here is an article in Albany's Democrat Herald.
Restrictive ATV bill tabled
Senate Bill 49, which would have banned children under 12 from riding all-terrain vehicles on public lands, has been tabled, meaning it will see no further action.
The bill also would have restricted the size of the engines in ATVs ridden by people ages 12-15, and riders feared the proposed rules would smother their families' favorite pastime.
In February, more than 200 ATV riders - from youngsters to senior citizens - took their concerns to the steps of the Capitol in Salem.
Since then, representatives of several ATV user groups have worked with legislators and state parks officials to develop amendments to another bill, SB 101, which would require permits for all ATV riders age 7 and older.
The amendments include:
. Mandatory fitting of riders to ATVs by size;
. Adult supervision by sight for riders under 16 years of age on public lands;
. And mandatory safety training.
"We felt there were some really good things in SB 101 and our opposition was just for change," Scio resident Linda Minten, a spokeswoman for ATV user groups, wrote in an e-mail to the Democrat-Herald on Friday afternoon. "So, when it started to tank, we actually asked to work with everyone to come up with a plan. We did that last week and it went great. Today we submitted amendments that are supported by all of us, (state) parks and SB 49 sponsor Sen. Devlin. If it gets through, we will be the first rider-fit state with no minimum age for ATVs."
Minten said a key amendment was mandatory safe rider training.
"We hope to bring all of the clubs together to implement this training, very much like coaching for other sports," Minten wrote. "This bill will addresses the real problems on public lands, but unfortunately, most of the accidents are on private property."
Parents would be required to attend the safe-rider training sessions with their child, "so there will be no excuse for not knowing the dangers and significance of supervision and helmets. What is so cool is that we all came together and this could set a precedent for other states to follow. The national ATVA (All Terrain Vehicle Association) is very excited and hopefully we will be successful."
Anna Haley, chief of staff for Sen. Richard Devlin, confirmed SB 49 would be tabled. SB 101, which was introduced at the request of Gov. Ted Kulongoski on behalf of state parks, has had one public hearing at which many concerns were raised, Haley said.
Friday afternoon, Haley said the proposed amendments "went to legislative counsel today."
"We expect Senate Bill 101 will have a work session to get the amendments into the bill and the committee can accept or reject the amendments," Haley said. "If the amendments are accepted, the bill goes to the Ways and Means Committee."
Haley said the work of user groups and state parks representatives was commendable.
"They did what seemed like a good effort in a short amount of time," she said.
By Alex Paul. He can be reached at
alex.paul@lee.net or 812-6076.
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