Off-Highway Vehicles (10/23/2015)

Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

OFF-HIGHWAY VEHICLES

Date:	10/23/2015	ATTENDANCE

Time:	09:05 AM to 11:07 AM	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 Discussion with County Clerks and the Department of Revenue Discussion of Amendments Approval of Final Bill Draft		Witness Testimony and/or Committee Discussion Only Witness Testimony and/or Committee Discussion Only Witness Testimony and/or Committee Discussion Only Adopted amendments 4, 6, 8, and 9 Forwarded Bill 2, as amended, to Legislative Council

09:05 AM -- Call to Order

Representative Court, Chair, called the committee to order. The committee received a copy of Bill 2 and the corresponding fiscal note (Attachment A).

Attachment A.pdf

09:07 AM -- Committee Discussion

A memorandum summarizing Bill 2 (Attachment B) was distributed to the committee by the Office of Legislative Legal Services (OLLS). Jery Payne, OLLS, summarized the changes made by the bill. Amendments 2, 4, 6, 8 and 9 were distributed to the committee (Attachments C, D, E, F, and G). Committee discussion ensued on the changes made to statute by Bill 2. Representative Brown discussed how counties that are not currently allowing off-highway vehicles (OHVs) to use county roads might want to opt-in to the proposed OHV registration program as laid out by the bill, and the requirements those counties will be able to implement as a part of OHV use within their jurisdiction.

Attachment G.pdf

09:16 AM

Eric Bergman, Colorado Counties, Incorporated (CCI), came to the table to speak to the counties that could be interested in participating in the proposed OHV registration program. Mr. Bergman stated that at least a dozen counties have already passed ordinances to allow county road use by OHVs. He said that a number of counties were interested in being able to implement increased safety standards, surrounding requirements for driver's licenses and liability insurance. The committee discussed the number of OHVs that could potentially be registered under the program, registration requirements for OHVs that use roads as laid out by the bill, counties that currently implement additional requirements for OHV users within their jurisdiction, the voluntary nature of the program for counties and for OHV users, and how a county can adopt an ordinance to waive the requirement for a driver's license, as authorized by the bill.

09:29 AM

The committee discussed how varying registration requirements across counties will impact OHV users. Mr. Payne responded to questions on whether counties can currently authorize an OHV to cross a state highway.

09:34 AM -- Discussion with County Clerks and the Department of Revenue

Pam Anderson, Colorado County Clerks Association (CCCA), and Tony Anderson, Department of Revenue (DOR), came to the table to provide their organizations' positions on the bill as drafted. Ms. Anderson said that CCCA would like for the registration of OHVs to be brought under the current licensing and registration system used by the DOR, as the clerks do not have an accounting system to handle and process OHV registrations and to redistribute the fees collected through registration. She said that specific DOR processes are already set up surrounding the License Plate Cash Fund, including plate design standards and the plate on demand system, that the clerks cannot currently tap into. She said that implementing stand-alone systems for county clerk and recorders would be very challenging.

Ms. Anderson estimated that the initial impact of the bill to county clerk and recorders' offices would be $230,000 in the first year, and $25,000 per year ongoing. Ms. Anderson and Mr. Anderson responded to questions on current state OHV titling requirements and the number of vehicles that are titled in the state, stating that roughly 12,000 OHVs are currently titled in Colorado. They responded to questions on whether DOR could assume the cost of registering OHVs under the program. Committee discussion ensued on how the bill could best address the costs of OHV registrations and the processing of registrations.

09:45 AM -- Discussion of Amendments

Representative Brown explained amendment #4 (Attachment D), which adds exemptions for OHV registration to the bill.


BILL:	Bill 2
TIME:	09:46:46 AM
MOVED:	Brown
MOTION:	Adopt amendment 4 (Attachment D). The motion passed on a vote of 5-1.
SECONDED:	Court
		VOTE
	Baumgardner	No
	Brown	Yes
	Donovan	Yes
	Hamner	Yes
	Scott	Yes
	Court	Yes

YES: 5 NO: 1 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

09:47 AM

Representative Brown explained amendment #6 (Attachment E), which clarifies that resolutions or ordinances adopted by local authorities supersede the OHV rules of Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW). Committee discussion ensued.


