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NM State Legislation
- Wrap-Up: The 2009 Legislative Session is History
Last Updated: May 12, 2009
The 2009 legislative session ended at noon on Saturday and we promised that we would send a quick wrap-up once the session was adjourned. NMOHVA and the OHV Community were active on two bills during the 2009 session. Here's how they turned out:
Senate Bill 379 (SB379)
SB379 is the bill changing the 2005 OHV Act. As introduced, SB379 was a horrible piece of anti-OHV legislation. In the six weeks since it was introduced, the OHV community's opposition made it possible to change or remove many items in the bill. By the time it had passed both the House and Senate, most of the bad provisions were gone. Thanks, once again, to everyone who called and emailed their legislators during the process. The Legislature definitely heard from the OHV community. It made a big impression and a huge difference in the final outcome. It is easy to forget that the original bill was truly awful. Remember - the bill once banned anyone under the age of 16 from riding an ATV at all.
The biggest change remaining in the final legislation is that the OHV program will be moved from the Tourism Department to the Department of Game & Fish. We will be contacting the Director of Game & Fish to offer our assistance. We want the OHV program to be successful in its new home. And of course, we will be watching how Game & Fish uses our Sticker Fund.
We will post a final version of the bill as soon as one is available.
House Bill 2 (HB2)
House Bill 2 is the state's budget for the coming year. When the bill left the House, it contained a line item that that robbed $500,000 from the OHV sticker fund to start an 'eco-tourism' initiative. We are happy to report that this item was removed by the Senate Finance Committee and our sticker fund is intact! Thanks to everyone who called and emailed. You were successful in preserving our sticker fund.
Thanks once again to each and all. Together, we made a difference.
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