BILL ANALYSIS 1
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| SENATE COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES AND WATER |
| Senator Darrell Steinberg, Chair |
| 2007-2008 Regular Session |
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BILL NO: SB 742 HEARING DATE: April 10, 2007
AUTHOR: Steinberg URGENCY: No
VERSION: April 9, 2007 CONSULTANT: Marie Liu
FISCAL: Yes
SUBJECT: Off-highway motor vehicle recreation
BACKGROUND AND EXISTING LAW
In 1971, the Legislature established the Off-Highway Vehicle
(OHV) Program in Chapter 1.25 of Division 5 of the Public
Resources Code (commencing with Section 5090.01) to manage
off-highway recreation in a manner that also protects
California's natural and cultural resources. To implement all
aspects of the OHV program, the Division of OHV Recreation
(division) was created within the Department of Parks and
Recreation (DPR). The division is responsible for the planning,
acquisition, development, and management of the eight state
vehicle recreation areas (SVRAs), the preparation and
coordination of safety and education programs, and the
administration of the grants and cooperative agreements program
(grants program). The division is also responsible for
completing and periodically updating a strategic planning
process that will identify future OHV recreation needs and the
potential to reduce illegal and environmentally damaging riding.
The OHV program also has a seven-member Off-Highway Motor
Vehicle Recreation Commission (commission). The Governor
appoints three members and the Senate and Assembly each appoint
two members. To the extent possible, the commissioners should
represent OHV recreation interests, biological or soil
scientists, rural landowner groups, law enforcement,
environmental protection organizations, and non-motorized
recreation interests. The commission is responsible for
reviewing and approving all minor and major capitol outlay
expenditures for the SVRA system, for holding public hearings
for various purposes including collecting public input regarding
the grants program, and for approving all grants and cooperative
agreements.
The OHV grants program provides funds to the federal and local
governments for the planning, acquisition, development,
maintenance, administration, operation, enforcement, restoration
and conservation of trails and OHV facilities. Grants to local
governments require a 25% match that can be met with in-kind
contributions. Grants for the planning, acquisition,
development, and construction of a regional OHV facility are
exempt from the match requirement.
However, over 80% of the OHV program's costs are funded by the
fuel tax charged on fuel that is used in the off-highway
operation of OHVs, street-legal vehicles, and illegal,
unregistered OHVs. Taxes on fuel associated with illegal,
unregistered OHVs are placed in the Conservation and Enforcement
Services Account. Thirty percent of this account must be spent
on restoration activities. The volume of fuel used off-highway
is determined through a study that DPR is required to conduct
every two years. The most recent study was recently submitted to
the Legislature earlier this year. It was the first study to be
completed since 1990 despite the two-year requirement.
Additional revenues for the OHV program come from OHV vehicle
registration fees and SVRA use fees. All revenues are deposited
in the OHV Trust Fund.
The OHV program and OHV commission are both set to sunset on
January 1, 2008.
Over the past couple of years, the State Auditor, the
Legislature, and various interested parties have identified
several major problems with the OHV program including:
The program's over reliance on money from the motor vehicle
fuel tax, which is determined by an unreliable and expensive
study method;
Difficult and complex restrictions on expenditures from the
OHV Trust Fund;
Potentially inappropriate and unbalanced uses of the
designated grant funds;
A grants program that does not have a fair, balanced, and
transparent approval process and can be dominated by a small
number of applicants;
The federal government's reliance on state money to manage OHV
activities on federal land;
A greater need for local law enforcement moneys to support
proper enforcement of OHV related laws than is currently
available in the grants process;
A commission that has been unable to act cohesively and a
division occasionally at odds with the commission;
A lack of a comprehensive strategic plan to guide efforts to
balance OHV recreation and environmental protection.
PROPOSED LAW
This bill seeks to revise multiple aspects of the program.
