Washington OHV'ers prepare to get SCREWED (or contact the legislature)

[bbbom]

Olympia is already off & running on lots of goodies to screw the off road community.

Here's a sample of bills underway:

One good one in the whole bunch: Unknown Companion Bill HB1003 Allowing Off-Road Vehicles on Non Highway Roads (One good bill afterall). This is the one that we tried to get passed last session but the lawmakers couldn't do their jobs so it died before final passage. We need to support this one early and it will help open up more riding for all of us, gives the ATV'ers more roads to ride on too which will hopefully take some pressure off of our trails.

HB 1029 Companion Bill SB 5031 ATV Age & Operator Certificate Basically both bills are the same, one in the house and one in the Senate. If passed, we would ALL be required to posses a safety certificate while riding, or prove that we have at least five years of ATV experience. Also, anyone between ages 12 and 16 would be prohibited from riding any thing over 90cc. Under 12 would be prohibited from riding anything over 70cc. My understanding is that this bill appleis to ATV's but I am NOT sure of that. Either way, if bikes aren't affected now, you can bet they will be soon enough!


SB 5099 Companion Bill Unknown Modifying Motor Vehicle Emission Standards (they want to Kalifornicate us). This may affect the Off-Road Community as well as on road. SB 5099 - DIGEST Provides that, on or before December 31, 2005, the department shall adopt rules, in accordance with the provisions of chapter 34.05 RCW, to implement the light duty motor vehicle emission standards of the state of California, and shall amend these rules from time to time, in accordance with changes in emission standards in California. These regulations shall be applicable to motor vehicles with a model year 2009 and later.

Provides that, after adoption of rules specified in this act, no vehicle shall be registered in the state for model year 2009 or later unless the vehicle: (1) Is consistent with the vehicle emission standards adopted by the department of ecology; or (2) Has seven thousand five hundred miles or more. Repeals 1991 c 199 s 229 (uncodified).


SB5089 Companion Bill HB 1455 Noise & Property Limits of 600 Ft for riding your ORV on YOUR land! This Bill makes it so you can not ride or operate an ORV with in 600 feet of your property line. It also has ORV vehicles must meet new sound muffling standards to 96db.
Sponsors:
Senators Sheldon, Fraser, Kline
HB 1455 - DIGEST
Limits use on lands zoned as residential within six hundred feet of another property owner's residence, or within six hundred feet of another property owner's barn, stable, penned area, or similar structure or confined area occupied by any livestock, as defined by RCW 16.36.005, in a repetitive manner or on a track for purposes of recreation or practicing for races, jumps, tests, or similar purposes.

Provides that a person who is guilty of violating this provision is subject on the first offense to a fine of not less than one hundred dollars. On each subsequent violation, the person is subject to twice the amount of fine as on the last infraction.

And drum roll please, for the infamous Thurston County:

Misappropriation of NOVA Funds (Senator Frazer)

Current issue that is in planning:
Senator Karen Fraser is a powerful member of the Senate Ways and Mean Committee responsible for crafting the capital budget legislation, the massive bill that handles billions of spending and hundreds of pages of legislative mumbo-jumbo. Ms. Fraser has proposed to the IAC and Thurston County that the State gives $1.6 million dollars of NOVA funds to Thurston County so the county can use that to pay back the $1.6 million they owe the IAC and more specifically, the NOVA account because they closed the Thurston County ORV Park. Some of the NOVA grants they received had clauses that require the county to pay back the money if they failed to keep the place open. Thurston County has refused to pay and the IAC is threatening to sue them. Senator Fraser represents the Thurston County area and also is always against motorized recreation, especially dirtbikes, so this is a natural combination for her.

Another perspective on the Fraser Bill:

$1.6 Million dollars taken from the state ORV fund and given to Thurston Co. so they can close the ORV Park forever! That's what Senator Fraser is proposing so 33,000 kids, who visited there in 2002, can be put on the streets. This is literally stealing from the victim to pay the robber's restitution. See article in today's Olympian for the details: http://www.theolympian.com/home/news/20050203/southsound/80927.shtml

She'll tell you they closed the park because of liability and health concerns but she won't tell you that more people die every year in other Thurston Co. parks than in the 25 year history of the ORV park. If this was really a concern she'd be working to end swimming and boating, activities that kill many many more people.

