Senate panel kills ATV paved-road ban

BOISE – North Idaho all-terrain vehicle riders have at least one more year to cruise paved roads.

A Senate committee killed a bill Thursday that would have banned the off-road vehicles on city and county roads unless local officials passed rules to allow them.

Panhandle ATV riding groups and sheriffs lobbied against House Bill 187, contending it would cause confusion and hinder riders. But supporters said the move obstructs state efforts to comply with federal vehicle safety requirements and to regulate other unconventional vehicles.

Some counties, such as Kootenai and Shoshone, allow ATV riders with motorcycle license plates to ride on pavement as long as they follow traffic laws. Yet ATVs don’t meet federal vehicle safety standards, according to state transportation officials.

HB 187 aimed to bridge that discrepancy by creating an ATV-specific license plate and prohibiting ATVs on local roads unless officials allowed them. It would have allowed ATVs on all unpaved roads unless local governments restricted them, and an Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation sticker would still have been needed for driving on state and federal lands.

The House unanimously passed the bill without debate last week, but ATV groups lobbied senators for more time to negotiate a compromise. Jack Rupp, of the Wallace-based High Mountain ATV Association, told lawmakers that the current situation has worked for years and the bill would burden local government with creating unnecessary ordinances.

“We feel it will create mass confusion in every district,” said Rupp, who also represented the North Idaho ATV Association and Back Country ATV Association, groups he said encompass more than 1,000 North Idaho riders.

“Having to trailer your ATV is an inconvenience to many of us who live a short distance from a trailhead that we must access across paved roads,” Rupp said. “Most trailheads have little or no parking, and we fear the chaos and danger that will result in too many people parking at a trailhead.”

Sen. Joyce Broadsword, R-Cocolalla, said she has “constituents by the grossload who are unhappy about this legislation.” While supporters wanted uniform enforcement, the bill would have created a piecemeal approach, she said.

ATV riding is a “huge economic boon,” she said.

Sponsor Rep. JoAn Wood, R-Rigby, however, said rejecting the bill – also designed to regulate mopeds and utility vehicles, such as the John Deere Gator – would harm moped riders and dealers.

ITD spokeswoman Julie Pipal said the federal government could threaten to withhold transportation funds if the state does not comply with federal standards.

Kootenai County sheriff’s Capt. Ben Wolfinger said the non-ATV portions of the bill were beneficial. “It’s sad that it had to be killed, because I think it could have been fixed,” but lawmakers were short on time, he said.