FROM GLFWDA.ORG :


SUMMARY OF 2010 OHV COMPREHENSIVE LEGISLATION

To review copies of the 2010 OHV Comprehension Legislation, Go to:
http://www.legislature.mi.gov/ type in bill numbers 6159, 6160, 6161 and 6162 and they will come up. 98 pages total. Bold print identifies new language.
Please be aware, the four OHV Bills were enrolled in the House on Tuesday, May 11th, they are subject to amendments by any member of the House and concurrence of the House Committee of TOURISM, OUTDOOR RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES before a House floor vote.
What is included in this summary is an overview of what is in each Bill. They will affect the sports of OHV activity for several years in the future, if not decades.
If you have any questions, please feel free to ask, if you have any suggestions, please feel free to submit.
Dick Ranney, coordinator of Michigan Motorized Recreation Council, 989 469-2405, e-mail: www: dranney1@charter.net. Please make Subject; 2010 OHV

We expect these bills to be voted on in the House either the first or second week of June.


HOUSE BILL No. 6159

All references to ORV shall now be OHV (Same as Federal)

Defines an enforcement officer and level of certification required

Defines “other road” (We had trouble with this during the Drummond ORV Route designation process)

DNRE Chief Safety instructor shall complete all nationally recognized safety training programs. (INCLUDING UFWDA's 4x4 Awareness course as administered by GLFWDA)

All OHV’s must be registered, fee is $20. for 3 years. All OHV’s will be entered into the LEIN system. $3. will go to SOS for decal, $2. for Safety Education, 4% to administration and the balance to County Sheriffs, city and municipal enforcement agencies, based upon lane miles of roadway open within their jurisdiction for OHV travel. All monies remaining at the end of the “grant cycle”, shall be placed in the Off-highway Vehicle Account.


HOUSE BILL No. 6160

OHV TRAIL PERMIT is not required for operation on private property

OHV TRAIL PERMIT is not required on the frozen surface of a lake, river
or stream, or for the purpose of ice fishing

Cost of TRAIL PERMIT, affective April 1st of 2011, $30.50 with adjustments made to the formula, with 50% going to on the ground efforts, 31.25% to enforcement and 24% of that going to County Sheriffs for trail enforcement efforts. A review every 5 years regarding COL adjustment and raised to the nearest dollar.

Any group of 20, or less than 75 vehicles shall notify the Department they are having an event on the trail system to coordinate with other users groups. There shall be no fee for events of 75 vehicles or less. (This is HUGE! BOTH an increase from 20 to 75 before triggering the need for an expensive Permit, AND conversion from "people" to "VEHICLES"!

To be amended, language requiring the DNRE to publish on their web-site, an annual accounting of receipts and expenditures of OHV funds. (ACCOUNTABILITY!)


HOUSE BILL N0. 6161

There will be a Safety Training Academy for instructors. All new instructors must complete and all current instructors must be re-certified within 3 years. Cost is free to instructors. Program instructors will no longer be limited to enforcement personnel or those associated with a school of learning.

The maximum fee charged to any student for enrolling in the DNRE Safety Education program shall be no greater than $20 for classroom instruction. Parents are encouraged to sit in, free of charge, unless requesting a certificate.

DNRE shall develop a “hands on” OHV Safety Training program within 2 years.


HOUSE BILL N0. 6162
No county or township shall charge a fee for OHV operation on their roadways.

“Roads” include any of those passing through or along Federal Land within a Township, if more than 50% funds used to maintain the road come from state or local sources.

Road closure by counties and townships reduced from 30% to 10%.

5 year sunset on PA 240 rescinded

MDOT may authorize operation of OHV’s on the highway, portion of the
highway and shoulders of the highway. MDOT shall not charge a fee for such.

Headlight and taillight not required for a permitted event

Liability relief for those doing trail maintenance

Fines increased to $250 minimum/$1,000 maximum for not wearing a helmet, lack of adult visual supervision. Including Environmental violations of section 81133, (1) (E), (I), (L), (M) or (N)

All Michigan counties given to option to open their roadways under PA 240.

