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The
Honorable Rep. ___________________
New York State Assembly
Albany, NY 12248
RE:
2004 ATV Trail Program & Funding Proposal
Dear
____________,
I
am an ATV/trail bike rider and a voter in your district and want to
bring to your attention the matter of Legislation that I would like you
to support. The Executive Budget calls for the direction of a portion of
each ATV registration fee collected by DMV to a trail fund and provides
that cities, towns, villages, counties, and organizations may apply for
monies from the fund for the development and maintenance of all terrain
vehicle trails and facilities in the various counties of the state. DEC
would be directed to run the program to address our needs while
protecting the environment.
Specifically
I ask that you promote
a dedicated funding account instead of an appropriation. Furthermore, the split of the new $45 registration fee must be made
more equitable in
par with the registration fee split proposed for snowmobilers in the
Budget. Addressing these two matters in the final State Budget will make
a good proposal great and ensure the ATV Program’s effectiveness in
getting the job done. Any less funding or the Legislature’s failure to
annually renew the funding would result in the program falling short of
everyone’s expectations.
So
that I may have a legal place to ride my ATV or trail bike, a trail
program and fund is needed to support ATV trail development and
maintenance. By directing funding to private/easement and municipal
lands, State lands are protected. And for clubs trying to develop trails
on private land, where most of the trail should go, they face a
difficult funding problem without passage of this law. This proposal
would establish a program and funding mechanism analogous to the very
successful snowmobile trail program that supports the vast network of
official state trails. The State and ATV users like me will benefit much
in the same ways as we have with the snowmobile trail fund.
Thank
you for your kind consideration of this matter.
Sincerely,
My address:
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