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TO: NEW YORK STATE OHV
TRAILS ENTHUSIASTS
FROM: NYS Off-Highway Recreational Vehicle Assn. (NYSORVA)
RE: Your Help is Needed — ATV Trail Funding Legislation Renewed for 2004 in the
2004 State Budget
Updated 1/29/04
**Please share this information with your club members and friends**
Your help is requested to get the
ATV Trail Program & Fund re-established in New York State
There is currently no funding mechanism for, nor any program to manage public ATV trails in New York State even though you are required to register your ATV or trail bike. NYSORVA is working to see this situation changed and needs you to rally rider-support:
After years of our calling for a response to our interests, ATV Trail Program and Funding Legislation is being promoted in the Governor’s State Budget Proposal for 2004 (EnCon-related Budget bill S.6059/A.9559 contains the ATV proposal). The next step is negotiations with the NYS Legislature to create a final State Budget that includes the Program with some improvements necessary to add value to the proposal. Although our original Trail Fund was diverted to the general fund back in 1990, the state continues to this day to require ATV registration by law and collect a $10 registration fee per machine from ATV owners, but has never provided any services in return whatsoever. 2002 DMV statistics (latest available) show that over 126,000 ATVs and trail bikes were registered: That's $1,260,000 for the benefit of the General Fund just in 2002 (and over $9M since 1986) that will not be available for trail development! But we can change this moving forward if our issues make it through the Budget!
In 1997, the Motorcycle Industry Council estimated a total population of ATVs in NY to be over 142,000 units, and trail bikes over 47,000 units. Comparing that to 1997 Registration statistic of 40,502, possibly less than 22% of the machines in operation are registered. That means that with the ATV registrations reported as of 12/02 (last available numbers, 126k), there are over three times the registered ATVs and trail bikes since 1997— doing the math, we estimate our actual rider population number is growing to very well over a quarter-million!
Your action is requested
in contacting your State Legislative Representatives as soon as possible. Time
is limited for an opportunity to make sure our issues stay in the final 2004
State Budget which is on a fast-track to be passed “early” this year. Your
letters and calls will cause your representatives to move this issue to the top
of the pile if everyone chips in now.
We respectfully
ask that you write, call, fax or e-mail:
At a minimum, please contact…
— Your State Senator, and copy to the Majority Leader Sen. Bruno.
— Your State Assembly Member and copy to Speaker Silver.
— Copy all your notes to the above to, or write personally to Governor Pataki.
A Sample Letter is
provided at the bottom of this article for cut & paste into your word
processor.
How to look up
the information on your district’s representatives:
Use this excellent web
site to look up all your representatives by ZIP code, name or district:
Project Vote Smart (includes addresses, phone/fax
and e-mail links for reps' Albany and
local offices).
(The above link goes directly to their NYS search page. Their base address is http://www.vote-smart.org/.)
If you have a problem
with the link above, try these alternatives on state-run web sites:
[Who is my Senator?] [Who is my Assemblyman?]
If e-mailing, be sure to include your full name and mailing address as e-mail without may be discarded, and you will likely receive no response.
Additional
addresses:
Senate
Majority Leader--
Sen. Joseph L.
Bruno
LOB 909
Albany, NY 12247
Phone: 518-455-3191, Fax 518-455-2448
E-mail: bruno@senate.state.ny.us
Assembly Speaker--
Rep. Sheldon
Silver
New York State Assembly
LOB 932
Albany, NY 12248
Phone: 518-455-3791, Fax-Albany 518-455-5459, in District 212-385-6799
E-mail: speaker@assembly.state.ny.us
Office of the
Governor--
Governor George
E. Pataki
State Capitol
Albany, NY 12224
Phone: 518-474-8390 or 518-474-7516
Fax 518-473-7669
E-mail the Governor
(Governor’s web
page)
Thank you for your help in this matter,
The Volunteers of NYSORVA
For information
about NYSORVA on the above memo please write to Inquire@nysorva.org.
[Back to NYSORVA Home Page]
SAMPLE LETTER
A personalized hand written letter to the officials noted above is always best. But if you don't have the time for that, copy and paste the letters below into your word processor (or just "Save As Text File" this page to open and edit). Copy the Governor on your letters or write him personally as well.
Copy this letter or create a version in your own words (exclude these instructions!) For clubs, distribute 2 copies to each of your members, 1-each to be addressed to the members' local Senator, and to the members' local Assembly Member. Use the Project Vote Smart link to determine the correct address to fill in. Each letter should be signed at the bottom with the name, address, and phone number of the sender printed below the signature. Letters without return addresses are thrown away! Each letter should be individually mailed in hand-addresses envelopes for best results.
The Honorable Sen.
___________________
New York State Senate
___________________
Albany, NY 12247
The Honorable Rep.
___________________
New York State Assembly
___________________
Albany, NY 12248
RE: 2004 ATV Trail Program & Funding Proposal
Dear [Senator] and [Assemblyman],
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 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.
I also ask that you promote a dedicated fund account instead of an appropriation, and particularly that the registration fee split should be 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 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,
(c) 1999-2004 NYSORVA, Inc. All rights reserved. The above text constitutes an
expression of opinion by NYSORVA staff and must not be construed as legal
advice of any kind.
Updated 1/30/04 [AE]