Not in the bills, but playing a very important role. Prior to establishment of a proposed permit fee, there were 5 Long Range Financial Planning meetings. It was the consensus of that group, $30. Including, Safety Education cost, would enhance the program to the levels desired by the user community.

Once the permit fee is decided by legislature, financial planning can resume.


PLEASE CONTACT THE FOLLOWING REPRESENTATIVES AND ASK THEM TO PASS THESE BILLS!

Members on the House Committee of Tourism, Outdoor Recreation and Natural Resources are:

Representative Joel Sheltrown (C) District 103,(D), West Branch
517 373-3817 joelsheltrown@house.mi.gov
Representative Jim Slezak (VC) District 50 (D) Davison
517 373-3906 jimslezak@house.mi.gov
Representative Kate Ebli District 56 (D) Monroe
517 373-2617 kateebli@house.mi.gov
Representative Mike Huckleberry District 70 (D) Greenville
517 373-0834 mikehuckleberry@house.mi.gov
Representative Steven W. Lindberg District 109 (D) Marquette
517 373-0498 lindberg@housedems.com
Representative Mike Simpson District 65 (D) Jackson
517 373-1775 mikesimpson@house.mi.gov
Representative Woodrow Stanley, District 34 (D) Flint
517 373-8808 woodrowstanley@house.mi.gov
Representative Jim Stamas (M-VC) District 98 (R) Midland
517 373-1791 jimstamas@house.mi.gov
Representative James “Jase” Bolger District 63 (R) Marshall
517 373-1787 jamesbolger@house.mi.gov
Representative Goeff Hansen District 100 (R) Hart
517 373-7317 goeffhansen@house.mi.gov
Representative Kenneth B. Horn District 94 (R) Frankenmuth
517 373-0837 kennethhorn@house.mi.gov

A couple of e-mail addresses to update:

Linberg's e-mail address is: stevenlindberg@house.mi.gov

And unfortunately, Rep. Simpson passed away 12-18-2009; the office is still open for District 65, but the position is currently vacant.

House TNR Committee Members, Staff & other interested parties:

The ownership and use of ORVs is one of the fastest growing segments of outdoor recreation in Michigan. Following passage of PA 240 of 2008 which allows local governments to open local road shoulders to ORVs, ORV use in Michigan grew by 14% in 2009. Of the 43 northern Michigan counties included in PA 240, 39 have adopted ordinances opening some or all of their road shoulders to ORVs. Legislation sponsored by Rep. Espinoza and signed into law last year expanded PA 240 into seven additional Thumb and central Michigan counties.

Over the past year and a half, I have solicited public comment from the Upper Peninsula, northern Lower Michigan and user groups state-wide to determine what adjustments are needed to Public Act 240. The responses provided a number of suggestions for improvements to the law as well as changes needed to trail system funding, safety education and enforcement. Through the winter and spring, I have worked with the Department of Natural Resources and Environment and the Michigan Motorized Recreation Council to develop a series of bills to address these needs. These bills were introduced yesterday as the 2010 OHV Comprehensive Package.

They include:

HB 6159 (Lindberg): Registration
HB 6160 (Sheltrown): Permits
HB 6161 (W. Schmidt): Safety Training
HB 6162 (Caul): PA 240 Changes

A detailed summary of each bill is attached. Highlights of the package include:

Changing the current term "ORV" to "OHV"
Establishing OHV registration and identification similar to snowmobiles
Creating an OHV registration fee to fund local OHV related law enforcement
Changing the current OHV license to a permit similar to snowmobiles
Expanding PA 240 (OHVs on county roads) state-wide & preserving local control
Revising the OHV Safety Training Process
Increasing minimum penalties for certain OHV offenses

Due to the size of the package, the House TNR Committee will consider the bills over a three week period rather than the typical two weeks. We tentatively plan to take testimony on the bills at the May 18 and May 25 committee meetings with votes on a number of amendments and the bills themselves at the June 1 committee meeting. Please be aware that we anticipate each of these committee meetings to be significantly longer than our recent meetings.

