 Washington Off Highway Vehicle Alliance
and NMA files lawsuit to block
transfer of ORV funds to State Parks
The Washington Off Highway Vehicle Alliance has teamed up with
the Northwest Motorcycle Association to file a lawsuit against the
State of Washington to block the transfer of over 9.5 million
dollars in off road vehicle funds from the Non-highway and Off road
Vehicle Activities (NOVA) account to State Parks. Attorney James
Buchal will be representing both organizations.
This spring the Legislature passed House Bill 1244, which
transferred the money out of the NOVA account. The NOVA account
money comes from the gas tax paid by off road vehicle users and the
license tab fees on off road vehicles (ORV).
According to the Washington State Constitution, gas tax collected
must be used only for roads. To comply with that, the State allows
refunds on gas tax paid for other uses.
 In 1972, the off road vehicle community supported passage of
legislation that waived their right to a direct refund of the taxes
they paid for ORV fuel in exchange for having those same funds
refunded into a dedicated account to promote and protect their
sport. Later on, their ORV license tab money was added to this
account too. The NOVA program was established to administer these
funds.
Now that all the money is going to State Parks and State Parks is
not going to spend the money on off road vehicle recreation, this is
no longer a legitimate refund for the benefit of these taxpayers.
The NOVA funding is normally distributed by the State Recreation
and Conservation Funding Board in the form of grants. These grants
are awarded to governmental agencies such as the United States
Forest Service, the Washington Department of Natural Resources and
various counties. It is the primary source of funding for off road
vehicle recreation and for law enforcement on public lands in
Washington.
If this funding is not returned to benefit the taxpayers that
paid for it, families and their children throughout the State of
Washington will lose the healthy, outdoor recreational opportunities
they were promised and for which they paid their taxes and ORV tab
fees, as the trails they have enjoyed together are closed. And
public employees throughout Washington who maintain and patrol those
trails will lose their jobs.
The Washington Off Highway Vehicle Alliance and the Northwest
Motorcycle Association are nonprofit organizations dedicated to
protecting and promoting off highway vehicle and off road motorcycle
recreation.
For more information, contact Tod Petersen Political Action
Committee Chairman Washington Off Highway Vehicle Alliance
Legislative/Land Use Coordinator Northwest Motorcycle Association
P.O. Box 61161 Seattle, WA 98141
tod701@aol.com
www.wohva.org
www.nmaoffroad.org
Sound OFF! - Sound RIDER! readers sound off
about this issue now.
CLICK HERE!
"There goes Washington Budget Director,
Victor Moore, trying to make up for overspending elsewhere in the
states budget - what else is new" TK, Tacoma
"We stand on their steps every year and
remind them we're not gonna stand for this - so they try and pull it
off anyway - WAKE UP OLYMPIA" JB, Edmonds
"Can I get free entry into the state parks
in 2010 if I show up on my dirt bike?" GM, Elbe
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