NEW YORK STATE NEWSPAPER EDITORIALISTS "GET IT" REGARDING ATV REGISTRATION FEES

The NYSORVA reports on how the state is unfair to ATV riders who pay fees and get nothing in return

     The NYSORVA (New York State Off-Highway Recreational Vehicle Association) sent us the following editorials from local papers regarding the ATV registration fee controversy which has been brewing for several years now in the state. Basically, New York imposed the fees and has collected hundreds of thousands of dollars but has yet to spend any money for increased riding opportunities, much less anything OHV for that matter!

     The good news is that at least two newspaper editorialists have seen the light on this matter and have written two pro-OHV articles recently. Perhaps, the tide is about to turn on this difficult matter in the Empire State.

      The NYSORVA is for keeping the ATV registration fee in place (as opposed to those who want it abolished along with any sort of state OHV program), but of course the organization wants to see the money put to good use for the riders (See the NYSORVA Press Release at the end of this article).

      We'll keep you posted on any further happenings regarding the New York ATV registration fee situation.

Editorial from The Press Republican (Plattsburg, NY)

State budget is unfair to ATV riders, who pay fees and get nothing in return
All-terrain-vehicle owners are being stuck in neutral by New York state.

They paid a substantial amount of money in fees in hopes of restoring old trails and developing new ones. Not only is that money gone, but they are still being charged with no hope of ever getting anything in return for their investment.

Last year, the state, in conjunction with ATV advocacy groups, raised the ATV registration fee from $10 to $25. The increase was to create a dedicated fund to pay for trail work, a goal that was just about unanimously regarded as a good one. ATV advocacy groups wanted the trails on which to ride, and landowners whose property was being used without their permission favored trail work to keep the ATVs off their own land.

About $850,000 was raised through the increased fee and put into the special fund.

But with the State Senate and Assembly unable to come to agreement on how to restore and develop new trails, the fund was simply eliminated in the 2006 budget.

The money was rolled into the state's general fund.

The major sticking point between the two legislative bodies was whether any trail development would be allowed on state land in the Adirondack Park.

In eliminating the dedicated trail fund, the legislature also decided to reduce the registration fee back down to $10.

Assemblyman Chris Ortloff is pushing a bill that says ATV owners should not have to pay anything for registration, since they are getting nothing in return.

Estimates are that since the initial $10 registration fee was levied in the mid 1980s, about $10 million has been collected for trail development.

But the promise has not been fulfilled. Where are the trails? In the absence of allowable, well-groomed trails, some renegade ATV owners are riding on other land that is either unsuitable or illegal or involves trespassing.

When you register a car, you get paved roads, traffic signals and law enforcement to help you travel.

When you register a boat, you get boat patrols, buoys and other navigational assistance provided by the state.

When you register a snowmobile, you get trails and maintenance.

Yet, when you register an ATV, you get nothing.
 

We agree with eliminating the $10 registration fee.

Until the state can decide on how to better serve the ATV community, it is unfair to levy this tax without providing anything in return.

Editorial from The Record (Troy, NY)

Trail system shouldn't die

Any measures sent by the Rensselaer County Legislature to the state Legislature are essentially toothless, as no matter how strongly worded or strenuously supported, such messages to state lawmakers are only suggestions, which the state Legislature can consider or toss without a second glance.
 

Just tossing such measures is not a wise move, as attentive state lawmakers could learn a lot about public sentiment on the grassroots level through these items.
Last week, the county Legislature passed a resolution urging the state to reconsider its abandonment of plans to build a statewide system of trails for all-terrain vehicles.

In order to build this expensive system without eating tax dollars, the plan was to be funded by an increase in ATV registration fees from $10 per annum to $25. The fees did go up, but, apparently, the plan is pretty much kaput.

Apparently the roadblock was erected by the Assembly Democrats. According to Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno's office, the Senate is still behind the trail, but the Assembly opposition has all but killed the proposal, although it could - and should - be reconsidered.

The Assembly argument is that ATVs would disturb pristine areas within the Adirondacks and Catskills. That is an empty argument, as ATVs are not allowed in forest preserves in the first place.

The other factor for the Assembly to consider is that of a broken promise. The $25 registration fee was imposed specifically to fund the trail system.
The plan now is to "refund" that extra money by extending one-year registration to two years. That still means ATV owners are getting rooked, as they are getting a $20 value for a $25 fee.

Maybe $5 doesn't sound like much, but multiply it by the 137,000 registrations out there and you have a rather hefty chuck of change. To what use is this money going to be put? That is a question the Assembly has yet to answer.

Rensselaer County is an area with many ATV owners, and a trail system is definitely called for here.

So even though the county Legislature can't change state plans, the lawmakers are to be commended for airing the issue, and the Assembly should take a closer look at the situation before slamming the door on a trail system.

PRESS RELEASE
New York State Off-Highway Recreational Vehicle Association, Inc.
Contact: Alex Ernst, newsweb@nysorva.org

May 4, 2006

NYSORVA strongly recommends the passage of an ATV Trail Program law before
the June 11, 2006 expiration of the registration fee increase. An ATV
Program will significantly enhance ATV safety and environmental protection,
balanced with the interests of riders and small businesses, by funding rider
education and management of trails through fees collected from ATV
registrants.

Sierra Club and Concerned Families for ATV Safety today released a
publication titled "Kill or Cure" as propaganda advocating against the
creation of an ATV Trail Program. To lobby against an ATV Program in New
York state is the height of hypocrisy. To argue that no program and policy
response to address ATV issues should be promoted in this year's Legislative
Session, that ATV recreation should remain unregulated and unmanaged for the
time being, is in complete contravention to their argument that ATV
recreation is bad for the environment and unsafe to society.

The indefensible position of Sierra Club and Concerned Families for ATV
Safety is in direct conflict with other environmental and landuse groups in
New York which recognize that a programmatic response -right now- is the
logical way to address the challenges of managing ATV use.

Despite a lack to date of a reasoned programmatic response to the pastime,
New York has the third-largest ATV recreational community in the nation. Its
ranks are growing steadily, and doing nothing at this critical moment serves
neither the ATVers nor the environmental advocates to any productive effect.

Please see www.nysorva.org for more information.
 

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