Bill Summary for Bill Number Presentation from the Off-Highway Vehicle Coalition

Date: 08/13/2015

Final
Presentation from the Off-Highway Vehicle Coalition

OFF-HIGHWAY VEHICLES

Votes: View-->	Action Taken:
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02:46 PM -- Presentation from the Off-Highway Vehicle Coalition

Jerry Abboud, Off-Highway Vehicle Coalition, came to the table to present to the committee. Mr. Abboud said that he represented the community of OHV users in Colorado and asked the committee to avoid pulling OHVs into the definition of motor vehicles because it would cause confusion over where OHVs can be driven and where they cannot. He said that current statute allows political subdivisions to create an ordinance allowing for the use of OHVs on roads managed by the jurisdiction, but that a clear mandate from the state is needed to identify the exact authority of counties to require such things as driver's licenses or liability insurance for OHV users. He stated that regulatory uniformity is critical across counties, and that differing regulations are confusing for users, especially on forest service land, which does not have signage on trails to indicate county lines.

Mr. Abboud said that statewide registration requirements and taxation of OHVs will not generate a significant enough amount of revenue to make such policies worthwhile but that they would create an unnecessary burden for OHV users.

Mr. Abboud discussed how public lands are maintained in Colorado, noted that hunters and anglers provide most of the revenue towards maintaining Colorado's public lands, and said that many recreational OHV users support uniform regulation of OHVs. Mr. Abboud discussed how the Uniform Traffic Code does not currently apply to OHV users, which can lead to traffic enforcement challenges for local law enforcement. He responded to questions on the potential application of CPW registration requirements for OHVs statewide. The committee discussed the geographical awareness of most OHV users and the dilemma of Arizona OHV users, and others with limited liability corporations out-of-state, being able to drive on county roads in the 7th Judicial District when Colorado users may not.