Jerry Weier's OHV Bill & the Perils of it's Passage

UPDATE: The Governor signed this bill into law on 6/27/08.

The Senate's passage of this Off-Highway Vehicle (ATV) bill is horrible news; now the bill goes straight to the Governor. I have voiced my opposition to this bill in the past and am inspired to do so again at this time after recievng an email praising the legislation from an otherwise well-informed constituent.

Though this bill has multiple provisions; the one mentioned most by the print media is a provision that creates a special designated fund to mark appropriate riding trails and allows a new licensing fee to be collected to fill the fund. I seriously doubt that the monies collected from the new licensing fee will ever be used for this purpose but intead will be stolen by members of the legislature and used to balance the budget. As you well know, in the past two budget cycles the legislature has robbed from almost every designated fund in existence and with the state of this economy, I do not see this practice coming to an end.

Another problem with this bill is the lack of definable terms. This bill will not only fine but also criminalize people who unknowingly damage desert landscape or impede riparian ways, without defining what “damage” means. (Impeding a riparian way is defined in other AZ statute as blocking it even 99 %.) Game and Fish officials admitted during committee testimony that they could not provide a definition of damage, but would know it when they see it. This is poorly drafted legislation…terms of abuse or damage should be defined. Without these definitions I fear that employees of government agencies will be instructed to pursue ticketing with giddy abandon in order to fulfill their empty coffers. Excuse my cynicism; it is a result of acknowledging the truth of the state of the government.

The intent of this bill is admirable; the execution of the bill is deplorable. I attempted to offer solutions to improve this bill including stripping all provisions with the exception of the new licensing fee. My thought was that at least Game and Fish could collect the monies for a time being until they had enough money to mark the trails. After this first step, then perhaps a fine for violations could be imposed. I strongly stand behind my judgment that this bill is bad for the citizens of Arizona and horrible for those in Mohave County…the intent of the measure I applaud but action on an issue is not enough. Something needs to be done to address the pillaging of our desert but this is not the answer.