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Latest Legislative News:
January 2009 - OHV-related Bills introduced this Session
Go to the NY State Assembly Bill Page to search by bill numbers cited below for more information:
A02156 Prohibits the operation of ATVs in the state forest preserve, Long Island central pine barrens area and Albany pine bush preserve
A00159 (Same as S.59) State Budget bill including ATV Registration Fee increase (Page 10, Section 4 increase to $12.50)
A00589 (Same as S.357) Directs the commissioner of motor vehicles to pay a $5 refund to certain ATV registrants who paid the ATV trail fee
A01082 Authorizes a governmental agency or municipality to designate a highway or portion of highway as open for travel by an ATV
A01953 Relates to the registration of all-terrain vehicles
A01946 Relates to the enforcement of provisions regulating all terrain vehicles; repealer
S00444 Prohibits the operation and storage of all terrain vehicles in certain places
S00665 Prohibits the operation of ATVs on school grounds, and baseball, football and soccer fields, without the permission of the owner thereof
(Or, search by keywords to catch any newer bills, EG "ATV" or "terrain".)
Prior Years:
5/24/07 - Support the New York ATV Economic Impact Study
(S.5706 Maziarz / A.8551 Morelle)
Your NYSORVA team was successful in getting legislation introduced. Now is the time to act by contacting your State Senator and Assembly member, to assure our bill is passed before the June expiration of the 2007 Legislative Session!
[Details here] [Print-friendly version]
4/5/06 Update: State Budget Passed with No Trail Program
Unless stand-alone legislation is passed to create a Trail Program, the Trail Fund and dedicated fee created in 2005 will be repealed on 6/10/06. Contact your State Senator and Assembly member to insist that Program Legislation must be enacted before this date or else all sides of the argument will lose.
[Read Budget details here.] [Get your Senator/Assemblymember contact info here.]
[NYSORVA Position Statement and Talking Points on ATV Program Legislation- printer-friendly]
2/15/06 Update: NYSORVA testified before the Senate/Assembly Joint Legislative Committee regarding the ATV Trail Fund Proposal contained in the 2006-2007 Executive Budget Proposal. [More>>>]
1/19/06: The Governor re-introduced an ATV Trail Fund Proposal similar to the one submitted to the Legislature in 2005. Considering the negative outcome of 2005 at time of budget passage (4/1/05), this year's reaction from Legislature is keenly awaited. A full review is underway by NYSORVA's legislative consultant and details will be reported shortly.
7/11/05: ATV Registration Fee Increase to $25 Now in Effect
But the Legislature has failed to pass the promised ATV Program Legislation, the State keeps the money as usual.
Let your State Senator and Assembly Member know the impact of the mistake the Legislature has made.
4/13/05: State Budget now Law, Includes ATV Trail Fund, but no ATV Program-- More to Do
3/17/05: DEC Draft ATV Policy for Public Lands Released
July 11, 2005:
ATV Registration Fee Increase Now In Effect, State Keeping the Money
With the end of the regular Session in the NYS Legislature on 6/23/05, there are no signs that an "ATV Program", nor spending authority of the enacted "Trail Fund" will be passed into law, barring a miracle. The promise made to us in the State Budget for Program/Funding legislation has therefore been broken. We encourage you to discuss this severely disappointing outcome with every politician you can find. This marks the thirteenth year straight that ATV Program/Funding legislation has been thwarted by anti-recreation interests.
An overriding factor in this year's legislative failure, at a time that has seen no greater momentum and potential for success of our issues, has to do with the control of ATV legislation being hijacked from the Assembly Tourism Committee by the more powerful Environment Conservation Committee. Though we have welcomed a re-establishment of dialog, the Assembly EnCon Committee shows no signs of interest in working with the ATV community, only in controlling - apparently by stalling - related legislation initiatives. This is not only a setback for those interested in the social and economic benefits of ATV tourism, but ironically serves to negate the interests of environmental advocates who agree with us that properly-located and managed trails will benefit the environment. Without legislation to enable comprehensive ATV management, enforcement, and funding programs, both "sides" are suffering.
The Legislature estimated that it would gain $2.5M in revenue in Fiscal 2005-2006 by raising the ATV fee from $10/yr to $25/yr, when factoring in the institution of mandatory Point-of-Sale registration at the dealers (see article for explanation). The ATV community was supposed to accept this as a "compromise" since a proposed increase to $45/yr was thwarted. But the payoff to us was to be an ATV Trail Fund and Program. Alas, instead we have another $2.5M to add to the almost $10M taken from ATV riders to date with no return in the form of trails (see article). And this is Registration Fees alone, never mind sales taxes, etc. In other words, the scam continues.
April 13, 2005:
An ATV Trail Fund has been enacted in the State Budget!
