January 26, 2005, Introduced by Senators GARCIA, GOSCHKA and VAN WOERKOM and referred to the Committee on Transportation.
A bill to amend 1994 PA 451, entitled
"Natural resources and environmental protection act,"
by amending sections 81101 and 81123 (MCL 324.81101 and 324.81123),
section 81101 as amended by 2003 PA 111 and section 81123 as
amended by 1998 PA 86.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 81101. As used in this part:
(a) "ATV" means a 3- or 4-wheeled vehicle designed for off-
road use that has low-pressure tires, has a seat designed to be
straddled by the rider, and is powered by a 50cc to 500cc gasoline
engine or an engine of comparable size using other fuels.
(b) "Code" means the Michigan vehicle code, 1949 PA 300, MCL
257.1 to 257.923.
(c) "Dealer" means a person engaged in the sale, lease, or
rental of an ORV as a regular business or, for purposes of selling
licenses under section 81116, any other person authorized by the
department to sell licenses or permits, or both, under this act.
(d) "Designated", unless the context implies otherwise, means
posted open for ORV use with appropriate signs by the department.
(e) "Forest road" means a hard surfaced road, gravel or dirt
road, or other route capable of travel by a 2-wheel drive, 4-wheel
conventional vehicle designed for highway use, except an
interstate, state, or county highway.
(f) "Forest trail" means a designated path or way capable of
travel
only by a vehicle less than 50 57
inches or less in width.
(g) "Highway" means the entire width between the boundary
lines of a way publicly maintained when any part of the way is open
to the use of the public for purposes of vehicular travel.
(h) "Highly restricted personal information" means an
individual's photograph or image, social security number, digitized
signature, and medical and disability information.
(i) "Late model ORV" means an ORV manufactured in the current
model year or the 5 model years immediately preceding the current
model year.
(j) "Manufacturer" means a person, partnership, corporation,
or association engaged in the production and manufacture of ORVs as
a regular business.
(k) "Operate" means to ride in or on, and be in actual
physical control of, the operation of an ORV.
(l) "Operator" means a person who operates or is in actual
physical control of the operation of an ORV.
(m) "ORV" or "vehicle" means a motor driven off-road
recreation vehicle capable of cross-country travel without benefit
of a road or trail, on or immediately over land, snow, ice, marsh,
swampland, or other natural terrain. ORV or vehicle includes, but
is not limited to, a multitrack or multiwheel drive vehicle, an
ATV, a motorcycle or related 2-wheel, 3-wheel, or 4-wheel vehicle,
an amphibious machine, a ground effect air cushion vehicle, or
other means of transportation deriving motive power from a source
other than muscle or wind. ORV or vehicle does not include a
registered snowmobile, a farm vehicle being used for farming, a
vehicle used for military, fire, emergency, or law enforcement
purposes, a vehicle owned and operated by a utility company or an
oil or gas company when performing maintenance on its facilities or
on property over which it has an easement, a construction or
logging vehicle used in performance of its common function, or a
registered aircraft.
(n) "Owner" means any of the following:
(i) A vendee or lessee of an ORV which is the subject of an
agreement for the conditional sale or lease of the ORV, with the
right of purchase upon performance of the conditions stated in the
agreement, and with an immediate right of possession vested in the
conditional vendee or lessee.
(ii) A person renting an ORV, or having the exclusive use of an
ORV, for more than 30 days.
(iii) A person who holds legal ownership of an ORV.
(o) "Person with disabilities" means a person who has 1 or
more of the following physical characteristics:
(i) Blindness.
(ii) Inability to ambulate more than 200 feet without having to
stop and rest during any time of the year.
(iii) Loss of use of 1 or both legs or feet.
(iv) Inability to ambulate without the prolonged use of a
wheelchair, walker, crutches, braces, or other device required to
aid mobility.
(v) A lung disease from which the person's expiratory volume
for 1 second, when measured by spirometry, is less than 1 liter, or
from which the person's arterial oxygen tension is less than 60
mm/hg of room air at rest.
(vi) A cardiovascular disease from which the person measures
between 3 and 4 on the New York heart classification scale, or from
which a marked limitation of physical activity causes fatigue,
palpitation, dyspnea, or anginal pain.
(vii) Other diagnosed disease or disorder including, but not
limited to, severe arthritis or a neurological or orthopedic
impairment that creates a severe mobility limitation.
(p) "Personal information" means information that identifies
an individual, including an individual's driver identification
number, name, address not including zip code, and telephone number,
but does not include information on ORV operation or equipment-
related violations or civil infractions, operator or vehicle
registration status, accidents, or other behaviorally-related
information.
(q) "Public agency" means the department or an agency of a
local
or federal unit of government or of the federal government.
(r) "Roadway" means that portion of a highway improved,
designated, or ordinarily used for vehicular travel. If a highway
includes 2 or more separate roadways, the term roadway refers to a
roadway separately, but not to all roadways collectively.
(s) "Route" means a forest road or other road that is
designated for purposes of this part by the department.
(t) "Safety education fund" means the safety education fund
created under section 81118.
(u) "Safety chief instructor" means a person who has been
certified by a nationally recognized ATV and ORV organization to
certify instructors and to do on-sight evaluations of instructors.
(v) "Trail improvement fund" means the ORV trail improvement
fund
created pursuant to under
section 81117.
(w) "Visual supervision" means the direct observation of the
operator with the unaided or normally corrected eye, where the
observer is able to come to the immediate aid of the operator.
Sec.
81123. (1) The department shall , by October 1, 1991,
develop a comprehensive plan for the management of ORV use of
areas, routes, and trails maintained by or under the jurisdiction
of the department or a local unit of government pursuant to section
81131. The plan shall, as a minimum, set forth the following
methods and timetable:
(a) The inventorying, by appropriate means, of all areas,
forest roads, and forest trails used by or suitable for use by
ORVs.
(b) The identification and evaluation of the suitability of
areas, forest roads, and forest trails to sustain ORV use.
(c) The designation of areas, forest roads, and forest trails
for ORV use, including use by persons with disabilities.
(d) The development of resource management plans to maintain
areas, forest roads, or forest trails and to restore or reconstruct
damaged areas, forest roads, or forest trails. The plans shall
include consideration of the social, economic, and environmental
impact of ORV use.
(e) Specifications for trails and areas.
(2) The plan developed under subsection (1) shall be revised
every 2 years. The plan shall be submitted to the legislature for
approval. The legislature shall approve the plan without amendment
by concurrent resolution adopted by both standing committees of the
house of representatives and senate that consider natural resources
matters and both houses of the legislature by recorded vote. The
department shall submit any subsequent revisions to the plan to the
secretary of the senate and the clerk of the house of
representatives at least 20 session days before the effective date
of the revisions. If both standing committees of the house of
representatives and senate that consider natural resources matters
fail to reject the revisions within those 20 session days, the
revisions shall be considered approved.
(3) The plan may designate where bicyclists, hikers,
equestrians, and other nonconflicting recreation trail users may
use ORV trails or areas.
(4)
By May 7, 1992, the The
department shall designate an
appropriate area in the northern Lower Peninsula and an appropriate
area in southeast Michigan as a scramble area.
(5) Copies of maps of trails shall be prepared and made
available by the department in sufficient quantities to accompany
each ORV certificate of title issued by the secretary of state and
to place in each county sheriff's office and each department of
natural resources field office.