Senate Bill S5105

2013-2014 Legislative Session

Prohibits the operation of all-terrain vehicles in the state forest preserve, Long Island central pine barrens area and Albany pine bush preserve

download bill text pdf

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Environmental Conservation Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

Please enter your contact information

First Name

Last Name

Email Address

A valid email address is required.

Home address is used to determine the senate district in which you reside. Your support or opposition to this bill is then shared immediately with the senator who represents you.

Optional services from the NY State Senate:

Create an account. An account allows you to officially support or oppose key legislation, sign petitions with a single click, and follow issues, committees, and bills that matter to you. When you create an account, you agree to this platform's terms of participation.

Include a custom message for your Senator? (Optional)

Enter a message to your senator. Many New Yorkers use this to share the reasoning behind their support or opposition to the bill. Others might share a personal anecdote about how the bill would affect them or people they care about.

Actions

View Actions

Date of Action	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 08, 2014	referred to environmental conservation
May 10, 2013	referred to environmental conservation

co-Sponsors

2013-S5105 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A2481
Current Committee:: Senate Environmental Conservation
Law Section:: Environmental Conservation Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §§9-0303, 46-0111 & 57-0121, add §71-0717, En Con L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2009-2010: A2156
2011-2012: A3818
2015-2016: S4718, A1631
2017-2018: S4600, A6002
2019-2020: S5836, A7537

2013-S5105 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Prohibits the operation of all-terrain vehicles by the general public in the state forest preserve, Long Island central pine barrens area and Albany pine bush preserve; grants exceptions for the disabled, official purposes and law enforcement; provides for the impoundment of all-terrain vehicles operated in violation of such provisions and the imposition of a $100 surcharge upon the owner thereof; provides for the deposit of such surcharges into a separate all-terrain enforcement fund.

2013-S5105 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                BILL NUMBER:S5105

TITLE OF BILL:  An act to amend the environmental conservation law, in
relation to prohibiting the use of all-terrain vehicles within the
forest preserve, the Long Island central pine barrens and the Albany
pine bush preserve, and providing penalties for violations of
all-terrain vehicle laws in such sensitive areas

PURPOSE:

This bill would protect the Forest Preserve, the Long Island Central
Pine Barrens and the Albany Pine Bush Preserve from environmental
damage that results from all-terrain vehicle (ATV) operation on these
sensitive state-protected lands.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

This bill would prohibit the use of ATVs by the general public within
the Forest Preserve. The bill would also codify the prohibition of ATV
use, under the provisions of the land use plan for the Long Island
Central Pine Barrens and under the rules and regulations for the
Albany Pine Bush Preserve, on those lands.

The bill would continue to allow ATV use within the Forest Preserve in
some specific instances provided for by Adirondack Park State Land
Master Plan. The bill would continue to allow ATV use by a qualified

person with a disability with a DEC permit, by DEC employees for
appropriate administrative purposes and by appropriate officials where
necessary for law enforcement and in case of emergencies.

The bill would provide resources for the enforcement of ATV laws
within the Forest Preserve, the Long Island Central Pine Barrens and
the Albany Pine Bush Preserve. This legislation will give law
enforcement officials the option to impound an ATV that is being
operated illegally on these lands. The bill would require the owner of
an ATV to pay a $100 surcharge at the time of redemption of an
impounded ATV in order to fund the enforcement of ATV laws that apply
to these lands by the applicable enforcement authority. In cases where
DEC is at the enforcing. entity, DEC would receive the monies
collected for the surcharge.

The bill would preserve the ability of local governments to enact
stricter laws or ordinances and would not alter or invalidate any
local laws or ordinances already in effect.

JUSTIFICATION:

Illegal ATV operation is damaging the Forest Preserve, which consists
of state lands protected by Article 14 of the New York Constitution as
"Forever Wild". Documented evidence shows that ATVs are being operated
illegally within the Adirondack Forest Preserve and that they are
causing environmental damage, such as deep ruts, erosion and ponding.
Documented evidence shows that ATV users are not staying on designated
road and are going off-road into areas of the Forest Preserve where
they are clearly not supposed to be (even in violation of DEC posted
signs and stop barriers that prohibit ATV access). The best way to
stop the environmental degradation of the Forest Preserve is to


prohibit access to it by ATVs. New Jersey passed a law last year to
ban ATVs from State parks and forests.

