BILL REQ. #:  H-1203.1 

Read first time 02/05/2003.   Referred to Committee on Fisheries, Ecology & Parks.

     AN ACT Relating to outdoor recreation programs; and amending RCW 46.09.020 and 46.09.170.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

Sec. 1   RCW 46.09.020 and 1986 c 206 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
     ((As used in this chapter the following words and phrases have the designated meanings unless a different meaning is expressly provided or the context otherwise clearly indicates:)) The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
     (1) "Person" means any individual, firm, partnership, association, or corporation.
     (2)(a) "Nonhighway vehicle" means any motorized vehicle when used for recreation travel on trails and nonhighway roads or for recreation cross-country travel on any one of the following or a combination thereof: Land, water, snow, ice, marsh, swampland, and other natural terrain. Such vehicles include but are not limited to, off-road vehicles, two, three, or four-wheel vehicles, motorcycles, four-wheel drive vehicles, dune buggies, amphibious vehicles, ground effects or air cushion vehicles, and any other means of land transportation deriving motive power from any source other than muscle or wind.
     (b) Nonhighway vehicle does not include:
     (((1))) (i) Any vehicle designed primarily for travel on, over, or in the water;
     (((2))) (ii) Snowmobiles or any military vehicles; or
     (((3))) (iii) Any vehicle eligible for a motor vehicle fuel tax exemption or rebate under chapter 82.36 RCW while an exemption or rebate is claimed. This exemption includes but is not limited to farm, construction, and logging vehicles.
     (3) "Off-road vehicle" or "ORV" means any nonhighway vehicle when used for cross-country travel on trails or on any one of the following or a combination thereof: Land, water, snow, ice, marsh, swampland and other natural terrain.
     (4) "ORV use permit" means a permit issued for operation of an off-road vehicle under this chapter.
     (5) "ORV trail" means a multiple-use corridor designated and maintained for recreational travel by off-road vehicles that is not normally suitable for travel by conventional two-wheel drive vehicles and is posted or designated by the managing authority of the property that the trail traverses as permitting ORV travel.
     (6) "ORV use area" means the entire area of a parcel of land except for camping and approved buffer areas that is posted or designated for ORV use in accordance with rules adopted by the managing authority.
     (7) "ORV recreation facility" includes ORV trails and ORV use areas.
     (8) "Owner" means the person other than the lienholder, having an interest in or title to a nonhighway vehicle, and entitled to the use or possession thereof.
     (9) "Operator" means each person who operates, or is in physical control of, any nonhighway vehicle.
     (10) "Dealer" means a person, partnership, association, or corporation engaged in the business of selling off-road vehicles at wholesale or retail in this state.
     (11) "Department" means the department of licensing.
     (12) "Hunt" means any effort to kill, injure, capture, or purposely disturb a wild animal or wild bird.
     (13) "Nonhighway road" means any road owned or managed by a public agency, or any private road for which the owner has granted a permanent easement for public use of the road, other than a highway generally capable of travel by a conventional two-wheel drive passenger automobile during most of the year and in use by such vehicles and that is not built or maintained with appropriations from the motor vehicle fund.
     (14) "Nonhighway road recreation facilities" means recreational trails and facilities that are accessed by nonhighway roads and are intended solely for nonmotorized recreational uses.
     (15) "Highway," for the purpose of this chapter only, means the entire width between the boundary lines of every way publicly maintained by the state department of transportation or any county or city when any part thereof is generally open to the use of the public for purposes of vehicular travel as a matter of right.
     (16) "Organized competitive event" means any competition, advertised in advance through written notice to organized clubs or published in local newspapers, sponsored by recognized clubs, and conducted at a predetermined time and place.

Sec. 2   RCW 46.09.170 and 1995 c 166 s 9 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) From time to time, but at least once each year, the state treasurer shall refund from the motor vehicle fund one percent of the motor vehicle fuel tax revenues collected under chapter 82.36 RCW, based on the tax rate in effect January 1, 1990, less proper deductions for refunds and costs of collection as provided in RCW 46.68.090. The treasurer shall place these funds in the general fund as follows:
     (a) Forty percent shall be credited to the ORV and nonhighway vehicle account and administered by the department of natural resources solely for planning, maintenance, and management of ORV recreation facilities, nonhighway roads, and nonhighway road recreation facilities. The funds under this subsection shall be expended in accordance with the following limitations:
     (i) Not more than five percent may be expended for information programs under this chapter;
     (ii) Not less than ten percent and not more than fifty percent may be expended for ORV recreation facilities;
     (iii) Not more than twenty-five percent may be expended for maintenance of nonhighway roads;
     (iv) Not more than fifty percent may be expended for nonhighway road recreation facilities;
     (v) Ten percent shall be transferred to the interagency committee for outdoor recreation for grants to law enforcement agencies in those counties where the department of natural resources maintains ORV facilities. This amount is in addition to those distributions made by the interagency committee for outdoor recreation under (d)(i) of this subsection;
     (b) Three and one-half percent shall be credited to the ORV and nonhighway vehicle account and administered by the department of fish and wildlife solely for the acquisition, planning, development, maintenance, and management of nonhighway roads and recreation facilities;
     (c) Two percent shall be credited to the ORV and nonhighway vehicle account and administered by the parks and recreation commission solely for the maintenance and management of ORV use areas and facilities; and
     (d) Fifty-four and one-half percent, together with the funds received by the interagency committee for outdoor recreation under RCW 46.09.110, shall be credited to the nonhighway and off-road vehicle activities program account to be administered by the committee for planning, acquisition, development, maintenance, and management of ORV recreation facilities and nonhighway road recreation facilities; ORV user education and information; and ORV law enforcement programs. The funds under this subsection shall be expended in accordance with the following limitations:
     (i) Not more than ((twenty)) fifty percent may be expended for state and federal nonhighway road recreation projects or nonhighway and ORV education, information, and law enforcement programs under this chapter. For the purposes of this subsection, nonhighway road recreation projects include, but are not limited to, campgrounds, restrooms, interpretive facilities, signage, and building maintenance, but does not include nonmotorized or motorized trails;
     (ii) Of the amount not expended in (d)(i) of this subsection not less than an amount equal to the funds received by the interagency committee for outdoor recreation under RCW 46.09.110 and not more than sixty percent may be expended for ORV recreation facilities;
     (iii) Of the amount not expended in (d)(i) of this subsection not more than ((twenty)) sixty percent may be expended for nonhighway road recreation facilities.
     (2) On a yearly basis an agency may not, except as provided in RCW 46.09.110, expend more than ten percent of the funds it receives under this chapter for general administration expenses incurred in carrying out this chapter.
     (3) Beginning January 1, 2013, and updated every ten years thereafter, the interagency committee for outdoor recreation shall contract with an independent entity to study the source and make recommendations on the distribution and use of funds provided to off-road vehicle and nonhighway road recreational activities under this section. The study must determine the relative portion of the motor vehicle fuel tax revenues that are attributable to vehicles operating off-road or on nonhighway roads for recreational purposes as provided in this section. The study must include the types of vehicles and location of their use, the types of recreational activities, the types of recreational facilities used, and the recreational use of forest roads relative to other, nonrecreational uses.