ATV Trail Fund Established in New York
2005 funding stripped of the new Trail Fund for the General Fund
Point-of-Sale ATV registration now required, MX exemption overlooked

ALBANY — For 12 long years, NYSORVA volunteers, affiliated groups, and state legislators fought for the re-establishment of a registration-based Trail Fund to support the development and maintenance of trails for all terrain vehicles and off-highway motorcycle. Finally their efforts have resulted in one key success, but much work remains to be done.

The 2005-2006 State Budget includes the following measures affecting ATVs:

• Re-establishment of a dedicated ATV Trail Development, Enforcement, and Stewardship Fund under Finance Law 92-o
• Effective April 20th, increases the ATV registration fee from $10 to $25 annually, with the $15 increase dedicated to the ATV Fund
• Sweeps the ATV Fund to the General Fund for the 2005-6 fiscal year leaving nothing for a Trail Program this year
• Effective immediately, requires ATV Dealers to register on behalf of the customer, at point-of-sale, all ATVs as defined by V&T Article 48B ss2281 (includes trail motorcycles), but fails to provide for existing exemptions for competition and ag/plowing uses. However, sales for exclusive out-of-state use are exempt from POS registration
• Changes the registration effectiveness term from May 1-April 30 to September 1-August 31
• Gives DMV no guidance as to how to handle current registrations on the May 1-April 30 schedule or if they will be valid through the end of the newly-established term

The Legislature passed budget bill S.3669/A.6843 which includes in Part D a fee increase from $10 to $25 and dedication of the increase to a fund set apart for an ATV Program. The entirety of the State Budget will likely have been signed into Law before the end of the day April 1, 2005. This will mark the first “on-time” Budget in 21 consecutive years of late State Budgets.

This battle for re-establishing the dedicated Trail Fund abolished in 1990 is over, but the war is not won. Most of the detail issues for implementation of the Program that will utilize and distribute the Fund were purposefully excluded from the Budget bill leaving many issues up in the air and contingent upon a different bill yet to be written and passed. So the lobbying effort is not over by a long shot.

As verified by legislators and in several news outlets (e.g. Press & Sun-Bulletin), all revenue to the Trail Fund will be stripping during the 2005-6 fiscal year, into the state’s General Fund leaving nothing to start an ATV Trail Program. (Since the final line-item-appropriation Budget bills have not been published on the web yet, we do not have the text showing the appropriation out of the Trail Fund to the General Fund. We will work to obtain the relevant text from the Legislature for you in the coming days.)

It is imperative that we all get in touch with our Senators and Assembly Members to demand that a subsequent Bill is passed to provide at least a minimum of funding necessary this year to afford:

• Immediate start-up ATV Program staff member(s), and
• Enough cash to purchase a General Liability Policy to cover private land trails and clubs that are ready NOW to open trails
  ...before any sweeping of our registration money to the General Fund occurs.

The Legislature estimates revenue from the $15 increase of $2.5 million in the 2005-2006 fiscal year (4/1/05-3/31/06). NYSORVA estimates the first-year start-up costs for a functional ATV Program including the most basic insurance policy to be at the bear-minimum to be $300,000, with no trail funding grants. Costs will escalate greatly in 2006+ as trail development ramps up, requiring all available funds to be channeled through the Trail Fund.

The ATV Trail Funding Program is expected to be under the jurisdiction of the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), and the agency has stated that it will be unable to begin work in developing the Program until late in 2006 if all anticipated Trail Fund revenues for fiscal-year 2005-2006 are swept to the General Fund.

With the creation of the Trail Fund, the ATV community has scored an important win in being recognized as a legitimate recreational group that deserves the tools it needs to succeed in its goals. But it is our job to make sure that this results in more than just a recognition of our ability to fund state government with ATV taxes, but results in a functioning ATV PROGRAM that we need in place to distribute our funds for trail development, to secure insurance, to enhance enforcement, and to work cooperatively with our organizations and municipalities to promote related programs such as safety education.

Help remains available at www.nysorva.org/legislation/ to aid you in obtaining the contact information for your elected officials. Tell them to make sure the newly-restored Trail Fund has not been established in vain, nor should it become a repeat of the 1990 Trail Fund rip-off.

Thank you all for your efforts over these many years toward our common goals.