Another push to require owners of off-highway vehicles to pay for a new annual sticker ran out of gas at the Legislature.
The Senate on April 26 voted 14-13 for the bill (H2443), but 16 votes were required for passage. The House had previously passed it overwhelmingly in March.
Similar to programs in use in states such as Utah and California, Arizona’s program would have provided money for development of trails and other access routes, grants for local enforcement of off-highway vehicle laws, mitigation of damage caused by OHVs and creation of maps, signs and educational material.
Opponents said the mandatory sticker amounted to a tax increase, with one saying it would apply broadly but only benefit some.
“This is an out-and-out taking. It’s done in the guise of everybody paying to preserve trails,” said Sen. Robert Blendu, R-12.
Supporters said the money is needed to provide recreational opportunities and protect the environment, including watersheds.
Lawmaker: Parks need better funding
“The alternative is that we should adequately fund our parks and then all of us would pay for these trails, but we don’t adequately fund our parks so we have to put a user fee on,” aid Sen. Meg Burton Cahill, D-17.
When the outcome of the Senate vote became apparent, one senator said the bill’s failure will hurt the environment.
“They’re going to tear up the desert and tear up the forest and make it tougher on our clean air, especially in Maricopa County,” said Sen. Jake Flake, a Snowflake Republican from District 5, who voted for the bill but said he had mixed feelings on it.
Under the bill (H2443), a sticker would have been mandated for off-highway vehicles such as four-wheel all-terrain vehicles, sand rails and dirt bikes that use public lands or rights-of-way.
Off-road vehicles used only on private land or for agricultural, ranching, construction, mining or construction would have been exempt.
The bill drew support from the state Parks Department, members of the state Game and Fish Commission and representatives of groups advocating on behalf of cattle ranchers, vehicle dealers and some riders and sportsmen. A coalition of vehicle operators was neutral.
A similar proposal failed during the 2006 legislative session, also failing on a vote by the full Senate.
The 2006 bill was criticized by some lawmakers as an infringement on individual rights, and the Sierra Club said it didn’t include adequate protections for the environment.
The 2007 bill would have allowed the Department of Transportation director, in consultation with the Game and Fish and Parks directors, to set the sticker’s price, but officials have said $20 per vehicle per year was envisioned to raise a projected $4.6 million annually.
Arizona now raises $2.7 million annually for off-highway programs from a tiny share of gasoline tax revenue, with the money divvied up between the Game and Fish Department and the state parks system.
The Game and Fish Department says the current funding isn’t enough to handle needs for trail development, law enforcement resulting from the dramatic increase in all-terrain vehicle use in Arizona.
The number of registered or titled all-terrain vehicles in Arizona went from 51,000 in December 1998 to more than 230,000 in July 2006, according to the Game and Fish Department.
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