Specifically, this bill would:
1. Require the use fee for state vehicle recreation areas
to be at least $10 for the first vehicle and an additional
$10 for each towed trailer. The Department will set the
actual use fee;
2. Increase the number of the Governor's appointees to the
commission from three to five and require Senate
confirmation of all gubernatorial appointees;
3. Change the role of the commission so that the commission
would review and approve all general plans for SVRAs and
review all plans for new and expanded local and regional
vehicle recreation areas that have applied for grant funds.
The commission would no longer approve minor and major
capitol outlay expenditures for SVRAs;
4. Allow other state agencies, in addition to the federal
and local governments, to apply for grants for OHV related
activities that occur on state lands outside of the state
parks system;
5. Establish minimum spending levels for the following
categories of grants:
a. 45% on facility maintenance and operation,
trail maintenance, meeting soil standards and wildlife
habitat plans, and the planning and construction of
new and expanded local and regional riding
opportunities;
b. 20% on local and federal law enforcement
needs;
c. 20% on restoration; and
d. 5% on education programs that teach both OHV
riding safety and environmental responsibility
6. Require the division to establish guidelines to
determine the eligibility and priorities for grants that,
at a minimum, establish maximum grant amounts and require
all applicants to provide a 25% match of funds;
7. Require the director of DPR to approve of all grants and
cooperative agreements instead of the commission;
8. Require new or expanded local and regional
opportunities, in order to be eligible for grant funds, to
comply with the same wildlife and soil standards as SVRAs
and the potential of the facility to reduce illegal OHV
riding in the surrounding area;
9. Allow up to 50% of the law enforcement grants to be
allocated by a needs-based, non-competitive process to
local law enforcement entities for personnel and related
equipment. The remainder of the law enforcement grants will
be distributed on a competitive basis for federal law
enforcement and special projects needs;
10. Restrict the ability of
funds from the OHV Trust Fund to be spent on costs directly
associated with a privately sponsored special event where
the costs can be recovered from the event sponsors through
a local permit process;
11. Allocate an unspecified
percentage of the OHV Trust Fund to DPR to support
recreation associated with OHV use outside of the SVRA
system, upon appropriation by the Legislature;
12. Eliminate the sunset date
for the commission and extend the sunset date for the OHV
program until 2013;
13. Eliminate the Conservation
and Enforcement Services Account and associated spending
restrictions;
14. Express legislative intent
to determine the appropriate amount of fuel tax
attributable to OHV use by a formula instead of a biennial
fuel tax study;
15. Increase the portion of
the license registration fee for an OHV that is deposited
in the OHV Trust Fund from $8 to $67;
16. Specify that violations
for riding in state or federal wilderness areas also
applies to areas that are closed to OHV recreation;
17. Establish that it is an
OHV rider's responsibility to show they have permission to
ride on someone else's private property rather than the
property owner.
18. Express legislative intent
to appropriate an unspecified amount of reserve funds in
the Conservation and Enforcement Services Account to the US
Forest Service for restoration projects associated with the
completion of the federal route designation process on
federal lands within California; and
19. Express legislative intent
to eliminate the "red sticker" OHV registration for
vehicles that do not meet the Air Resources Board's
emission regulations.
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT
The author feels that it would be a disservice to the
environment and OHV enthusiasts not to reauthorize the OHV
program, especially since that OHV recreation is a rapidly
growing sport. However, given the numerous problems identified
with the program, it is important the program be heavily
modified before it is reauthorized.
With this bill, the author intends to reform the OHV program and
budget in a way that sustains OHV recreation while protecting
public safety and the environment. More specifically, the author
aims to:
Strengthen the policy-making responsibilities of the
commission while eliminating its direct role in fiscal
matters;
Increase accountability in the grants program and ensure that
the grants program supports all the goals of the OHV program
including sustaining OHV riding opportunities, providing
proper law enforcement, and restoring lands damaged by OHV
use;
Revise OHV riding restrictions and penalties to properly
protect public safety and the environment; and
Identify a more appropriate and efficient method to determine
the amount of fuel tax dollars that should be transferred to
the OHV Trust Fund.
