Thank you again for participating in this very important and long overdue initiative. With your help we will continue our fight against the State of California concerning the dredge ban and supporting the mission of MMACUSA.ORG and the Mining Districts, as well as other Public Land rights issues.
For Clarification:
There are no Board Approved membership meetings at this time. This website, www.publiclandsforthepeople.org is the only website for PLP. All updates shall be posted here.
Ron Kliewer
President
Public Lands for the People