Off-Highway Vehicles (09/17/2015)

Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

OFF-HIGHWAY VEHICLES

Date:	09/17/2015	ATTENDANCE

Time:	01:01 PM to 03:22 PM	Baumgardner	X
		Brown	X
Place:	RM 271	Donovan	X
		Hamner	X
This Meeting was called to order by		Scott	X
	Representative Court	Court	X

This Report was prepared by
	Matt Kiszka
		X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call

Bills Addressed:		Action Taken:
Call to Order Committee Discussion and Approval of Final Bill Drafts		Witness Testimony and/or Committee Discussion Only Witness Testimony and/or Committee Discussion Only

01:02 PM -- Call to Order

Representative Court, Chair, called the committee to order. Matt Kiszka, Legislative Council Staff, explained for the committee the process for requesting and approving interim committee bill drafts. Committee discussion ensued.

01:04 PM -- Committee Discussion and Approval of Final Bill Drafts

Representative Brown presented Bill 1 (Attachment A, which includes the preliminary fiscal note for the bill) to the committee, explaining that it requires the registration of off-highway vehicles (OHV) under the Division of Parks and Wildlife (DPW), within the Department of Natural Resources (DNR). He also presented Bill 2 (Attachment B, which includes the preliminary fiscal note for the bill), which requires the registration of OHVs through county clerks offices.

Attachment A.pdf

Attachment B.pdf

Representative Court asked the committee to discuss which entity should be responsible for the registration of OHVs. The committee discussed how the DPW did not believe that it would be an appropriate entity for the administration of OHV registration.

Michelle Batey, representing the Colorado County Clerks Association (CCCA), came to the table to discuss the CCCA's position on Bill 2. She said that the association has not taken a position on the bill, but that it would do whatever was necessary to implement it should it become law. In response to a question from the committee, Ms. Batey stated that the County Clerks Association would administer the registration of OHVs if a law directing this was passed.

Ms. Batey discussed the issues that the CCCA had with the bill, which include its effective date, and the use of the Department of Revenue's (DOR) planned Driver License, Record, Identification and Vehicle Enterprise Solution (DRIVES) system.

01:15 PM

Tony Anderson, DOR, came to the table to discuss the use of the Colorado State Titling and Registration System (CSTARS) and how soon the system could be updated to accommodate the processing changes that Bill 2 would require. He requested that the effective date of the bill be changed from August 10, 2016, to January 1, 2017. Discussion of the effective date and CSTARS reprogramming ensued.

Mr. Anderson said that DOR is looking for clarification on whether DOR, or the counties, will be processing the OHV registration paperwork. Jery Payne, Office of Legislative Legal Services (OLLS), came to the table to speak to this issue. Committee discussed ensued.

Mr. Anderson also discussed whether the License Plate Cash Fund (LPCF) will be affected by the bill. Mr. Payne stated that the revenue collected under OHV registration will go directly to Colorado Correctional Industries (CCi), and will not enter the LPCF. Committee discussion ensued on whether this approach would work for the counties, how plate numbering would work under the system, and how to store the necessary materials for license plates in county offices. Ms. Reynolds responded to questions on the planned plate-printing process identified by the bill that counties and CCi would need to follow.

Pam Anderson, CCCA, came to the table to answer questions on the registration and plate-printing process that the counties will participate in to license OHVs. She discussed the workload that the bill would place upon county clerks offices and how to best facilitate the processing of OHV registration alongside existing processes and systems.

01:34 PM

The committee discussed the collection of OHV registration revenue by county clerks offices and the concerns of the CCCA with the current drafting of Bill 2. Mr. Payne responded to a question on whether both versions of the bill require annual OHV registration, stating that they only require re-registration of an OHV when ownership is transferred.

Senator Scott asked for more clarification on the Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR) implications of the bill. Ms. Reynolds provided an overview of the TABOR implications of each bill, noting that either bill only impacts TABOR minimally through the collection of fines from improper use of an OHV. The committee discussed whether the bill would impact county revenue subject to TABOR.

01:50 PM

Committee discussion of the opt-in nature of OHV registration for individuals and counties ensued.

The committee discussed the TABOR impact on counties that had not "de-bruced," and whether this impact would be minimal to the counties. Ms. Reynolds responded to questions on the estimated fiscal impact of Bill 2 on Colorado counties, and why the fiscal impacts of Bill 1 and Bill 2 are much smaller than the anticipated impact of HB15-1054. The committee discussed whether registration of OHVs should be administered by DOR, or if requiring registration through county clerks would be preferable. Ms. Anderson responded to questions on the CCCA's support for Bill 2.

Mr. Anderson asked for clarification on OHV registration processing. Mr. Reynolds drew the committee's attention to the fee that Bill 2 allows county clerks to collect for processing OHV registrations. Ms. Anderson responded to questions on county clerk OHV registration processing.

The committee discussed how it needed to receive more information from CCCA before it could proceed on its bill consideration and voting.

02:04 PM

Eric Bergman and Tony Lombard, Colorado Counties, Inc. (CCI), came to the table to provide input on Bill 2. Mr. Bergman said that OHV registration and regulation have never been a large concern of CCI, but that they are concerned the bill could subject some counties that do not have many OHV trails to excessive registration processing. He said that CCI originally wanted an OHV registration bill to allow counties to raise the bar for registration within their county, and that they want to prevent the bill from applying to OHVs used for agricultural purposes. They responded to a request for clarification. Committee discussion of driver's license requirements, minimum age requirements, and how counties can individually set these requirements for OHV use ensued.

Mr. Payne stated that the bills set a default minimum standard for OHV users on trails and a default for OHV users on roads, which counties can change if they desire. Committee discussion ensued.

02:19 PM

Amendments 2, 4, 6, and 8 were distributed to the committee (Attachments C, D, E, and F). Mr. Bergman and Mr. Lombard discussed these amendments. The committee decided to table Amendment 8.

Attachment C.pdf

Attachment D.pdf

Attachment E.pdf

Attachment F.pdf

02:23 PM

Dave Hall, Legislative Liaison, Colorado State Patrol (CSP), and Zach Zaslow, Manager of Government Affairs, Children's Hospital Colorado (CHC), came to the table to provide their positions on Bill 2 and the proposed amendments. Mr. Hall said that CSP is in opposition to any unlicensed drivers operating OHVs on public roads, especially those as young as 10 years old. He said that this would be a matter of statewide concern for CSP. He responded to questions from the committee on whether a compromise is possible that would allow some counties to have drivers younger than 16 on public roads, and if CSP is opposed to the current CPW policy that allows 10 year olds to operate OHVs on its trails. Discussion ensued on a compromise that could satisfy both CSP and county requests for legal use of OHVs on public roads.

Mr. Zaslow discussed the safety measures that CHC would like to see in place surrounding OHV use and whether compromises could be reached to allow 10-year olds to use OHVs on public roads under limited circumstances. Committee discussion ensued.

02:48 PM

Mr. Payne responded to a question on current allowances under state law for OHV use of public roads. Discussion ensued on the safety considerations that need to be taken into account for OHV use on roads. The committee discussed whether it should have a bill drafted that only addresses the registration of OHVs for use on public roads.

03:02 PM

The committee discussed whether certain counties have already addressed the issue of OHV use of public roads, and the steps the committee could take to address OHV regulation and OHV use of roads.

03:09 PM

The committee discussed its next steps, and set a future meeting date to approve its interim committee legislation for October 23, 2015.

03:22 PM

The committee adjourned.