Nevada off-road bill goes to Assembly money committee

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.

The bill would require owners of off-highway vehicles, ATVs, snowmobiles, dune buggies and all-terrain motorcycles to register their vehicles and obtain a registration decal that must be in plain sight.

Most western states, including California, Utah and Idaho require OHV owners to register their vehicles.

Supporters said the registration process would allow the state to recoup lost sales tax revenue.

Leah Bradle, representing the Nevada Powersports Dealers Association, said Nevada residents purchase OHVs out of state to avoid paying sales tax, resulting in “millions of dollars” in lost revenue to the state.

Owners would have to show proof that they paid sales tax to register the vehicles.
The registration decal was important to several committee members who support the bill.
Assemblyman Jerry Claborn, D-Las Vegas, said it will help identify “bad apples” who damage public or private lands.

“This will finally give us a way to catch them,” Claborn said.

The bill also would create a Commission on Off-Highway Vehicles and the Fund for Off-Highway Vehicles. State officials estimate there are about 227,000 off-highway vehicles in Nevada.

Farrokh Hormazdi, DMV deputy director, said his office still has concerns about costs associated with implementing the registration program and would address those in the Ways and Means hearing.

Source: http://www.rgj.com/article/20090519/NEWS11/90519070/1321/NEWS

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