NYS ATV Trail Funding Bills
By Alex Ernst
NYSORVA Communications
NOHVCC Alt. Partner
AMA District 3 VP
Ravena, NY
Last updated 12/14/00
[NYSORVA Homepage] [NYSORVA Legislative Action Page]
Introduction
Senate Bill S475 was written in 1997 to re-establish the dedicated
motorcycle/ATV trail development and maintenance fund that was abolished in
1990. The bill was modeled on the successful snowmobile trail funding statute
with amended language that more closely applies to ATV and trail bike use. The Senate
bill along with its Assembly companion, A.1669 failed to make adequate progress
in 1997 or 1998 and therefore died in committee.
New Life
For the 1999-2000 Legislative session, the Senate bill was reintroduced as
S.632, was amended with several important changes, and was referred to as S.
632-C by the end of the session. By the middle of 2000, it had good chances of
being reported for a vote by the full Senate.
But problems in the Assembly made the Senate bill’s passage impractical. The
Assembly version of the bill, numbered A.1060, was never "Unified"
with the Senate version as would have been needed. Although neither version was
voted on in 1999, the Year-2000 session had offered another chance to get these
bills in good form and through the paces on their way to becoming law, but it
was not to be.
As of this update (12/14/00), the bills had again failed to come to a vote.
The Assembly version was being held up from being passed through the necessary
Committee Hearings by the Assembly Programs Office under Speaker Silver, most
likely due to pressure from the anti-OHV recreation lobby. Also as noted above,
it was never "matched" to the Senate version, which is a sticky problem
in getting any bills passed into law.
Today we are faced with the prospect of the new Legislative Session for
2001-2002 and are currently in the process of determining our plan of action. Several
factors, such as who will be chairing various Committees in the Legislature,
will dictate our recommendations. By mid-January 2001, NYSORVA should be able
to report to the riding community the prospects and direction of any renewal of
the Trail Funding Legislation. Then we will be able to rally the much needed to
support of NY riders to finally get our Trail Fund back.
For background link
through to see S632C bill text from the 1999-2000 Session. Any new
Legislation for 2001-2002 will have new numbers but will likely be based
substantially on this previous version.
Background
The Trail Fund made up of DMV ATV registration fees was originally
established in 1986. Due in part to technical errors in the original statute
that prevented proper agency staffing to administer the program, the trail fund
was eventually diverted to the general fund by a 1990 tax bill. It can be
argued that at least the $5 of the registration fee originally meant for the
trail fund, collected from 1986 to 1990 (estimates total over $500,000.00),
constitutes taxation without representation since no money was distributed to
trail projects as envisioned in the original law. However the current 1990+ law
is clear: registration is currently a compliance requirement and has no funding
component whatsoever. We currently estimate that a total of over $5 Million has
been paid to the state (not including plate fee on new registrations) since the
beginning of the program, again with no return in the form of services or
facilities. This is an outrage.
What You Can Do
See the Legislative Action
Section of the NYSORVA site for several resources including addresses,
phone/fax numbers and e-mail addresses of the politicians who need to be
contacted regarding these bills.
Call, write and E-mail your Senator and Assemblyman to tell them why these
bills should be passed into law.
Here are some of my choice points for why these bills should pass— add
those close to your heart:
- You want ATV and off-road
motorcycle trials open to the public. The state's own research
reported in the 1994 Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan
(SCORP) document says that 27% of respondents surveyed who felt that
recreational opportunities were lacking, agreed with your desire-- that's
in the top 5 requests for recreational opportunities, and the number-one
request for any type of trail facility. Click here to view a
chart from page 2.12 of the 1994 SCORP document showing these statistics.
- Furthermore, a position
statement published in 1993 by the Department of Environmental
Conservation recommends that trails "be established...to provide a
recreational opportunity to a sizable constituency which has expressed the
need for a place to ride ATV's." Click here to view a DEC
memo regarding the position statement.
- In all fairness, you want a
user-based trail funding program so that only you --and not your
non-riding neighbors-- pay for ATV facilities. Even if only half of the
estimated quarter-million ATVs in use in NY registered, there would be
over $1.2 Million each year available for properly building and
maintaining trails.
- You want to be in compliance
with the law that requires registration on ATVs and trail bikes if only
that money goes to developing safe, environmentally sound trails that
minimize user conflicts, for you to legally ride.
- Building of trail facilities
in many locations to serve regional populations will reduce the
possibility of environmental impact of ATV activity by spreading use over
a wider system. Development of these facilities will also reduce unlawful
and uncontrolled riding activity for the benefit of all New Yorkers. This
is especially important considering the steep growth in ATV ownership of
late.
- You're a member of Club
[name] of [number] members and you and your counterparts are ready to
donate volunteer time to build and maintain trails. All you need is legal
access to the public lands.
- Federal guidelines aid the
trail designer in creating trails that are in harmony with nature.
- You and over 250,000*
like-minded New Yorkers (estimate as of 4/2000) have spent a significant
amount of money (including sales tax on top!) on machines, equipment and
riding gear, travel and lodging, contributing to an ORV recreational
economy which is the estimated to be the sixth largest in the nation.
You deserve to be taken seriously as a taxpayer and a consumer.
[* MIC estimates say 142,000+ ATVs and 47,900 trail bikes were in use in
1997. Registration growth from 1997 to 1/2000 is 37.5%. A factor of 1.375
gives us our current population estimate of 259,875 machines.]
- The Dept. of Environmental
Conservation has authority over 4 million acres of public lands, 700,000
outside of the Forest Preserve (The 6,000,000 acre Adirondack Park
contains 2.9 million acres owned by the state, the largest park land mass
in the country south of Alaska). To some, Public Lands are the obvious
choice for trail location due to their expanse of open space, and after
all they are the Public's lands. All you want is a few hundred
acres in several directions. At four feet wide, you get 2.06 miles per
acre! (Or, over 4 miles for trail-bike-only trails!)
[No dedicated ATV trail system on State Land exists as of 4/2000. See
information about how NYSORVA is working to hopefully change that
situation in NY's Southern Tier: www.nysorva.org/documents/treaty_line.htm.]
- Like the highly-successful 8,700-mile
NYS snowmobile trail system, which is 85% routed on private lands, an
ATV/trail bike trail system would potentially cover private land in a
majority of its mileage assuaging the fears of those who covet public
lands as sacred only to non-motorized users. Furthermore for those who
loathe government involvement in anything, the new drafting of the
legislation provides for private not-for-profit entities (i.e. riding
clubs) to obtain funds.
- Mountain-bikers, equestrians,
hikers, Nordic skiers and snowmobilers count on ATVs to reach deep into
trail systems to do trail maintenance.
- Follow the lead of the
state's push for snowmobile tourism: There are nine more months in the
year in which visitors could come to spend their money in New York. And
follow the lead of states like CA, MI, WI, PA and others that recognize
the economic and social impact of a viable OHV trail system for their
citizens.
- The National Recreational
Trails Act of 1990 (The Simms Act) envisions trails for ALL users on a
nationwide scale. A fund now exists the Act for granting moneys from
federal gas taxes collected from non-highway users. 30 Million Dollars was
appropriated for 1996-1997 and was available through matching-fund grants.
And in 1998, funds were re-appropriation with only a 20% match required
under TEA-21, for additional grants to states for trail projects through
the year 2003. NY's share for 2000 alone is $1.3 Million to be spread 30%
motorized-only, 40% combined motor/non-motor, and 30% non-motorized.
There are many more points to this issue. You know them. Use them. Thank
you!
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