Horse Permit Measure Killed

A bill that would require a permit to ride horses and run other pack animals on public lands died by a 9-24 margin on the Senate floor Tuesday.

Bill sponsor Sen. Tim Tucker, D-Porthill, said the bill would head off imposition of a federal fee. Permit holders would have been issued stickers for their horse trailers. The bill included an exemption for agricultural use of trailers.

“This is the probably the worst bill I’ve ever seen on this Senate floor,” said Sen. Stan Hawkins, R-Ucon, who called the it “the great hassle to the public bill.”

Tucker said the permit fee would maintain fragile trails and trailheads and said most recreational horse riders would voluntarily pay such a fee.