Please call and write Senator Fraser (and your representatives too) right away. Please make sure everyone you know does the same! Below is her address, phone numbers and a link to her senate web page:

Senator Karen Fraser
404 Legislative Building
PO Box 40422
Olympia, WA 98504-0422
Telephone: (360) 786-7642
Fax: (360) 786-1999

http://www1.leg.wa.gov/senate/fraser


Many of you remember Cle Ellum and some of the other areas we used to have. We've got to stop letting these people take away our riding opportunities without a fight! If you don't know who your district representatives are, follow this link and type in your address:

http://www.leg.wa.gov/DistrictFinder/Default.aspx

You can also respond via phone 1-800-562-6000 is the hotline for the legislature. Just call and they will ask you where you live, and take your opinion and pass it on to your representative and any other rep you specify. This works well.

The web page is
http://www1.leg.wa.gov/legislature
You can do the same thing from there, plus track these bills, see when they will be brought up in Committee, etc.

 

[Tod]

Thanks bbb for spreading the word! :cool:

Some clarifications:

HB1029 adds a definition of ATV as having, along with other things, 3 or 4 low pressure tires. Although it doesn't currently apply to us, nothing precludes admendents revising that definition later.

SB5889 is really SB5089.

:uh:
Senator Fraser (not Frazer or Frasier) has never cared what we think and it is unlikely she would start now. Unless she represents your legislative district, I wouldn't make contacting her a top priority.

Contact your own Senator and both Representatives. After that contact everyone on the Senate Ways and Means Committee:

Margarita Prentice, Chair;
Karen Fraser, Vice Chair Capital Budget
Mark Doumit, Vice Chair Operating Budget
Joseph Zarelli
Dale Brandland
Darlene Fairley
Mike Hewitt
Jeanne Kohl-Welles
Linda Evans Parlette
Cheryl Pflug
Craig Pridemore
Marilyn Rasmussen
Debbie Regala
Pam Roach
Phil Rockefeller
Mark Schoesler
Pat Thibaudeau

You've got the info you need to get started, now get after it, your right to ride as you know it is dependant on your efforts.
:ride:

 

[bbbom]

Corrections made, thanks for the info Tod! :cool:

 

[HobRoff]

Noise & Property Limits of 600 Ft for riding your ORV on YOUR land! This Bill makes it so you can not ride or operate an ORV with in 600 feet of your property line.

It would be great if it were possible to drop the Cone of Silence over Your Property and the noise stopped at the property line but unfortunatly that is not an option hence this distance requirement, btw, it is 600 feet from a residence, structure, etc - not the property line. I guess a decent analogy could be 2nd had cigarette smoke, doesn't stop at the no smoking boundary - always loved Robin Williams line "Mind if I smoke?" "Nooooo, not at all, mind if I fart" :uh:

I think it is incredibly self-centered to believe that we as riders have the right to impose this form of harassment - noise, on a non riding neighbor who would like some peace and quiet - the golden rule ya know, I try to live by it - however minimal the returns. A responsible rider loads up the machine and heads for a sanctioned riding area - unfortunatly, my closest track was Thurston ORV, another story.

I don't know what the big deal on this one is - it has zero effect on any responsible rider that has kept up on current events and read the writing on the wall, 96db is becoming the national standard and nearly all production exhaust systems are meeting this, hats off to the snowmobile manufacturers on this one, the net loss to santioned riding ground from this ammendment appears to be nil as we are talking zoned residential only, the lack of riding areas i.e Thurston ORV is another separate issue. 600 feet - barely a two minute walk, if that - a 450 thumper with an aftermarket exhaust is still way loud at this distance, working in the woods, in the right air conditions I can here 'em coming miles away, naw - I don't have a problem with this - now raiding the NOVA funds, that is somethin worth fighting over.

More reading on the noise issue, also check out www.dirtrider.com search noise

http://www.sharetrails.org/index.cf...363,316,313,300,232,208,167,136,135,112,111,0

 

[bbbom]

So Hobroff, since you are not fortunate enough to own property where you can now ride, you don't want others to enjoy that luxury on their own property?

Just to put this little gem in perspective, in areas with smaller tracts of land, most structures aren't too far off of the property line. An acre of land measures 66' x 660'. With the 600' limit, assuming the nearest structure or affected area is on the property line, a person with anything less than 40 acres could not ride an OHV at all on their own property. With 40 acres of land, you could ride in a 3600 sf area in the center of the property (theoretically).

You say that riding on your own property is "harrassment:, what about lawnmowers, barking dogs, etc. are they held to any noise restrictions? As far as the Noise Problem with ORV's that is just another excuse that the anti-ORV people use to get areas closed down. I agree there are bikes (usually 4 strokes with "high performance exhaust" systems) that are way too loud but the "industry's" self admonishment on the noise issue to me is absolutely ludicrious. We bow to the noise restrictions and they will find something else to complain about. The anti-ORVer's want us to GO AWAY period.

