Here is a link to a local paper. <a target=new class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://www.recordonline.com/archive/2006/03/31/news-leadbrf1-03-31.html
">News Article</a>

Vince

 

Vince, the link isn't working for me.

 

yeah i got a letter in the mail today--saying that no trails --and you get a free year of registration if you paid the 30 last year,,but what the f-ck for, if theres no trails!?
and thats why, you only register once just to get the ownership in your name!

 

This is an outrage! Sounds like it is time to start registering those quads in PA folks and starting screwing NY like they are screwing us.

Also great work by NYTRO and NYSORVA. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-disgusted.gif[/img] I knew there was a reason I wouldn't give them my money.

 

I had a problem with the link also, but after a little looking around I found the article.


March 31, 2006

Budget ditches trails for ATVs


Albany - So much for something for everyone.

The Legislature's new budget agreement breaks a promise with ATV owners by wiping out any plans to develop public trails for them. That's after years of the state collecting fees that were meant to be used to blaze such trails.

"It's just wrong," said Assemblywoman Teresa Sayward, R-Essex County. "We've been collecting money for so long and have done nothing for the riders, not a dime."

Last year, lawmakers and ATV advocates agreed to raising the registration fee from $10 to $25 with the caveat that the money would be set aside for trail development.

The Legislature's budget agreement this week repeals trail development plans and orders the registration fees be swept into the state's general fund. It also reduces the registration fee back to $10.

Ottaway News Service

 

I'm not taking sides, but have to ask the obvious questions:

No state I'm aware of uses vehicle registration fees to benefit vehicles, it all goes into the general fund. Even though NY initially stated public trails would be developed from ATV registration, was legislation attached to the tax measure guaranteeing X funds would be devoted to public ATV facilities? Or was it another political 'promise' all of us in every state have heard, in one form or another, as the feds reduce revenue sharing with states and force tax increases down to state and muni levels to avoid a politically undesirable tax increase at the federal level?

 

Last year they committed some of the money for registration to doing a study to determine if trails were needed.

This year they completely caved to environazis and liberals and killed the whole program.

 

It is so dumb to have done this too. NY has the third or so most atv's in the nation. EVERY time I ride in PA I run into multiple groups of NY riders. Why? Because PA and PA laws are much freindlier than ours. I would love to see a study on how much $$ New Yorkers spend out of state to ride. We have plenty of land, and anything the state put into trails could be paid for by reggies and in turn would generate plenty of jobs, taxes, and revenue.

 

NYWheeler,
Thanks for putting the article up. I don't know why the link got screwed up.

georged,
Do a little research and you will find that there are States that use part of the registration fees for trail development.

Vince

 

I'm sure there are, but that's normally a budget allocation from general funds to that agency. Few government agencies at any level are allowed to earmark specific revenue such as registration revenue for operational expenses. While some budget committees will consider say 25% of registration revenue to be dedicated as an operational expense to build or maintain trails due to public demand, it still has to go into general funds and be allocated as budget line items for personnel, equipment and such. If there's no formal legislation, law, specifying that 25% has to be spent on trails, which generally means a lobbying body strong enough to ensure that expenditure by threat of a civil legal action, it's up to the discretion of the responsible committee to determine how the money is spent.

It sounds like NY enacted the tax through legislation without any allocation requirements directing it, or part of it, to be used for trails. So it goes into the general fund to be used for other demands. No recourse as the ATV lobby, such as it may be, doesn't have the horsepower to have the legislation amended to direct at least a portion of those registration fees to trails. I'd look at ATV lobby political support, number of ATV riders in relation to general population and see if the clout is there to have the tax legislation amended.