The Adirondack Park State Land Master Plan contains specific
provisions that require ATVs to go only on designated roads. In
contrast, the Catskill Park State Land Master Plan does not have
specific provisions for ATVs and treats them generally as all other
motor vehicles.

The illegal operation of ATVs across the State is a growing concern as
more vehicles are purchased each year. Last year, DEC publicly
recognized the increasing problem of ATVs on Forest Preserve land.
The Department reminded the public that ATVs can be used only on
designated roads specifically posted by DEC for ATV use and for use by
mobility-impaired individuals with a permit. DEC employees are already
covered by a DEC Commissioner's policy that restricts ATV use. The DEC
also has closed some roads to all motor vehicle traffic in the Aldrich
Pond Wild and forest area due to adverse impacts caused by ATVs.

ATV advocates are pressing the DEC to allow broader use of ATVs,
especially on the Adirondack Forest Preserve. The enforcement problem
that DEC faces will only get worse as time goes on. Prohibiting ATV
use on the Forest Preserve will avoid the "creep" of ATV access
through the Unit Management Planning process.

This bill extends the protections to the Forest Preserve that are
available administratively to the Long Island Central Pine Barrens and
the Albany Pine Bush Preserve. This bill also codifies those
administrative provisions, helping to ensure that they will remain in
place through the force of law. The Long Island Central Pine Barrens
Comprehensive Land Use Plan states that operation of all-terrain
vehicles is an incompatible recreational activity which has major
physical impacts on natural resources. The rules and regulations
governing the public use of the Albany Pine Bush Preserve prohibit the
use or possession of an ATV on Preserve lands, except for
administrative use, use by persons with mobility impairments under
permit and on Preserve Lands designated as parking areas.

DEC needs additional resources to adequately enforce operation of
ATVs. This bill will provide those resources by requiring, the payment
of a surcharge when ATV owners redeem their ATVS impounded for illegal
operation. This bill also provides enforcement officers with the
additional enforcement tool of the option to impound an ATV based upon
the laws of the state of Maine and New York's Suffolk County. Suffolk
County has recently increased the strength of its local law that gives
enforcement officers the option to impound an ATV under certain
conditions and impose fines.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2011-12 A3818;
2009-10 A.2156;
2007-08 A.916;
2005-06 A.6665;
2003-04 S.5073/A.8480

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:


Resources for state and local enforcement officials

EFFECTIVE DATE:

Immediately.

2013-S5105 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
                    S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                  5105

                       2013-2014 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                              May 10, 2013
                               ___________

Introduced  by  Sen. LAVALLE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
  printed to be committed to the Committee on Environmental Conservation

AN ACT to amend the  environmental  conservation  law,  in  relation  to
  prohibiting   the  use  of  all-terrain  vehicles  within  the  forest
  preserve, the Long Island central pine barrens  and  the  Albany  pine
  bush  preserve,  and providing penalties for violations of all-terrain
  vehicle laws in such sensitive areas

  THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section  1.  Section  9-0303  of the environmental conservation law is
amended by adding a new subdivision 8 to read as follows:
  8. ALL-TERRAIN VEHICLES. A. FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS SUBDIVISION:
  (I) "ALL-TERRAIN VEHICLE" SHALL MEAN A MOTOR VEHICLE WHICH IS MANUFAC-
TURED FOR OPERATION PRIMARILY FOR OFF-HIGHWAY USE OR OFF-HIGHWAY  COMPE-
TITIONS  AND  ONLY  INCIDENTALLY  OPERATED ON PUBLIC HIGHWAYS; PROVIDED,
HOWEVER, SUCH TERM SHALL NOT INCLUDE A SNOWMOBILE.
  (II) "SNOWMOBILE" SHALL MEAN A MOTOR VEHICLE DESIGNED  FOR  TRAVEL  ON
SNOW OR ICE BY MEANS OF A COMBINATION OF TRACKS AND A SKI OR SKIS.
  B. NOTWITHSTANDING ANY OTHER PROVISION OF LAW TO THE CONTRARY, THE USE
OF ALL-TERRAIN VEHICLES BY THE GENERAL PUBLIC WITHIN THE FOREST PRESERVE
IS PROHIBITED.
  C.  A  QUALIFIED  PERSON  WITH A DISABILITY TO WHOM THE DEPARTMENT HAS
ISSUED A NONTRANSFERABLE  TEMPORARY  REVOCABLE  PERMIT  PROVIDING  MOTOR
VEHICLE  ACCESS  TO  CERTAIN  STATE  LANDS UNDER THE JURISDICTION OF THE
DEPARTMENT MAY USE AN ALL-TERRAIN VEHICLE  PURSUANT  TO  THE  TERMS  AND
CONDITIONS OF SUCH PERMIT.
  D. EMPLOYEES OF THE DEPARTMENT MAY USE ALL-TERRAIN VEHICLES FOR APPRO-
PRIATE  ADMINISTRATIVE  PURPOSES WHERE NECESSARY AND CONSISTENT WITH THE
PROVISIONS OF THE ADIRONDACK PARK STATE LAND MASTER PLAN OR THE CATSKILL
PARK STATE LAND MASTER PLAN.  THE  DEPARTMENT  SHALL  NOT  DELEGATE  ITS
AUTHORITY PURSUANT TO THIS PARAGRAPH.
  E.  ALL-TERRAIN  VEHICLES  MAY  BE USED BY APPROPRIATE OFFICIALS WHERE
NECESSARY FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT.

