How To Register A Side By Side In New Hampshire For The Road

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January 28, 2010		2010-R-0032
CONNECTICUT AND NEW HAMPSHIRE ATV LAWS
By: Meghan Reilly, Legislative Analyst

You asked for a summary of laws requiring all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) to exist registered with the state, the reasons why people oppose these laws, the reasons why people oppose allowing ATVs on state land, and an assay of whether charging people to drive ATVs on country land could generate significant acquirement for the state. You also wanted to know almost New Hampshire ' s ATV registration laws and fees, and how the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services assesses the ecology impact of ATV utilize on land land.

SUMMARY

Connecticut residents must register ATVs they ain and operate hither unless they intend to do so but on land they own or lease. The registration fee is $14 for a ii-year registration, plus the $10 Make clean Air Human activity fee. Connecticut has non fabricated state country bachelor for ATV use, even though the police force authorizes certificates for using ATVs on state land.

In 2008, the Environment Commission heard testimony on bills requiring all ATVs to be registered and allowing people to utilize them in state parks. Opponents of universal registration claimed ATV owners have no incentive to comply with registration laws unless ATVs were permitted in state parks. People who opposed ATV employ in land parks claimed that it would harm the environment.

New Hampshire police force requires ATVs to be registered if operated off the owner ' southward property. The registration fee is $54 for a resident and $73 for a non-resident. Registration fee revenues are deposited in accounts used to create and maintain trails, aid ATV law enforcement, and fund related tasks. New Hampshire allows ATV use in state parks and has created a system of ATV trails on public and private country. It imposes no trail user fees.

New Hampshire ' due south experience suggests that ATV registration fees could generate pregnant acquirement if a state simultaneously imposes universal registration and expanded riding opportunities in the state, possibly on state park land. The country could generate additional revenue if information technology besides charged people for using ATVs on state belongings.

In New Hampshire, Trails Bureau Program Specialist Bill Gegas believes that using ATV registration fees to fund trails increased fee revenues and registration rates, and that the extensive trails bachelor on private property, off land park lands, is a relevant gene in evaluating the ATV experience in New Hampshire. He believes that the siting and maintenance process for trails protects the environment from damage. The agency is a unit inside the Department of Resources and Economic Evolution, which oversees state parks. The Section of Environmental Services focuses mainly on maintaining air and h2o quality and managing waste.

CONNECTICUT ATV LAW

Connecticut constabulary defines ATVs for motor vehicle registration and operation in state parks.

Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) Registration

By law, Connecticut residents cannot operate or allow others to operate ATVs off their holding without registering them with DMV. This requirement applies to whatsoever vehicle that is cocky-propelled, designed to travel over unimproved terrain, and unsuitable for operation on public highways, as adamant by the motor vehicle commissioner. Vehicles meeting these criteria are ineligible for a regular motor vehicle registration, but must obtain special registration (CGS �� 14-379, xiv-380).

Nonresidents may operate or let others to operate an ATV without registering if the possessor holds a valid, effective registration certificate issued past some other country or past the United States and these jurisdictions grant substantially similar privileges to Connecticut residents. The registration fee for a snowmobile or ATV is $14 for a two-year registration, plus a $10 Clean Air Act fee.

One time the commissioner receives a registration application and evidence of ownership by affidavit or document, he must assign an identification number to the ATV and give the owner a registration document and registration plate. The owner must put the plate on the vehicle as the commissioner prescribes. He or she must as well brandish the registration number on each side of the ATV ' s front section, midway between the superlative and bottom, in letters that are at least three inches high and made of reflective textile. The registration certificate must be carried on the ATV and exist available for inspection whenever information technology is being operated (CGS � xiv-381).

The owner of a registered ATV must notify the commissioner in writing inside 48 hours after changing his or her address. The owner must too notify the commissioner in writing within 24 hours after (1) transferring all or any part of his interest in the ATV, other than the creation of a security involvement or (2) destroying or abandoning it. The possessor must also surrender the registration certificate and plate. If someone transfers buying of an ATV and surrenders its registration document, he or she may register another ATV in his or her name for the remainder of the registration period. The fee for transferring a registration is $3.50 (CGS � 14-382).

Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Certification for Performance on State Land

Too defining ATVs for registration purposes, Connecticut also defines them for use on country land. That definition applies to a narrower range of vehicles. Under that definition, an ATV is a motorized vehicle not suitable for operation on a highway and that (ane) is not more than than 50 inches wide, (2) has a dry out weight of no more than 600 pounds, (three) travels on 2 or more tires specifically designed for unimproved terrain, (4) has a seat or saddle designed to be straddled by the operator, and (five) has an engine with a piston displacement of more than 50 cubic centimeters (CGS � 23-26a).

Past law, the DEP commissioner must evaluate and make bachelor state property for ATV. She must practice and then with respect to the properties inside and outside her jurisdiction. When evaluating a property, the commissioner must consider minimizing the affect of ATVs on the environment and consult with the agency that has jurisdiction over the property (CGS � 23-26c). To date, the commissioner has non designated any belongings for ATV employ.

