Date: 07/20/2015

Final
Presentation and Q&A with Colorado Counties Incorporated

OFF-HIGHWAY VEHICLES

Votes: View--> Action Taken:
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02:33 PM -- Presentation and Q&A with Colorado Counties Incorporated

Eric Bergman and Tony Lombard, representing Colorado Counties Incorporated (CCI), came to the table and distributed a factsheet (Attachment C). Mr. Bergman provided an overview of CCI's involvement with Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) legislation and discussed current laws related to OHV use on county roads. He cited specific counties where OHVs are vital to the economy and present certain challenges: Rio Blanco; and Hinsdale, Ouray, San Juan, and San Miguel -- the four counties of the Alpine Loop trail system in the San Juan mountains. He discussed the stakeholder process during CCI's legislative involvement with OHVs. He said that preserving the agricultural exemption for OHV use and the OHV trails program funding were of paramount importance. He discussed House Bill 15-1054, sponsored by Representative Brown. He recommended breaking the issue apart into separate bills, so that different problems could be solved without sinking the whole bill. He discussed a recent ruling in the 7th Judicial District that has allowed Arizonians to ride their OHVs on Colorado roads if licensed in Arizona, which he said makes Coloradans second-class citizens in their own state. He discussed the Colorado State Patrol amendment to HB 15-1054, which prohibited riders under 16 and hurt the effort of the bill to promote local control. He discussed the safety concerns related to OHVs, including recent deaths in the San Juan mountains. Mr. Bergman responded to questions from the committee, including a request that he chart the various issues related to OHV use in the state.

Attachment C.pdfAttachment C.pdf

02:42 PM

Mr. Lombard began his presentation by responding to an earlier committee question about the provenance of HB 15-1054. He discussed prior OHV bills, including House Bill 11-1264, House Bill 12-1066, and Senate Bill 13-280. He discussed the Off-Highway Vehicle Coalition. He stated that CCI took a lead role in fostering the discussions and legislative proposals that resulted in HB 15-1054. He reiterated that HB 15-1054 had several components, including: agriculture exemption, local control of OHV use, safety equipment mandates, insurance, titling and registration. He stated that the issues that resulted in the bill being postponed indefinitely included: age limits, use of paved roads, and TABOR. Mr. Lombard named participants in the HB 15-1054 process, including Club 20, Colorado Sheriffs, Colorado Conservation Association, and Trout Unlimited. He told the committee that the environmental community is very concerned with licensing OHVs for the purposes of enforcement. He stated that the coalition worked with the Department of Revenue, but ran into the issue of the licensing fees affecting state revenue and the TABOR limit. The witness from CCI responded to additional questions from the committee related to current law and local control.