As always, please contact me with any questions you may have or amendments you would like to see considered. The House clerks should have the four bills on-line later today. Paper copies are available in my office. Please feel free to forward this e-mail to anyone you believe may be interested in this legislation.

Sincerely,

Joel Sheltrown, Chair
House Tourism, Outdoor Recreation
and Natural Resources Committee


First pubic information is scheduled for 6:00 pm, Friday, May 28th, Days Inn, Grayling. Others are being planned.

Tuesday, GLFWDA, as a member of the MMRC, was asked to testify before the House Tourism & Natural Resources Committee (TNR Com.) about HB6160 and 6161.

It went well. The DNRE is withholding their support until all of the amendments have made it into print. This is key because final review of the Bills found a couple of things missing plus we had made some agreements with the Dept. at our meeting last week. Their support (or at least lack of opposition) is critical to the passage of these Bills. We do not know if we would have enough votes to get them passed if the DNRE uses their political clout against them.

I arrived in Lansing early with a copy of an internal Law Enforcement Division Memo (I would attach it, but am not computer literate to do so). The memo is dated and GLFWDA is uncertain if the document has been rescinded or is still in use. We have been seeing occasional ticketing (and harassing) of wheelers in contradiction of what the memo indicates.

My intention was to ask Representative Hansen's Assistant, Peter Wills' opinion about how, or even if, to proceed with trying to get it added to one of the Bills during the Amendment process. Pete walked me right into Representative Hansen's office to get his opinion too. So, I explained to them that we had an issue that I had failed to bring up during the crafting of the current Bills. I hadn't even discussed this issue with the MMRC folks yet and that due to my inexperience with the "system" a Bill must pass through, I wanted their opinion on if I should talk with the MMRC and try to get it put in as an Amendment or if the Bills were already too loaded or there were already too many amendments, etc. that it would be problematic.

Well, Mr. Hansen said (words to the effect) "I don't know. Let's go ask Joel". (Representative Sheltrown, Chairman of the House TNR Committee who's office we've been working with to get these crafted). So he walked me up to Representative Sheltrown's office where Joel, Brady (Sheltrown's Assistant who actually took the notes and did all the political errand running to get these Bills crafted) and his other Aides were having their morning meeting together. Hansen had me explain everything again to them. I gave them a copy of the Field Directive. They read it and said that it was only "common sense stuff" and that it was no problem at all to make it an Amendment . . . and so it was; before I even had a chance to run it past the MMRC!

I'll NEVER say that nothing gets done in Lansing again! Maybe not the really big stuff, but that Amendment happened in less than a half an hour!

I then went down to meet the rest of the MMRC in the lobby so that we could go back to Joel's office for our regularly scheduled 10:00am meeting. While sitting in the lobby talking with Lew Shuler (the CCC's MMRC Delegate) and waiting for the rest of the crew, I happened to look at the group next to me - at Pete Hookstra! So I put in a plug for STOPPING all the Wilderness Designations. I also talked about our off-road needs here in Michigan. After all, he just might win the Governor's race (who knows).

OK, Pete leaves and the MMRC Delegates all arrive. I tell them of the morning's happenings up in Hansen's and Sheltrown's offices and describe the content of the Directive (Brady had the only copy I'd brought with me). Lew was the only person to have an objection and that was that if conditions weren't good enough to pass in 2wd then we shouldn't be there for fear of doing damage. My reply was that IF damage were in fact being done, the DNR has the authority to cite persons for creating an erosive condition or damaging a public roadway. The mere use of 4wd doesn't indicate damage - wheel spin does. Also that the proper application of 4wd can reduce wheel spin, thereby being better for the road than traveling it in 2wd. He seemed to accept my response and was silent on the issue the rest of the day.