If the commissioner were to make state state available for ATV utilize, ATV operators would have to

1. obtain a document,

2. register with the DMV,

3. consummate a DMV safety course if under age eighteen (CGS � 23-26b),

iv. be supervised by an adult if betwixt ages 12 and 16 (CGS � 23-26e), and

v. comply with regulations (CGS � 23-26f).

The regulations would have to: (1) constitute standards and procedures for certification of ATV operators and the utilise of ATVs on country land; (ii) set a sufficient fee to embrace costs of implementing the certification program; and (three) plant safety requirements for operating ATVs on land state, including provisions on noise levels. Rubber regulations must be adopted in consultation with the consumer protection commissioner (CGS � 23-26f).

Under current law, a person operating an ATV on state land may be guilty of criminal trespassing if he or she, knowing that he or she is non licensed or privileged to do so, enters or remains on:

ane. public country afterwards an authorized state or municipal official personally orders him or her to leave or not to enter (1^st caste, a class A misdemeanor) (CGS � 53a-107);

two. public land (2^nd degree, a class B misdemeanor) (CGS � 53a-108); or

3. public land that is posted in a manner as prescribed by law or reasonably likely to come to the attention of intruders, or fenced or otherwise enclosed in a manner designed to exclude intruders (iii^rd degree, a class C misdemeanor) (CGS � 53a-109).

Public Reaction to Nib Authorizing ATV Use on State Country

Public comments on registering all ATVs and permitting them on state land were expressed in 2008 when the Environs Committee heard HB 5602, which would take expanded the DEP commissioner ' s duty to evaluate country property for ATV use. The nib required the commissioner to designate at least four trails on land land for ATV use. It likewise required the DMV commissioner to create and implement a system for registering ATVs at least 180 days before these trails were fix to open up.

The bill required anyone ownership an ATV to pay a "trail user" fee of 1% of the total purchase price, exclusive of the sales taxation. The fee revenue had to exist deposited in an account the bill created specifically to fund (one) trail choice, maintenance, alteration, design, and repair; (2) DEP administrative costs; and (3) a grant program.

Representative Sawyer supported the bill ' s provisions to create riding areas for ATV users, citing the lack of riding space.

Martin Mador of the Connecticut Sierra Order, testified that opening trails to ATVs would distress others and that the bill ' southward failure to ensure registration was problematic. David Bingham testified that ATV drivers were abusing land trusts and that he did not desire to encourage more ATV utilise in the state. He supported a stricter registration police. Bob Andrews of the Connecticut Forest Land Council and DEP ' s Conservation Advisory Council supported mandatory registration but believed current ATV owners were causing massive environmental harm. Susan Mentser, Co-President of Friends of Connecticut State Parks, did non support allowing ATVs in state parks due to their environmental effects.

Speaking in favor of the bill, Ali McKeen said that the DEP should create more than miles of trails for riders and that mandating registration without creating trails would not encourage riders to register, despite the law. Ralph DeLuco, Vice-President of the Connecticut Motor Sports Concern Association, supported the bill ' due south provisions expanding riding opportunities in the state. Doug Nagan, representing Lewis Davidson, the President of the Connecticut Motor Sports Business organization Association, supported opening up more land for riding. Keith Libby, owner of Libby ' southward Motor Globe in New Haven, testified that his customers would register their ATVs if trails were available in Connecticut.

Several people focused on tying new trails to universal ATV registration, regardless of where they would be used. In written testimony, the DEP commissioner expressed concern that the beak would not provide plenty funding to create special trails for ATVs, and urged afterthought of universal registration. Representative Widlitz and former DEP Deputy Commissioner David Leff each supported a universal registration mandate.

The Environment Committee heard the neb on Feb 27, 2008. The committees on environs, transportation, and appropriation favorably reported the bill. The Finance, Revenue, and Bonding Committee took no activeness on it.

NEW HAMPSHIRE ATV Police force

Registration Requirement

As in Connecticut, New Hampshire requires ATV registration only if the owner intends to operate the vehicle on someone else ' s land. To operate an ATV off the owner ' s holding, the possessor of the ATV must register it and attach plate or decals securely on the front and rear of the vehicle, in an unobstructed way, as high as possible or at a location designed by the manufacturer. Operators must carry the registration document and, when requested by an authorized officer, show proof of registration and personal identification (N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. � 215-A:21).

Registering an ATV does non constitute a license to operate the vehicle on private land; rather, anyone operating an ATV on some other person ' due south country must finish and identify himself or herself upon the asking of the landowner or landowner ' s representative and, if requested, promptly remove the ATV from the premises (N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. � 215-A:21). A landowner who grants permission for a grant-in-assist trail to be located on his or her belongings retains the correct to constitute the inclusive dates during which performance is exist permitted (N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. � 215-A:31).

All ATV registrations expire on July 1 annually (N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. � 215-A:21).

Registration Fees and Distribution

Tabular array 1 shows the registration fees for resident and non-resident ATV riders, respectively and how the fee revenue is divided between the Trails Bureau and the Fish and Game department.

