Bill Text - HB1612 (2020)

Relative to utility terrain vehicle operation on roads.


Revision: Dec. 6, 2019, 12:24 p.m.

HB 1612-FN - AS INTRODUCED

 

 

2020 SESSION

20-2359

10/03

 

HOUSE BILL 1612-FN

 

AN ACT relative to utility terrain vehicle operation on roads.

 

SPONSORS: Rep. McWilliams, Merr. 27; Rep. Turcotte, Merr. 22; Rep. Klein-Knight, Hills. 11; Rep. Sanborn, Hills. 41; Rep. Howard, Belk. 8

 

COMMITTEE: Transportation

 

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ANALYSIS

 

This bill allows utility terrain vehicles to be registered for operation on roadways where the posted speed limit is 45 miles per hour or less.

 

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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.

Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]

Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

20-2359

10/03

 

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

 

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty

 

AN ACT relative to utility terrain vehicle operation on roads.

 

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

 

1  New Section; Motor Vehicles; Words Defined; Utility Terrain Vehicle.  Amend RSA 259 by inserting after section 121 the following new section:

259:121-a  Utility Terrain Vehicle.  "Utility terrain vehicle" means any mechanically propelled vehicle which is designed or adapted for travel over surfaces other than maintained roads with one or more tires or tracks equipped with a rollover protection system and/or safety belts, having capacity for passengers or other payloads, not in excess of 2,000 pounds unladen dry weight, and not to exceed 65 inches in overall width, excluding side mirrors.  For purposes of this title, "utility terrain vehicle" shall include but not be limited to side-by-side, ROV, gator, buggy, and OHV and abbreviated as UTV.  A utility terrain vehicle registered to operate on a way shall comply with equipment requirements of RSA 266 and shall be subject to registration fees as provided in RSA 261:141, III(g).

2  Required Equipment of Vehicles; Parking Brake; Exception for Utility Terrain Vehicles.  Amend RSA 266:27-a to read as follows:

266:27-a  Parking Brakes Required.  Every motor vehicle and combination of vehicles except motorcycles, farm tractors, utility terrain vehicles, and mopeds, shall have a parking brake system adequate to hold the vehicle or combination of vehicles on any grade on which it is driven under all conditions of loading on a surface free from snow, ice or loose material, and which shall comply with performance standards issued by the director by rule adopted pursuant to RSA 260:5.

3  New Subdivision; Special Rules For Utility Terrain Vehicles.  Amend RSA 265 by inserting after section 161 the following new subdivision:

Special Rules For Utility Terrain Vehicles

265:162  Special Rules For Utility Terrain Vehicles.  No person shall operate a utility terrain vehicle as defined in RSA 259:121-a except on a way where the posted speed limit is 45 miles per hour or less.  This section shall not prohibit a person from operating a utility terrain vehicle across an intersection with a way that has a posted speed limit of more than 45 miles per hour.

4  Effective Date.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2020.

 

LBAO

20-2359

12/5/19

 

HB 1612-FN- FISCAL NOTE

AS INTRODUCED

 

AN ACT relative to utility terrain vehicle operation on roads.

 

FISCAL IMPACT:      [ X ] State              [    ] County               [ X ] Local              [    ] None

 

 

 

Estimated Increase / (Decrease)

STATE:

FY 2020

FY 2021

FY 2022

FY 2023

   Appropriation

$0

$0

$0

$0

   Revenue

$0

Indeterminable Increase

Indeterminable Increase

Indeterminable Increase

   Expenditures

$0

$280,000

Indeterminable Increase

Indeterminable Increase

Funding Source:

  [    ] General            [    ] Education            [    ] Highway           [ X ] Other - Restricted Cost of Collections* and Reflectorized Plate Fund

*Pursuant to Part II, article 6-a of the New Hampshire constitution, any costs associated with the collection and administration of Highway Funds by the Department of Safety shall be deducted by the Department before such funds are credited to the Highway Fund as unrestricted revenue.

 

 

 

 

 

LOCAL:

 

 

 

 

   Revenue

$0

$0

Indeterminable Increase

Indeterminable Increase

   Expenditures

$0

$0

$0

$0

 

METHODOLOGY:

This bill allows individuals to register utility terrain vehicles for operation on roadways with a posted speed limit of 45 miles per hour or less.  The Department of Safety is unable to estimate how many registrations there may be and therefore cannot estimate this bill’s impact on state revenue, or state expenditures and local revenue relative to highway block grants (pursuant to RSA 235:35, “Apportionment A”, 12 percent of total road toll revenue and motor vehicle fees are distributed from the state highway fund to cities and towns pursuant to the specified formula in the following year).

 

The Department of Safety states this bill would require a new plate type be created, which would require an estimated $280,000 in system reprogramming costs.  In addition, new sheeting would need to be designed for the new plate type with an estimated cost of $1,000 for the first roll (approximately 2,200 plates).

 

The Fish and Game Deaprtment states this bill will not have an impact on the Department.

 

AGENCIES CONTACTED:

Department of Safety and Fish and Game Department