The author has been meeting weekly with interested parties to
work on specific portions of the OHV program. To date,
discussions have mostly focused on the grants program and the
role and make-up of the commission. The author feels these
working meetings have been productive. Notably, the first set of
amendments:
Alters the commission so that it is more of a policy making
body;
Increases the availability of grant funds for trail
maintenance dramatically from less than 30% to at least 45% of
the grants program;
Increase the availability of grant funding for new and
expanded riding opportunities;
Allocates a reasonable amount of grant funds for the
restoration of lands damaged by OHV use; and
Begins to change the method which local law enforcement grant
dollars are allocated to increase cooperation between law
enforcement entities and to allow grant dollars to be used
more efficiently for personnel salaries instead of overtime
pay.
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION AND CONCERN
A coalition of OHV rider groups oppose this bill unless the OHV
program's sunset is removed, that at least 60% of the grants
program is specifically designated to encourage legal riding and
stewardship of trails, that restoration grants be used only to
mitigate OHV damage, and that the Commission is not given the
authority to approve general plans for SVRAs.
A coalition of environmental groups express concern that
removing the commission's ability to approve grants and
increasing the number of gubernatorial appointees will undermine
legislative oversight and will likely have "adverse impacts for
restoration and conservation projects on California's public
lands." However, they state they are encouraged by the progress
and direction this bill appears to take. They look forward to
supporting the bill in the future if the bill increases
restoration funding to repair public lands, allows the Wildlife
Conservation Board to administer the restoration grants because
of its habitat restoration expertise, creates a non-motorized
grants program to ensure that all users that pay into the
program benefit from the program, and reforms the law
enforcement laws to better protect private property owners and
public resources.
COMMENTS
Clarification amendments: The bill currently prohibits any OHV
Trust Fund money from being spent on costs directly associated
with privately sponsored OHV events. The purpose of this
provision is to prevent grant funds from being drained by law
enforcement needs that are created by for-profit OHV events. The
committee may wish to amend subdivision (l) to better reflect
that intent. (See Amendment 1.)
Paragraph (8) of subdivision (a) of Section 5090.51 limits
grants for acquisitions for new and local riding opportunities
to $50,000. This maximum level may be too low so that it
effectively eliminates most acquisition projects from the grants
program. The committee may wish to subject all grants to the
same maximum amounts that will be determined by the division's
grant eligibility guidelines. (see Amendment 2)
The author has agreed to accept these amendments and will commit
to adopt these amendments in Appropriations.
SUGGESTED AMENDMENTS
AMENDMENT 1
Delete subdivision (l) of Section 5090.50 and insert
paragraph (1) in subdivision (c) of Section 5090.52 to read
"Competitive grant funds may not be used to cover the law
enforcement costs directly associated with a privately
sponsored event, if the costs of the events can be
recovered from the event sponsors through a local permit
process, except if the event sponsor is a nonprofit
registered as a 501(c)(3) cooperation with the Internal
Revenue Service."
AMENDMENT 2
Delete paragraph (8) of subdivision (a) of Section 5090.51
SUPPORT
None Received
SIGNIFICANT CONCERN
California Wilderness Coalition
Center for Sierra Nevada Conservation
Defenders of Wildlife
Desert Protective Council
Friends of the Inyo
Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility
Planning and Conservation League
Sierra Club California
Tuleyome
The Wilderness Society
OPPOSED UNLESS AMENDED
American Motorcyclist Association, District 36
American Motorcyclist Association, District 37 Dual Sport
American Motorcyclist Association, District 37 Off Road
American Motorcyclist Association, National
American Sand Association
California Association of Four Wheel Drive Clubs
California Nevada Snowmobile Association
California Off Road Vehicle Association
Friends of Oceano Dunes
Off Road Business Association
San Diego Off-Road Coalition
OPPOSITION
California Motorcycle Dealers Association
California State Sheriffs' Association