We need to stand up to this bull**** and say NO, we are sick of losing our RIDING areas and our PROPERTY rights.

Personally, this law will not affect me. I live in the middle of 70 acres and my closest neighbor is a 1/4 mile away (his house IS on the property line BTW). The other adjoining property is all privately owned timberland with no structures other than deer stands. My kids and their buddies ride at our place all the time and they will continue to do so with or without this bogus bill passing.

What this is about is NOT harrassment by the ORV'ers, it's harrassment by the anti-ORVers. This is just one more way to pick away at our right to ride. They win a little here, they win a little there. Hope you have a nice public riding area to ride in. My family and I will continue to fight for the public riding areas, the private riding areas, the private property rights AND win, lose or draw we will continue to ride on OUR property. Too bad not everyone can say the same thing.

 

[HobRoff]

From today's edition of the Christian Science Monitor, the best news source around: http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0210/p01s01-ussc.html

Your focus on the anti-OHV'ers is ok but their ranks will be swelling if the noise issue is not seriously addressed.

My mission is access and getting more riding areas established - there is a group referenced in one of the BRC articles trying to ban backcountry skiiers - to protect the wolverine habitat, this seems about as extreme as it gets and this is where I will put my energy. When there is snow, I like to head for the backcountry with my skis.

There are RCW's for lawn mowers, dogs, Harley's with straight pipes etc and a 55 db limit, not sure what numbers they are but I will try and look them up.

I have acreage that I live on where I could put a decent SX type track and probably will, but I will be running the quietest mini on it that I can build, and I have homes on acreage for sale, one of which may be a tough sell do the rampaging kids tresspassing on the adjoining lot with their quads.

Gotta head for the hills, literally.

Take Care

 

[Tod]

it has zero effect on any responsible rider that has kept up on current events and read the writing on the wall, 96db

BULL..... :uh:
This will impact anyone riding within 600 feet of anyone else's buildings regardless of how quiet your bike is.

I have acreage that I live on where I could put a decent SX type track and probably will, but I will be running the quietest mini on it that I can build,

Won't matter, you'll still be a criminal (see first comment)

kids tresspassing on the adjoining lot with their quads

Sad deal, but trespassing is already against the law. If this a reason to support this legislation, why?

Most importantly, by banning quiet bikes, you are criminalizing behaviour that by your own admission, should not be a problem.

Just another case of throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

As written, HB5089 and HB1455 are bad pieces of legislation.

 

[dual-sporter]

thanks for bringing this up. i got to get on the ball & call my whacko democrap legislators.

i know it's been a while since i've been here, but it's been just as long since my XR started. been busy with my other activities.

 

[HobRoff]

As written, HB5089 and HB1455 are bad pieces of legislation

Well that seemed to be the general consensus at the hearing this last Friday, it looks like the decible limit will be changed and the distance requirement scratched at this time. Sorry for the delay in the update.

Room was packed with people opposing the 600 feet ammendment, pretty much everyone was ok with the decible change but pretty PO'd about the 600 feet, which is cool, that is what this process is all about, nearly everyone that testified that opposed the distance also stated that they totally sympathized with why this was even being debated, however, no one seemed to be forthcoming with an alternative.

There seemed to be a pretty strong feeling for forming a group of all the interested parties and drafting wording that will work for everybody, a tough job that I would like to be in on.

This is a problem that is only going to get worse as far as people complaining about the noise issue, and for the most part we are not talking envrionmentalists or anti-ORV'er's here, just folks that are pissed that their equal rights as property owners are not being respected, do a general search on noise pollution and check out the results, I just did and got back over a million links. Seems to me as a dirtbiker, instead of always being on the defensive and running around putting out spot fires that this would be a good opportunity to write some good legislation, its a bummer to even consider another rule to impose but it seems smart to me to try and head this off before another poor law gets passed and it will, I face this every year in the Timber industry.

 

[Tod]

Thanks for the first hand report Hobroff!

Even though the House version (HB1455) had strong opposition, the companion bill in the Senate (SB5089) has been voted out of committee and moves to the full Senate next.

 

[Tod]

HB1455 has been revised to just form a committee to study the issue.
:blah:

SB5089 is unfortunately still alive and ready for a vote of the Senate.
:think:

 

[Tod]

SB5089 is now ESB5089 and is the same as HB1455, just a study. It has passed the Senate (40Y - 4N) and probably easily pass through the House in it's current form.

 

[Tod]

just an update:

HB1029 (ATV regulation) has died in the Senate Transportation Committee.

ESB5089 is still alive, but for now, it's just kind a hanging in limbo in the House Rules Committee.

So far, so good.
We've turn a big list of bad legislation into a much smaller one.