AN ACT Relating to categorizing certain new entrants to the vehicle market as wheeled all-terrain vehicles; reenacting and amending RCW 46.09.310; and creating a new section.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. There is a continuous flow of new and innovative types of alternative off-road vehicles of a variety of shapes and sizes that are slightly different from existing definitions. This act provides increased flexibility so that new models can be registered under the existing statutes.

(4) "Direct supervision" means that the supervising adult must be in a position, on another wheeled all-terrain vehicle or specialty off-highway vehicle or motorbike or, if on the ground, within a reasonable distance of the unlicensed operator, to provide close support, assistance, or direction to the unlicensed operator.

(5) "Emergency management" means the carrying out of emergency functions related to responding and recovering from emergencies and disasters, and to aid victims suffering from injury or damage, resulting from disasters caused by all hazards, whether natural, technological, or human caused, and to provide support for search and rescue operations for persons and property in distress.

(6) "Highway," for the purpose of this chapter only, means the entire width between the boundary lines of every roadway publicly maintained by the state department of transportation or any county or city with funding from the motor vehicle fund. A highway is generally capable of travel by a conventional two-wheel drive passenger automobile during most of the year and in use by such vehicles.

(7) "Nonhighway road" means any road owned or managed by a public agency, a primitive road, or any private road for which the owner has granted an easement for public use for which appropriations from the motor vehicle fund were not used for (a) original construction or reconstruction in the last twenty-five years; or (b) maintenance in the last four years.

(8) "Nonhighway road recreation facilities" means recreational facilities that are adjacent to, or accessed by, a nonhighway road and intended primarily for nonhighway road recreational users.

(9) "Nonhighway road recreational user" means a person whose purpose for consuming fuel on a nonhighway road or off-road is primarily for nonhighway road recreational purposes, including, but not limited to, hunting, fishing, camping, sightseeing, wildlife viewing, picnicking, driving for pleasure, kayaking/canoeing, and gathering berries, firewood, mushrooms, and other natural products.

(10) "Nonhighway vehicle" means any motorized vehicle including an ORV when used for recreational purposes on nonhighway roads, trails, or a variety of other natural terrain.

(c) Any vehicle eligible for a motor vehicle fuel tax exemption or rebate under chapter 82.38 RCW while an exemption or rebate is claimed. This exemption includes but is not limited to farm, construction, and logging vehicles.

(11) "Nonmotorized recreational facilities" means recreational trails and facilities that are adjacent to, or accessed by, a nonhighway road and intended primarily for nonmotorized recreational users.

(12) "Nonmotorized recreational user" means a person whose purpose for consuming fuel on a nonhighway road or off-road is primarily for nonmotorized recreational purposes including, but not limited to, walking, hiking, backpacking, climbing, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, mountain biking, horseback riding, and pack animal activities.

(13) "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.

(14) "ORV recreation facilities" include, but are not limited to, ORV trails, trailheads, campgrounds, ORV sports parks, and ORV use areas, designated for ORV use by the managing authority.

(15) "ORV recreational user" means a person whose purpose for consuming fuel on nonhighway roads or off-road is primarily for ORV recreational purposes, including but not limited to riding an all-terrain vehicle, motorcycling, or driving a four-wheel drive vehicle or dune buggy.

(16) "ORV sports park" means a facility designed to accommodate competitive ORV recreational uses including, but not limited to, motocross racing, four-wheel drive competitions, and flat track racing. Use of ORV sports parks can be competitive or noncompetitive in nature.

(18) "Primitive road" means a linear route managed for use by four-wheel drive or high-clearance vehicles that is generally not maintained or paved, a road designated by a county as primitive under RCW 36.75.300, or a road designated by a city or town as primitive under a local ordinance.

(19) "Wheeled all-terrain vehicle" means (a) any motorized nonhighway vehicle with handlebars that is fifty inches or less in width, has a seat height of at least twenty inches, weighs less than one thousand five hundred pounds, and has four tires having a diameter of thirty inches or less, or (b) a utility-type vehicle designed for and capable of travel over designated roads that ((travels on four or more low-pressure tires of twenty psi or less,)) has a maximum width less than seventy-four inches, has a maximum weight less than ((two))four thousand pounds, has a wheelbase of one hundred ten inches or less, and satisfies at least one of the following: (i) Has a minimum width of fifty inches; (ii) has a minimum weight of at least nine hundred pounds; or (iii) has a wheelbase of over sixty-one inches.