AFTER HEATED DEBATE, HOUSE APPROVES REVIVED OHV FEE BILL
NOTE: Leads throughout to UPDATE with bill winning final approval Thursday and being sent back to the Senate.
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By GRAYSON STEINBERG
Cronkite News Service
PHOENIX (Thursday, April 3) _ The House has approved and sent to the Senate revived legislation that would create a registration fee for off-highway vehicles after a heated debate in which a lawmaker condemned provisions that would make certain types of riding illegal.
“You are passing a bill to criminalize conduct that none of us can define,” said Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Gilbert. “That’s utter nonsense.”
The bill, which passed Thursday on a 42-13 vote, would make off-highway vehicle owners pay a $20-$25 annual registration fee, which would help repair damaged landscapes, educate riders and fund additional law enforcement. It would also make certain activities misdemeanors, including driving off paths in a manner that damages wildlife, property or natural resources.
Biggs offered six floor amendments Wednesday during a session of the House Committee of the Whole, and the committee rejected each before granting preliminary approval. In pointed questions put to Rep. Jerry Weiers, R-Glendale, the sponsor, and other bill supporters, Biggs said that without specifics about what would be illegal citizens would be vulnerable to prosecution for offenses they didn’t know they had committed.
“We ought to be able to define that conduct and do it in statute,” Biggs said. “There’s nothing outlandish about that. There really is a lack of concern in many respects for the public here.”
Biggs’ amendments attempted to strike provisions he considered vague about illegal activity, cap the fee at $25 and add a clause requiring that the bill receive a two-thirds majority vote to pass the House and Senate.
Weiers called the amendments an effort to destroy the legislation. He said state law already defines the abuses to which the bill refers.
“The fact is if we do nothing, if this bill doesn’t pass, if areas close down, people are going to continue to ride and everyone becomes criminals,” Weiers said. “That’s what we’re trying to stop.”
Rep. Trish Groe, R-Lake Havasu City, also offered an amendment that she said would strike out portions of the bill she thought were too vague. That proposal failed.
Rep. Tom Prezelski, D-Tucson, said the bill’s intentions are obvious about what would be illegal.
“I’m asking for common sense,” Prezelski said. “I think we all know what damaging the environment means. We know exactly what type of behavior we’re prohibiting with this bill.”
Weiers’ original bill made it through the House once before but died before a Senate committee. Weiers revived it with a strike-everything amendment to SB 1167, which originally dealt with funeral processions.
A bipartisan group of lawmakers and a coalition of environmental organizations, off-roading enthusiasts and other groups supported the original off-highway bill, saying it would help preserve landscapes and protect the sport.Last year, Weiers sponsored a bill with the same provisions that failed in the Senate by one vote. A similar bill died in 2006.
Weiers said in a phone interview that legislators have overwhelmingly expressed support for the bill, leaving him hopeful it will win approval.
“I believe, given a fair shake, people will quit playing games … and we can get on the right track to allowing people to ride responsibility,” Weiers said.
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CAPTION FOR BC-CNS-OFF-HIGHWAY FEE: An area of the Tonto National Forest near Mesa is scarred by an illegal trail made by off-road vehicles. The House gave preliminary approval Wednesday to a bill that would make OHV users pay an annual registration fee that would be used to repair damaged landscapes, educate riders and fund additional law enforcement. It also would make certain types of riding, including damaging the environment, misdemeanors. (Cronkite News Service Photo/Nora Avery-Page)