URGENT ACTION:  Contact Senate Transportation Committee Members
TOPIC:  All-Terrain Vehicle Legislation Headed Down Wrong Road

 

Last week the House passed a terrible ATV bill (HB 4022) that does not regulate the use of these machines on public lands, such as state parks and state forests, and allows their use on thousands of miles of paved roads.  The Senate Transportation Committee will take up ATV legislation tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. (Tuesday, January 27), and it appears they will attempt to pass the bad House bill with only minor changes.

 

This is URGENT: Contact the members of the Senate Transportation Committee TODAY and tell them that the House bill is totally unacceptable.  Tell them that the use of ATV's should be prohibited on ALL paved roads and in ALL state parks, state forests, and wildlife management areas.

 

Contact Information: All Senators and Delegates can be contacted toll free at 1-877-565-3447 (ask for your representive) or by email at cglagola@mail.wvnet.edu (be sure to put the representative's name in the subject box). A list of all Senators and Delegates can be found at  www.state.wv.us. Below are phone numbers and personal email addresses for committee members.

 

Senate Transportation Committee Members:
Chairman: Mike Ross 357-7973 cglagola@mail.wvnet.edu
Anita Skeens Caldwell 357-7957 ascaldwe@mail.wvnet.edu
Frank Deem 357-7970 fdeem@mail.wvnet.edu
Karen L. Facemyer 357-7855 kfacemyr@mail.wvnet.edu
Shirley Love 357-7849 shlove@mail.wvnet.edu
Andy McKenzie 357-7984 senatormckenzie@aol.com
Michael Oliverio, II 357-7919 cglagola@mail.wvnet.edu
Larry L. Rowe 357-7854 larrylrowe@larrylrowe.com
Randy White 357-7906 crwhite@mail.wvnet.edu

 

Background:

 

West Virginia is one of the few states that do not have ATV use and safety regulations.  After several attempts last year, the legislature failed once again to pass an ATV bill.  Last week the House passed the same weak version of a bill that failed last year (HB 4022), and we are told that the leadership in both the House and Senate want only a weak ATV regulatory bill.

 

HB 4022 would allow the use of these machines on public roads WITHOUT a painted centerline, which is the majority of the state road system. It also permits them to be driven on the shoulders of paved roads, "or as close to the berm as possible" for a distance of 25 miles!  Even the ATV manufacturers have opposed this bill in the past because it is their recommendation that their vehicles NOT be driven on any paved roads.

 

HB 4022 does NOT contain language that gives DNR or other state agencies the power to regulate ATV use on public lands, such as state parks, forests and wildlife management areas.

 

The bill is also extremely weak on the safety issue, requiring the wearing of helmets only for children, with no requirement that children wear helmets when riding on private land.

 

All in all, this is a terrible bill.  Please contact Senate Transportation Committee members and demand a stronger bill.

 

Contacts for information on this issue:
 Don Garvin, WVEC, 533-2969, DSGJR@aol.com
 Conni Lewis, WVEC, 543-5811, connigl@aol.com

 

NOTE ABOUT WVEC ACTION ALERTS: We know you receive a lot of email, so it is the policy of the West Virginia Environmental Council to send you our Action Alerts only when the issues are truly important and only when there is specific important action you can take to help.

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