Table 1: ATV Resident and Non-Resident Registration Fees and Distribution

Fee Full and Revenue Distribution		Resident	Not-Resident
Fee		$54.00	$73.00
Fee Distribution
Amanuensis Fee		$2.00	$ii.00
Fish and Game Rescue		$1.00	$one.00
Trails Bureau		$31.30	$39.10
	Grant-in-Assistance Equipment Grants	$5.00		$5.00
	Grant-in-Assistance Maintenance Grants	$11.00		$17.00
	Trails Bureau Operations	$10.30		$12.ten
	Trail Maintenance	$iii.00		$three.00
	Land Purchase	$2.00		$two.00
Fish and Game		$19.seventy	$30.xc
	Registration Police force Enforcement Prophylactic Educational activity	$nine.70		$xi.90
	Contract Constabulary Enforcement	$x.00		$19.00

Source: http://www.nhtrails.org/trail-uses/atvs/atv-registration%xx.aspx

Whatsoever funds either appropriated for or allocated to the trails bureau ' due south grant-in-aid plan must be kept in a dissever business relationship to be used to benefit the ridership of off-highway recreational vehicles, including ATVs. Any unexpended balance remaining in the account at the end of the fiscal year does not lapse. V dollars from each registration fee must be used to buy trail maintenance equipment, and all remaining funds must be used for trail maintenance and construction (N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. � 215-A:31).

The bureau may grant funds to clubs and political subdivisions for constructing and maintaining public trails and facilities. The agency volition make grants on such terms every bit it deems necessary and make up one's mind what trails and facilities are eligible (Due north.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. � 215-A:31).

Funds appropriated for the bureau must be used for:

1. preparing publications;

2. acquiring and maintaining trails and facilities;

iii. purchasing land, easements, and rights-of-way and amalgam new trails; and

4. other budget purposes (N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. � 215-A:31).

Funds appropriated to the fish and game department must be used for:

i. enforcing of ATV laws;

2. training programs;

iii. registration;

4. other budgeted purposes; and

5. contracting with country, county, and local law enforcement agencies to enforce ATV laws (Northward.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. � 215-A:31).

Balancing Environmental Protection and ATV Apply

Trails on state lands incorporate just a role of the country ' south greater picture of ATV trails, Bureau of Trails programme specialist Bill Gegas stated. Regarding ATVs ' environmental impact, ATV trails on state lands are allowed to be established only where it is felt to be most appropriate under the state ' s environmental laws, he explained. All trails are regularly maintained, and environmental reviews are performed for proposed new trails when required.

New Hampshire police tacitly acknowledges the tension between preserving and protecting land and allowing the land to exist used for ATV operation and other purposes. According to the law, it is in the public interest to balance the demand for ATV trails on land lands with the need of (1) non-motorized recreational trail users, (2) goals for managing state lands, and (3) protecting wildlife and ecology (N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. � 215-A:41). Consequently, the bureau works with other state agencies to develop a trail system that:

1. uses, to the greatest extent possible, individual lands, nether voluntary agreement with landowners;

two. uses public lands that tin can host ATV trails that are compatible with existing uses and management goals and plans;

iii. is managed cooperatively with formally established ATV clubs;

4. is regularly monitored for overuse, compliance with laws and regulations, and environmental degradation, with curtailment of trail utilise when such weather condition exist;

5. ensures safe and legal apply through enforcement of all laws; and

6. provides opportunities for public input in all decisions regarding development of new or significantly revised trail systems on state lands.

The state achieves these goals by using registration fee revenues to create ATV trails. Further DRED must permit ATV users on all trails under its jurisdiction, so far equally possible and consistent with each trail ' s primary functions. Users must pay park fees and comply with parks rules (N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. � 215-A:31).

ATV REGISTRATION AS A REVENUE SOURCE

By requiring state country to be open to registered ATV users, public hearing testimony and experience in New Hampshire suggest that the registration fee revenue could increase if Connecticut allowed ATV use on state property. Opponents counter that the ecology cost would be also slap-up to justify the extra revenue the fees would generate.

New Hampshire appears to have endorsed the fee approach. A 2003 study recommended purchasing state specifically for ATV use. Subsequently, the legislature created a $2 land purchase fee fastened to all ATV registrations, the proceeds of which were used to purchase vii,500 acres of timber holding in Berlin, New Hampshire primarily for establishing ATV trails. Now, at that place are roughly fifty miles of trails inside Jericho Mountain Land Park (JMSP) with a planned build-out of nearly to 150 miles. JMSP was created specifically for ATVs.

JMSP can exist considered "a big success," co-ordinate to Gegas. JMSP has fatigued many resident and not-resident riders on its own, the other trails on state lands have contributed to the increase in registrations and state revenues, including registrations and money from Connecticut residents, he stated.

New Hampshire ATV registration revenue does non, however, benefit the state ' s full general fund. According to Gegas, "in New Hampshire, the maintenance of ATV trails (on state and individual state) is funded through registration fees (no general funds), and through the Federal Recreational Trails Program."

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Source: https://www.cga.ct.gov/2010/rpt/2010-R-0032.htm

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