Two New Off Road Parks In N.C.

Ray VanBuren said:
Got a reply from my senator:
Thanks for your note. I do support you and appreciate you letting me know a bit more about the definitions. I will be watchful of the bill when it comes up but please do the same and let me know if you see changes that are bad along the way. Most legislation will go thru several versions. You can always find the newest version online at www.ncleg.net Thanks again. Debbie
Senator Debbie Clary
105 D-02 Northshore Court
Cherryville, NC 28021
704.480.1407 Local Office
919.715.2002 Raleigh Office
Click to expand...
Wow a real answer
 
IF you take the time to email your Senator an incisive, non emotional, well thought out and written email and recieve a generic response, you should reply that you would like more than a generic reply, that you would like to know how the Senator stands on the bill.

If you recieve a generic reply to a mass email to the entire Commerce Committee I have no problem getting a generic reply.

Generic/mass emails = generic response
Personal email = should equal personal response

Remember, they work for US!
 
I got this response today,

Robert, thank you for your thoughts. I will keep them in mind when we
consider this legislation.



Neal Hunt
Deputy Republican Senate Leader
 
Yea im receiving the generics too.

"Justin, thank you for your thoughts. I will keep them in mind when we consider this legislation. "

Glad they are "keeping them in mind"
 
yeah I think we're all getting the same message whether its a well written unique email or a copy/pasted one.
But I bet the have staffers who are keeping count of their emails pro/against things.
At least we're writing and not letting it fall off.
Thanks John for the tip.
 
just got this one:

Thank you for writing about Senate Bill 45. I believe the proposal
has great merit, and I plan to support the bill when it comes up for a
vote.

Phil Berger
 
This was posted on the SFWDA Forum. Just want us to be aware of things that we can talk about when we email our reps!

"This bill (S45) and its companion in the House (H86) appear to be the same as the one first trotted out by representative Crawford in the 2007 session (H2008). At that time, it was my understanding that the prime movers were the North Carolina Motorcycle Dealers Association and the North Carolina Sheriff's Association. The motorcycle dealers were tired of people buying dirt bikes and ATVs from out of state to avoid state sales tax and the Sheriffs were tired of not having a way to identify and prosecute trespassing ATV riders. It's probably safe to assume the situations and motivations remain the same.
If you take the time to read Section 2 of these bills, you will see how these specific issues are addressed. Law enforcement gets license plates on ATVs and dirt bikes so it's easier to track down the scofflaws and also there's a bonus for them in the "disposition of fees" section. It specifies that a portion of ORV Trust Fund fees go to law enforcement - so they get some cash out of the deal too. Sweet! For them anyway... Unfortunately for us it doesn't say what that portion is and I'm betting dollars to donuts that there will be more spent on enforcement than on actual trail. After all, we're talking about government here - one REALLY does need a helicopter to patrol trails effectively! The dealers also get the level playing field they want, since all ATV and dirt bike transactions (including private party transactions) will be subject to sales and use tax and title transfer fees. Not much advantage shopping for an out of state ATV via eBay or Craigslist if you still have to go down to the DMV and pay the same taxes and fees as if you had bought it at the local dealer!
Besides the two major players from 2007, I think there may be additional parties pushing this legislation in 2009 - government bean counters and members of the General Assembly itself! I say "may" because I haven't talked to my rep about the story behind this year's version yet so I don't know for sure - but I do know that they are aware that the counties are missing out on millions of dollars of property tax every year due to people not listing their dirt bikes and ATVs. They don't know exactly how much because no one really knows the magnitude and makeup of the unlisted property. This registration scheme will take care of that little problem! Also keep in mind that the ORV Trust Fund bills say only $10 of the $25 (or $32 in some cases) collected for each ATV/dirt bike will go into the ORV Trust Fund - the remaining $15 or $22 of each registration will get sucked into the black hole we call government. That $15 or $22 per bike probably isn't much compared to the property tax on the bike but hey - there's a projected 2 billion dollar shortfall in the state budget and every little bit helps!
We desperately need more OHV areas in this state and with some tweaking, these bills could look a lot more favorable (e.g., set percentage spent on actual trail instead of co-mingling trail and enforcement monies - and more than two OHV parks on state land!!!) but unfortunately if these ORV Trust Fund bills pass as currently written it will be more of a bane than a blessing for the off-road community. They aren't really about building OHV areas - they're mostly about controlling and extracting revenue from a group with little political clout. Sure, DENR will study a couple areas and maybe eventually come up with a few miles of trail in each. But I predict it's going to be mighty expensive trail when you figure how much money will be extracted from dirt bike and ATV riders' pockets. The cost per mile will be shocking. "
 
Another thing we need to be doing is replying to the replys, especially the generic replys, asking them to tell us what they think about changing the wording to include full sized OHVs and whether they view this as a bill to provide recreation access for the state's OHV ownership or as a way to add as now uncollected revenue to the state's coffers!

Do not just delete the replys you get. Use them as a means of creating a dialogue with your representatives that will make a difference!
 
Something very cool, I got! A reply email from Jim Forrester's office...

Quote...

Scott,

I will support full-size, off road vehicles in the legislation.

Sincerely,

Jim

End Quote!
 
Just saw this, and sent mine:

Vice Chairman - Sen. Floyd B. McKissick

Dear Senator McKissick:

I would like you to vote for passage of N.C. Senate Bill 45 concerning the opening of two new offroad parks in North Carolina.

GS 20-63.4. North Carolina Off-Road Vehicle Recreation Program
(a) There shall be created within the Department of Environment and Natural Resources a North Carolina Off-Road Vehicle Recreation Program to coordinate the planning, development, and management of public off-road vehicle recreation areas, parks, trails, and facilities.
(b) In consultation with the State land managing agencies, off-road vehicle organizations, the off-road vehicle industry, and environmental organizations, the North Carolina Off-Road Vehicle Recreation Program shall review the inventory of public lands to determine the feasibility of providing public access for off-road vehicle recreation and trails. The Department shall provide a report to the 2010 Regular Session of the 2009 General Assembly by March 1, 2010. The report should include at least two appropriate locations for public access for off-road vehicle recreational use and the applicable cost of providing each facility. The cost section of the report shall fully explain the fiscal approach of renovating, maintaining, and operating each site and include a recommended fee structure to support the ongoing maintenance and operation of the program. The report shall also include the benefits and risks of offering each site for off-road vehicle recreational use.

These new areas are badly needed, as there are far too few such legal areas now, and even those are constantly in danger of being reduced or closed. There is a change in the wording that should be made, to include the following:

"Off-highway vehicle" or "OHV" means any off-road motorcycles, three or four-wheel all-terrain vehicles, four wheel drive motor vehicles intended by the user or owner to be used in recreational pursuits, or dune buggies."

This would ensure that the areas would include all of the listed types of vehicles, and not exclude larger 4x4 vehicles.

Thank you for your assistance with this important matter.

(Me)
Durham, NC
 
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