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 On Wednesday, March 27, NHOHVA attended a public hearing discussing two pending New Hampshire Senate bills.
The first bill discussed was Senate Bill 250, a bill attempting to allow interconnecting trails in Coos County. NHOHVA was there in support of this bill. NHOHVA has a strong commitment to developing new trails and any advance in that direction is ultimately good for our sport.
The second bill discussed was Senate Bill 366. Here is some history on Senate Bill 366:
SB366 was originally introduced to allow a properly registered OHRV to replace the wheels with tracks, cleats or skis (or a combination thereof), that also fits the definition of a snowmobile and pay an additional registration fee of $16.00 to operate as a snowmobile. NHOHVA thinks this is a great idea and we fully support this bill as it was originally introduced.
Then a Senate Amendment was made to allow Maine and Vermont riders to ride New Hampshire trails without a New Hampshire OHRV registration requirement. NHOHVA does not support this amendment and we testified to that fact before the Transportation committee.
Not only will the reduced registration equate to a reduction in revenue for trail maintenance and safety, but with more OHRVs using our trails the maintenance requirements will increase. So it will leave us with more expenses and less money to cover those expenses. NHOHVA feels that this is an unworkable formula.
A lot of the testimony given in support of the amendments revolved around anecdotal evidence about the 2012 Maine Reciprocity weekend - a weekend where Maine snowmobile riders can ride New Hampshire trails without obtaining a New Hampshire registration. Some north country businesses testified to experiencing increased sales this year on that weekend and wished that every weekend should be so good. However contradictory testimony was given indicating that the real draw for out of state OHRV users that particular weekend was the superior conditions New Hampshire had to offer compared to the conditions found in Maine and not the lack of registration requirement.
Testimony was given that demonstrates excactly how the supporters of the amendment were fundamentally confused with cause and effect and that the amendment will untimately hurt north country businesses in the long run a lot more than it could ever help them in the near future. Basically this testomony said that the amendments will destroy the north country economy. Given the source and authority of this testimony, NHOHVA finds it to be quite convincing. The testimony outlined the economic downward spiral these amendments would surely cause. This projection would work something like this:
According to the testimony of several parties, New Hampshire has superior trail conditions to our neighboring states - especially our snowmobile trails. These superior trail conditions are a direct result of the grooming efforts of the snowmobile clubs in New Hampshire. These clubs rely on funding from state snowmobile registrations in order to accomplish this. With less registration funds coming in from maine and Vermont riders, there is less budget to groom the trails. With less budget to grrom the trails our trail conditions diminish. When our trails earn a reputation for diminished quality, then the entire tourist draw for all north country business is gone and the north country economy will be left in even worse shape than it is now.
When asked directly by any committe member, every party in favor of the amendments admitted that the intention was to bring more money to north country businesses. No supporter claimed that the intention was to benefit the OHV community and the sport in general. NHOHVA supports north country businesses and we feel for the economic plight of those businesses. However the amendments are not in the best interest of the sport, and that is the primary focus of NHOHVA. NHOHVA has a duty to the OHV community as a whole to look after their best interests and protect their legal rights and privileges.
NHOHVA's position on this bill is that we support the original bill as it was proposed but we are opposed to the Senate Amendments made to the bill.
NHOHVA would like to thank the House Transportation Committee for taking the time to hear all interested parties on this issue. A special thank you goes out to Chairman Representative Sherman Packard, Vice Chairman Representative John Hikel and Clerk of the Committee Representative Richard Hinch. Whatever the outcome of the decision, NHOHVA appreciates the New Hampshire legislative process and we are proud to be an integral component to the legislative machine.
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All OHRVs must be registered if operated in New Hampshire off the owner's property. A registration is a privilege to ride off of your own property on approved trails or with written landowner permission. There are no additional trail user fees in New Hampshire.
