Nevada

Guy Clifton

Gov. Jim Gibbons plans to veto a bill that would require owners of off-road vehicles to register them.

Senate Bill 394 quickly passed the Assembly Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday and was sent to the Assembly floor. If the measure passes both houses, the bill goes to the governor for signature.

“The governor has always stated he will not support any new fees and this bill imposes new fees,” said Jodi Stephens, Gibbons’ legislative director.

A state Assembly panel voted Tuesday for a bill requiring owners of off-road vehicles, or ORVs, to register their rigs with the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles.

SB394, endorsed by the Assembly Transportation Committee, would mandate that ORVs, such as all-terrain vehicles, snowmobiles, dune buggies and all-terrain motorcycles, be registered at an annual cost of $20 to $30. A titling fee would run about $28.

Nearly $7 million could be generated over the next two years from the registration, titling and other fees for about 227,000 off-highway vehicles in Nevada, according to DMV figures.

A bill to require registration of off-highway vehicles was endorsed Tuesday by an Assembly committee but must win approval in another before moving to a floor vote.

“This is going to have to be re-referred to Ways and Means,” said Assemblyman Kelvin Atkinson, chairman of the Assembly Transportation Committee that approved Senate Bill 394, which has been passed by the Senate.

The referral to the money committee during Tuesday’s Assembly floor session stemmed from Department of Motor Vehicles concerns about start-up costs how collected money will be managed.

An environmental group says it plans to sue two federal agencies, claiming a public lands management plan adopted last year for more than 17,000 square miles in Nevada amounts to "ecological disaster" for nearly a dozen protected species.

In a filing sent this week to the Bureau of Land Management and Fish and Wildlife Service, the Center for Biological Diversity gave 60-day notice of its intent to sue over the Ely Resource Management Plan unless measures are taken to remedy what it says are violations of the Endangered Species Act.

Nevada's status as the only state that doesn't register off-highway vehicles may be nearing an end, backers of a bill to be considered today say.

The Senate Finance Committee will consider Senate Bill 394 and its $400,000 in start up cost. Supporters emphasize that a registration program will be a moneymaker.

"The program will more than pay for itself once it's up and running," said Leah Bradle, executive director of the Nevada Powersports Dealers Association and a primary backer of the legislation.

CARSON CITY, Nev.—A state Senate panel voted Tuesday for a bill that would require owners of off-road vehicles, or ORVs, to register their rigs with the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles.

SB394, endorsed by the Senate Energy, Infrastructure and Transportation Committee, would mandate that ORVs, such as all-terrain vehicles, snowmobiles, dune buggies and all-terrain motorcycles, be titled by the DMV for $20. Owners would pay the same renewal rate yearly.

Officials at the U.S. Naval Air Station in Fallon are warning off-road vehicle enthusiasts to stay off their bombing ranges in Churchill County.

Maj. Will Mayberry of the station's Naval Strike and Warfare Center says training squadrons used the Bravo-16 range southwest of Fallon only sparingly in the past and rarely on the weekends. But he says the war on terrorism has increased the demand for training in desert areas similar to Iraq and Afghanistan.

He says ground forces are using live fire on the range and could potentially be training any time of the day or night, including weekends.

The Mesquite Police Department frequently receives reports of off-highway vehicles operating on private property without permission of the land owner.

A rider MUST have permission to ride an OHV on private property and may be subject to prosecution if found to be riding on private property without permission.

The City of Mesquite recently adopted an ordinance (Bill #415), which permits OHV’s to travel on designated public streets in order to reach an area open for OHV travel.

In the Old West, the cattlemen fought the sheep herders.

In the New Old West, it's the off-road drivers railing against the folks who moved to rural Nevada to enjoy scenic mountain views from the peace and quiet of their own front porches.

For years there's been trouble brewing in them thar hills around Pahrump and no one knows that better than Louis DeCanio and his peace-loving wife, who live almost side-by-side with ATV enthusiasts.