Back up at Sheltrown's office we reviewed possible opposition to the Bills and ranked their threat level. One of our biggest concerns would be if the USERS complain about a $30.50 sticker price.

We MUST spread the word that:

Fees haven't been raised since 1996

Consumer Price Index (CPI) calculates that after inflation $16.25 would be near $25 at today's prices

The $5.50 difference is to cover:

$1 additional for the NEW safety training program (which will now include 4x4 training!)

The rest ($4.50) is to maintain the 800 miles of new trails and route being put on the ground (of which Drummond is a portion)

We're not asking for pie in the sky. Part of the package is that the DNRE MUST publish all expenditures online for us to read. REAL receipt-based numbers, not the broad categorized type crap they've given us at the Advisory Board meetings. They WILL be held accountable for every penny of it.


We then went to the TNR Com. Meeting and answered questions. Pretty straight forward. The Q&A went well. All seemed happy with the answers they were given. As I mentioned, DNRE is neutral until the amendments are put in place, then they will support if all is as we'd covered in our meeting last week. So far, the only thing they have a problem with is the 75 event number. It's not the number they're unhappy about; it's that we want it legislated and taken out of their control. We'll have to play that one by ear and see what happens.

After the TNR Com Meeting we all went back to Sheltrown's conference room and talked with Brady some more. During conversation, Brady had the bright idea to open all Forest Roads on public lands to all OHVs like is the current situation in the U.P. ALL of the MMRC Delegates chuckled. We told him that if he can get it, GREAT! But we weren't going to hold our breath over it! He didn't understand why the DNRE would object. We laughed. His thought was to give the users more riding for their fee increase. We tried to explain our current political situation with the Department, but don't know if it sank in or not. Another "Wait and see".

Have to be back again next Tuesday for the same thing on HB6159 and 6162 (Today was just HB6160 and 6161).

I'll keep you informed of any progress.

We MUST spread the word that:


The new Registration fee will get you:

* The expansion of PA240 STATE WIDE
* Removal its SUNSET DATE (remember that it IS set to expire, making ALL road shoulder riding illegal again soon)
* Counts all CRC roads on NFS lands as OPEN in open counties, despite the NFS' attempt to claim that those are Federal Roads and therefore subject to the MVUM (NO PA 240).
* Will allow State Highway Commission to designate State and Federal Highways for shoulder riding where needed


Trail Permit Fees haven't been raised since 1996.

Consumer Price Index (CPI) calculates that after inflation $16.25 would be near $25 at today's prices .

The $5.50 difference will get you:

* REAL receipt-based accounting, not the broad categorized type crap they've given us at the Advisory Board meetings
* Statutory definition of "Other Road"
* Statutory clarification of Forest Road
* INCREASE in Event Permit trigger number from 20 PEOPLE to 75 VEHICLES
* Liability protection for maintenance workers and groups
* Maintenance of 800 miles of new trails and routes (including Drummond)
* Tremendously improved Safety Training Course that will now include 4x4 and extraction training
* Safety Training personnel will now be required to take and PASS all 3 types of NATIONAL Programs (Bike, ATV, and 4x4) before they will be allowed to teach.

Are these Bills completely comprehensive and make ALL of the improvements we would like to see?

No

BUT . . .

Do they make a hell of a good start?

I sure think so!

Besides, if they fail to pass, the system will deteriorate VERY quickly. We are out of surplus money and are NOT taking in enough at $16.25 to maintain the system in its current condition. Just to keep our current level would take an increase to $25. PLUS we have those 800 miles of new stuff to try to pay for.


PLEASE, PLEASE,PLEASE help us get the word out that we NEED people to call the Committee and ask them to SUPPORT these Bills (6159, 6160, 6161, and 6162).

It dosen't even have to be a letter.
A quick phone call will do fine.

They just need to hear that you want them to "Please support House Bills 6159, 6160, 6161, and 6162" .

They need to hear it soon and they need to hear it often!

emails sent!

Thank you!






On another note . . .
Do you Snurf too?

I have, but I do not own my own Snurfer.