BILL:	Bill 2
TIME:	09:49:01 AM
MOVED:	Brown
MOTION:	Adopt amendment 6 (Attachment E). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:	Court
		VOTE
	Baumgardner
	Brown
	Donovan
	Hamner
	Scott
	Court

YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection

09:50 AM

Representative Brown explained amendment #8 (Attachment F), which changes language in the bill regarding "license" to "visible identification." Committee discussion ensued.


BILL:	Bill 2
TIME:	09:55:12 AM
MOVED:	Brown
MOTION:	Adopt amendment 8 (Attachment F). The motion passed on a vote of 4-2.
SECONDED:	Court
		VOTE
	Baumgardner	No
	Brown	Yes
	Donovan	Yes
	Hamner	Yes
	Scott	No
	Court	Yes

YES: 4 NO: 2 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

09:55 AM

Representative Brown explained amendment #2 (Attachment C), which removes language from the bill surrounding minimum age requirements for OHV users and lets counties allow OHV users without driver's licenses to ride on county roads. Mr. Payne responded to a request from the committee to outline current law surrounding minimum age requirements for OHV use, stating that the amendment would leave control over minimum age requirements to CPW and to individual counties. Committee discussion ensued. Mr. Bergman, Dave Hall, Colorado State Patrol, and Richard Orf, Associated Governments of Northwest Colorado, came to the table to comment on current age requirements for OHV users under statute and CPW rule, and the minimum age requirements of the bill and amendment #2. Discussion ensued on the current authority of CPW to set rules for OHV users.

10:12 AM

Discussion continued on minimum age requirements for OHV users as laid out in statute, the bill, and DPW rule. Mr. Payne responded to questions on whether the bill could lead to lawsuits between counties and the state.

10:26 AM

Mr. Bergman said that CCI believes that language should be added to the bill that gives counties the ability to go beyond the minimum age, driver's license, and insurance requirements as laid out in Bill 2 and CPW rule. Committee discussion ensued.

10:31 AM

Representative Brown withdrew amendment #2. Committee discussion ensued on a conceptual amendment to strike lines 8 through 13 on page 5 of the bill, so that counties can only raise, and not lower, the minimum age of an OHV user at 10 years old.

10:42 AM

The committee took a brief recess.

10:50 AM

The committee came back to order. Discussion ensued on minimum age requirements for OHV users as addressed under the bill. Gaspar Perricone, Department of Natural Resources, came to the table to discuss how the removal of lines 8 through 13 on page 5 of the bill would impact the minimum age of OHV users on all lands in the county, and not just county roads. He responded to a question on what language could be added to the bill to ensure that the minimum age of OHV users on county lands is not affected by the bill.

10:55 AM

Representative Brown explained amendment #9 (Attachment G), which cleans up language in the bill surrounding municipal authority to allow OHVs to cross state highways.


BILL:	Bill 2
TIME:	10:56:21 AM
MOVED:	Brown
MOTION:	Adopt amendment 9 (Attachment G). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:	Court
		VOTE
	Baumgardner
	Brown
	Donovan
	Hamner
	Scott
	Court

YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection

10:57 AM -- Approval of Final Bill Draft

Representative Court discussed the committee's residual concerns with the bill, which she said surround its fiscal impact and the established OHV user age limits. Committee discussion ensued on additional concerns with the bill, the process of recommending the bill to Legislative Council, and the merits of Bill 2, as amended. Mr. Payne asked for authority to change any small, technical issues that he might find in the bill, which the committee approved. The members of the committee discussed the reasoning behind their votes on the bill.


BILL:	Approval of Final Bill Draft
TIME:	11:03:14 AM
MOVED:	Brown
MOTION:	Forward Bill 2, as amended, to Legislative Council. The motion passed on a vote of 4-2.
SECONDED:	Court
		VOTE
	Baumgardner	No
	Brown	Yes
	Donovan	Yes
	Hamner	Yes
	Scott	No
	Court	Yes

YES: 4 NO: 2 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

11:07 AM

The committee adjourned.