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets

                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD05889-01-3

S. 5105                             2

  F. ALL-TERRAIN VEHICLES MAY BE USED, BY OR UNDER  THE  SUPERVISION  OF
APPROPRIATE  OFFICIALS,  IN CASES OF SUDDEN, ACTUAL AND ONGOING EMERGEN-
CIES THAT INVOLVED THE PROTECTION  OR  PRESERVATION  OF  HUMAN  LIFE  OR
INTRINSIC  RESOURCE  VALUES,  AND  THAT  INVOLVE SEARCH AND RESCUE OPER-
ATIONS, FOREST FIRES OR LARGE-SCALE CONTAMINATION OF WATER BODIES.
  S  2.  Subparagraph  (v)  of  paragraph  a of subdivision 2 of section
46-0111 of the environmental conservation law, as added by  chapter  792
of the laws of 1988, is amended to read as follows:
  (v)  other recreational uses; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT, NOTWITHSTANDING
ANY OTHER PROVISION OF LAW TO THE CONTRARY, THE USE OF ALL-TERRAIN VEHI-
CLES BY THE GENERAL PUBLIC WITHIN  THE  ALBANY  PINE  BUSH  PRESERVE  IS
PROHIBITED.
  S 3. Paragraph (d) of subdivision 2 of section 57-0121 of the environ-
mental conservation law, as added by chapter 262 of the laws of 1993, is
amended to read as follows:
  (d)  promote  active and passive recreational and environmental educa-
tional uses that are consistent with the land use plan; PROVIDED, HOWEV-
ER, THAT, NOTWITHSTANDING ANY OTHER PROVISION OF LAW  TO  THE  CONTRARY,
THE USE OF ALL-TERRAIN VEHICLES BY THE GENERAL PUBLIC WITHIN THE CENTRAL
PINE BARRENS AREA IS PROHIBITED; and
  S  4.  The  environmental  conservation law is amended by adding a new
section 71-0717 to read as follows:
S 71-0717. ADDITIONAL ALL-TERRAIN VEHICLE ENFORCEMENT ON SENSITIVE STATE
             LANDS.
  1. IN ADDITION TO THE  PENALTIES  SET  FORTH  IN  SUBDIVISION  ONE  OF
SECTION  71-0703 OF THIS TITLE, AND SECTIONS 71-4001 AND 71-4003 OF THIS
ARTICLE, A POLICE OFFICER OR PEACE OFFICER MAY IMMEDIATELY  IMPOUND  ANY
ALL-TERRAIN  VEHICLE  OPERATED  IN  VIOLATION  OF  SUBDIVISION  EIGHT OF
SECTION 9-0303, PARAGRAPH (D) OF SUBDIVISION TWO OF SECTION  57-0121  OR
SUBPARAGRAPH (V) OF PARAGRAPH A OF SUBDIVISION TWO OF SECTION 46-0111 OF
THIS  CHAPTER.  SUCH  IMPOUNDED  ALL-TERRAIN  VEHICLE SHALL BE PROCESSED
CONSISTENT WITH THE PROVISIONS OF SECTION FIVE HUNDRED ELEVEN-B  OF  THE
VEHICLE  AND  TRAFFIC  LAW;  PROVIDED,  HOWEVER, THAT A SURCHARGE OF ONE
HUNDRED DOLLARS SHALL BE PAID BY THE OWNER OF SUCH VEHICLE,  AND  MONIES
THEREFROM  SHALL  BE  DEPOSITED INTO A SEPARATE, NON-LAPSING ALL-TERRAIN
VEHICLE ENFORCEMENT FUND  OF  THE  IMPOUNDING  LAW  ENFORCEMENT  AGENCY,
EXCEPT AS PROVIDED BY SUBDIVISION TWO OF THIS SECTION.
  2.  WHERE  THE  IMPOUNDING  OFFICER IS A PEACE OFFICER EMPLOYED BY THE
DEPARTMENT, THE ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATORY ACCOUNT  OF  THE  ENVIRONMENTAL
CONSERVATION  SPECIAL  REVENUE  FUND  SHALL  BE CREDITED WITH THE MONIES
RECEIVED FROM THE SURCHARGE REQUIRED BY SUBDIVISION ONE OF THIS SECTION.
MONIES COLLECTED PURSUANT TO THIS SUBDIVISION SHALL BE MADE AVAILABLE TO
THE DEPARTMENT FOR THE PURPOSE OF  ENFORCING  ALL-TERRAIN  VEHICLE  LAWS
APPLICABLE TO THE FOREST PRESERVE, LONG ISLAND CENTRAL PINE BARRENS AREA
AND THE ALBANY PINE BUSH PRESERVE.
  S 5. Nothing in this act shall be deemed to limit the authority of any
county,  city,  town or village to adopt or amend any local law or ordi-
nance which imposes stricter restrictions and conditions on  the  opera-
tion  of  all-terrain  vehicles  than are provided or authorized by this
act, so long as such local law  or  ordinance  is  consistent  with  the
authority  to  protect  the  order,  conduct, health, safety and general
welfare of persons or property. Nothing in this act shall be  deemed  to
alter  or  invalidate any local law or ordinance in effect on the effec-
tive date of this act.
  S 6. This act shall take effect immediately.

Comments

Open Legislation is a forum for New York State legislation. All comments are subject to review and community moderation is encouraged.

Comments deemed off-topic, commercial, campaign-related, self-promotional; or that contain profanity, hate or toxic speech; or that link to sites outside of the nysenate.gov domain are not permitted, and will not be published. Attempts to intimidate and silence contributors or deliberately deceive the public, including excessive or extraneous posting/posts, or coordinated activity, are prohibited and may result in the temporary or permanent banning of the user. Comment moderation is generally performed Monday through Friday. By contributing or voting you agree to the Terms of Participation and verify you are over 13.

Create an account. An account allows you to sign petitions with a single click, officially support or oppose key legislation, and follow issues, committees, and bills that matter to you. When you create an account, you agree to this platform's terms of participation.

Find your Senator and share your views on important issues.

Do you support this bill?

Senate Bill S5105

Sponsored By

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Environmental Conservation Committee

Actions

co-Sponsors

2013-S5105 (ACTIVE) - Details

2013-S5105 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2013-S5105 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2013-S5105 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments

Do you support this bill?

Get Status Alerts for 2013-S5105

Senate Bill S5105

Share this bill

Sponsored By

Kenneth P. LaValle

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Environmental Conservation Committee

Actions

co-Sponsors

Tony Avella

2013-S5105 (ACTIVE) - Details

2013-S5105 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2013-S5105 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2013-S5105 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments