BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 1345
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Date of Hearing: June 27, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION
Jim Frazier, Chair
SB
1345 (Berryhill) - As Amended June 20, 2016
SENATE VOTE: 25-7
SUBJECT: Vehicles: off-highway vehicle (OHV) recreation:
County of Inyo
SUMMARY: Extends the sunset date to January 1, 2020, for the
Inyo County pilot program to designate combined-use roadways
segments to connect OHV facilities. Specifically, this bill:
1)Declares the legislative intent to develop additional and
better data to evaluate whether a combined-use highway is
workable and to ensure no General Fund moneys are expended on
the pilot program.
2)Extends the sunset for the authorized Inyo County pilot
program for the designation of combined use highway segments
to connect OHV trails and facilities from January 1, 2017, to
January 1, 2020.
3)Requires that an evaluation of the pilot program by Inyo
County, in consultation with the Department of California
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Highway Patrol (CHP), the California Department of
Transportation (Caltrans), and the California Department of
Parks and Recreation (Parks), be submitted to the Legislature
by January 1, 2019.
4)Prohibits a combined-use highway road segment designated under
the pilot program from exceeding 10 miles in length.
5)Allows two or more combined-use highway road segments to share
a common starting point or ending point and partially overlap
as long as the resulting network does not include more than
three distinct locations of shared starting or ending points.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Generally prohibits a vehicle registered as an OHV from being
operated on public streets, except if the use is to cross a
highway, under specific circumstances; when the highway is
closed for snow; or when the highway is designated for
combined use.
2)Allows a local authority, a federal government agency, or the
Parks Director, for highways under their respective
jurisdiction, to designate a highway segment for combined use
of OHVs and regular traffic. The combined-use highway segment
cannot be longer than three miles long and must meet one the
following criteria:
a) Provide a connecting link between OHV trails segments;
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b) Link an OHV recreational use area and necessary service
facilities; or
c) Connect lodging facilities with an OHV recreational
facility.
1)Prohibits a freeway from being designated for the combined use
of regular traffic and OHVs.
2)Provides that, prior to designating a highway for combined
use, a local agency, federal agency, or the Parks Director
must notify the CHP Commissioner and may not designate a road
for combined use if the CHP believes doing so would create a
potential traffic safety hazard.
3)Requires signs approved by Caltrans on designated combined-use
highways before the designation can become effective.
4)Prohibits operation of an OHV on a designated combined use
highway without the following: a valid license appropriate
for the class of vehicle being operated, proof of insurance, a
working spotlight, rubber tires, or after dark.
5)Authorizes Inyo County, until January 1, 2017, to establish a
pilot project to provide a unified system of trails for OHVs
by designating combined use highways on unincorporated county
roads for segments for no more than 10 miles.
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6)Requires that the pilot project do the following:
a) Prescribe a procedure for the County Board of
Supervisors to select roads, by a majority vote, to be
included in the pilot project;
b) Establish, in cooperation with the Caltrans, uniform
signs, markers, and traffic control devices to control
OHVs;
c) Require OHVs subject to the pilot program to meet safety
requirements related to, for instance, driver licensing,
helmet usage, and other conditions of lawful OHV operation;
d) Limit speeds to no more than 35 miles per hour; and,
e) Provide an opportunity for public comment at a public
hearing by the county to evaluate the pilot.
1)Requires, by January 1, 2016, Inyo County, in consultation
with CHP, Caltrans, and Parks, to evaluate the pilot program
and report its findings to the Legislature.
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown
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COMMENTS: AB 628 (Conway), Chapter 532, Statutes of 2011,
authorized Inyo County to conduct a pilot program, through
January 1, 2017, to designate road segments up to 10 miles in
length on county roads for combined use with OHVs and motor
vehicle traffic. The intent of the pilot is to link existing
OHV trails and trailheads, mostly on federal land, to OHV
recreational use areas with service and lodging facilities.
This would create a unified linkage of trail systems for OHV
users. According the Rural County Representatives of
California, Inyo County has unique circumstances that warrant
this pilot project. Less than 2% of its 10,000 square miles is
privately-owned and many of its nearly 18,000 residents use OHVs
as a common mode of transportation. Further, Inyo County's
economy relies on tourism, the county's largest financial
contributor.
In October 2012, the Adventure Trails System of the Eastern
Sierra applied to Inyo County to designate 38 separate
combined-use roadways to permit OHV traffic. After
environmental review and public input, the Inyo County Board of
Supervisors approved a revised application and designated 7
combined-use routes in January 2015. After the county took
action to approve the routes, the Center for Biological
Diversity and the Public Employees for Environmental
Responsibility filed a lawsuit, concerned that the county could
proceed with the remaining 31 routes in the future. The lawsuit
was settled in May 2015, with the county agreeing to limit the
number of routes to the 7 approved and requiring that any
expansion of the program to the remaining routes would have to
undergo a new environmental review with public notice and
comment. According to the county, to date, only 3 combined-use
routes have been opened. The remaining 4 routes have been
delayed due to needed agreements with the Los Angeles Department
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of Water and Power, which owns some affected lands. They are
slated to be opened this summer.
According to the author, Inyo County needs additional time to
fully implement and evaluate the OHV trail program so that they
might more thoroughly determine its merits. The author contends
that there is not enough on-the-ground data to evaluate the pros
and cons of the current Adventure Trails program and that
without the extension provided in SB 1345, there never will be.
Despite the lack of adequate data, the county submitted a report
to the Legislature in December 2015 with preliminary findings
from the three routes that have been opened for roughly six
months. The findings include:
Safety: The CHP and the Inyo County Sherriff's Department have
no reports of accidents or citations on the combined-use routes.
OHV Usage on Existing Trails: The Bureau of Land Management
(BLM), which manages the affected OHV trails, has not observed
any changes since the combined-use routes were opened.
Additionally, BLM recently received grant funds to count the
number of OHVs on BLM- maintained roads adjacent to the
combined-use routes. BLM will likely not have usable data until
later this year.
Additionally, the county found that there has been no
significant change to OHV incursions into areas not designated
for OHV use or impacts of non-motorized recreation.
Writing in opposition to SB 1345, the Sierra Club California
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states that this bill fails to address issues with the initial
pilot including health and safety concerns; licensing, insurance
and liability; noise and traffic increases in local communities;
air quality impacts from dust and emissions; and significant
impacts to natural resources.
Previous legislation: AB 628 (Conway), Chapter 532, Statutes of
2011, authorized Inyo County to designate road segments up to 10
miles in length for combined use on a pilot basis.
AB 2338 (Conway), of 2010, would have allowed Inyo County to
designate road segments over three miles in length for combined
use. AB 2338 was vetoed by the Governor.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
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County of Inyo (Sponsor)
Rural County Representatives of California
Opposition
Sierra Club California
3 private citizens
Analysis Prepared by:Melissa White / TRANS. / (916)
319-2093