Only in Politics ... Our Trail
Permit and Registration Legislation Has Been Changed For
The Better We Think!
As we enter December, we have five days to get the
legislation through the state house.
Our legislature keeps getting more and more interesting,
politics never cease to amaze those of us who are on the
outside looking in.
Last month, I told you that it would take a great deal
of effort to pass the trail permit and registration
increases during the lame duck session of our state
legislature. Little did I know what was ahead of us in
terms of getting SB 1490 and SB 1489 approved before
this session of our legislature ended.
On November 13, the Michigan Senate passed SB1489 &
1490, a big thank you to all the Senators and you
snowmobilers that made it happen.
For anyone who went online to look at SB 1490, please be
advised that the bills have changed since my last column
in November.
http://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/2007-2008/billengrossed/Senate/pdf/2008-SEBS-1489.pdf
http://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/2007-2008/billengrossed/Senate/pdf/2008-SEBS-1490.pdf
We came back after November’s elections with nine
session days left to get legislation increasing the
snowmobile trail permit and snowmobile registration
approved. As we enter December, we have five days to get
the legislation through the state house. House session
is scheduled for December 2-4 and they may have session
days on December 9-11
Current Legislation
During recent meetings with the legislative leadership,
they saw the need to fill a $1 million gap in the 2010
Snowmobile Trail Improvement Fund budget. They have
agreed to a $10 trail permit increase that would begin
in October 2009. Another $10 increase would go into
effect in October 2011.
The early-purchase incentive portion of the legislation
was removed. Also, an inflation factor tied to the
Consumers Price Index (CPI) would go into effect in
2016. This was done to try and protect the program
against inflationary costs.
The legislature and MSA again agreed that all users
should pay the same for trail permits. Out-of-state
riders will not pay more for trail permits.
In SB 1489, involving the registration fee increase,
language changes were made by the senate and house
leadership, the DNR and MSA . The new language would
state that any property or easements purchased by the
Conservancy would revert back to the land owner if the
Conservancy is dissolved.
A Brief History
Earlier this summer MSA had asked state legislators to
introduce legislation that would increase the state
trail permit by $10 and the three-year snowmobile
registration by $8.
The increased trail permit fee would add about $1
million to the trail improvement fund. The money in this
fund is allocated to our grant sponsors (clubs and
business groups) to brush, sign, maintain equipment and
groom the trails. It is paid for by snowmobilers and
funds our snowmobile trails. A second raise in the
permit would happen in October 2011; this increase would
go towards equipment purchase, trying to get the program
back to replacing at least 20 pieces of equipment per
year.
Also including in the legislation was a proposed
increase in snowmobile registrations. We were asking
that the three-year registration be increased by $8.
Those funds would go directly into a Permanent
Snowmobile Trail Easement account.
Show Your Support!
We need you to call and support both bills as passed out
of the senate. By the time you read this, there may only
be five days left to show that support for SB 1490 and
SB 1489, so the time to act is now!
We have to have this legislation approved before the end
of the current session to benefit the 2010 budget. Even
though we are in a lame duck session, we need action on
our legislation now! We don’t agree with any additional
increases for law enforcement.
Call Your Legislator, Ask Them to Support
Snowmobiling!
We are asking you to call your state representatives
today! Tell them to pass the fee increases for
snowmobiling in Michigan! Tell them that you support
legislation to increase the snowmobile trail permit and
the snowmobile registration. Tell them you are willing
to pay more for smooth trails. Ask them to Support SB
1489 & 1490 as passed by the Senate.
If you don’t know who your state Representative is, use
this link to find out,
http://house.michigan.gov/find_a_rep.asp
After you find out, contact that person.
We know that Michigan is in economic trouble right now.
We know that by increasing fees we will lose people who
want to snowmobile in Michigan. But if we are going to
sustain the incredible trail system we have built in
this state, we need to increase fees. Until Michigan
rebounds, the people who use the trails are going to
have to pay more for them.
There will not be an increase in fees for the upcoming
2008-09 season. We are working on this now to make sure
we fill that $1 million hole; we know we are going to
have for the 2010 season. We are trying to be proactive
in making sure our trails don’t suffer.
For continued updates and future Calls to Action to the
MSA Web site, www.msasnow.org and E-News letters.