- DOES NOT CONTAIN NECESSARY PROVISIONS TO USE THE FUND
- $850,000 MADE AVAILABLE IN 2005 FOR A YET-TO-BE-CREATED ATV PROGRAM
YOU are still needed to advocate for legislation to establish the PROGRAM needed to distribute funding for ATV/OHM trail development, maintenance, and insurance.
See this page for a print-friendly version of the NYSORVA Position Statement and Talking Points to get an ATV TRAIL PROGRAM bill passed necessary to spend our new Trail Fund!
See this page for more details on the new Trail Fund Law
You are requested to contact your State Senator and Assembly Member NOW to insist that legislation be passed as soon as possible to establish the needed Trail Program using the $850k available funding THIS YEAR before we lose another season without managed trails!
Need help determining who your Legislative Members are and how to contact them? Try these online resources:
January 2005:
An ATV Trail Program and Fund are proposed in the Governor’s Budget!
[The following is retained for historic reference, some of which is superceded by the current situation as of April and July 2005.]
TIME TO WRITE THOSE LETTERS IN SUPPORT OF SAFE, LEGAL TRAILS
Find out how YOU can advocate to re-establish a user-based funding source for ATV/OHM trail development and maintenance.
YOU CAN HELP GET THE TRAIL PROGRAM BILLS PASSED INTO LAW
What you need to know and how you can help:
A Trail Fund and an ATV/OHM Trails Program to be coordinated by the Dept. of Environmental Conservation are the things at stake for us. In a long-awaited act of recognition of our interests,
Governor Pataki has proposed these in his Executive Budget Bill. Your help is needed RIGHT NOW to make sure we get the best deal as Budget negotiations proceed in the Legislature. Read NYSORVA's Position Statement on the proposal so you will understand what is at stake.
Advocate for your own rights as a trail rider! Contact your State Legislative Members to tell them to create the ATV Trail Program and Fund through inclusion in the 2005 State Budget! The advancement of responsible riding opportunities in New York relies on your participation! Without a funding source and a program to administer trails statewide, riders will continue to face the historic lack of legal riding in NY for ATV and off-highway motorcycle recreation.
Your participation in the process is absolutely essential. Here’s how you can help:
1) Write those letters/make those phone calls/visit your Legislators!
Mail, fax or e-mail a statement of your support for ATV Trail Program & Funding to your NYS Senator and Assembly Member. Better yet, ask for a meeting in person! Your letter does not have to be long, it just needs to clearly state your support of an ATV Trail Program and Funding and why it is important to you and your local community. The most effective communications come from your own personal creativity as opposed to a form letter.
See the link under #3 below for a handy search engine to find your members and their extended contact info (phone/fax/local offices address etc.).
2) All about the
Legislation:
See two articles [1] [2] with comprehensive explanations of the issues affecting us, why ATV Program/Fund legislation is necessary NOW, what needs to be done for such to be enacted, and an extended list of legislative officials you can contact to express your support. Includes relevant mailing addresses and a sample letter, which you can copy into your e-mail or word processing program.
3) Project Vote-Smart Member
Lookup:
Use this online tool to look up your NYS Senator and Assembly Member based on your ZIP™ or ZIP+4™ postal code. Lists your Legislative Representatives’ résumés, mailing addresses (helpful to copy and paste into your word processor), phone and fax numbers, and e-mail links when available. This way you may contact them using any method you like.
Tips: A letter by mail or fax (particularly valued if well hand-written) and a phone call to your State Senator and Assembly Member are the most effective methods of getting their attention on any issue:
Tell your State Senator and Assembly Member that you want him/her to SUPPORT:
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An ATV Trail Program and Trail, Education, and Enforcement Funding
A dedicated and protected trail fund account that cannot be raided and is funded with registration dollars every year
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A fair and equitable distribution of the registration fee imposed (proposed in 2005 State Budget to be increased to $45) on par with the funding split that was passed into law for snowmobilers in 2004 ($10-State, $35-Trail Fund).
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Fair and reasonable funding for access on lands under the jurisdiction of DEC
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If you e-mail a letter, remember to include your full mailing address so that you will receive a reply. Otherwise they may discard your message. We also recommend following up with a snail-mail letter.
Thank you for your help. By participating in the legislative process, you are advocating for your own rights as a trail rider. Good for you!
A viable Trail Fund is just part of a complicated puzzle in advancing the cause of OHV recreation in New York State. Three of the other important pieces are the creation of an official ATV/OHM Trail System, active cooperation with the OHV recreational community by state government and agencies, and the re-establishment of landowner liability insurance for private land trails, in a manner similar to the response given deservedly to snowmobiling.
Please participate in the struggle by joining and being active in a club, voting, contacting your elected officials, and most of all, being a responsible ambassador for ATV or trail bike riding. We are all judged by our actions and need to put our best face forward.
[Project
Vote-Smart] [More about the Legislation]
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