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We have a Bill! HB1143

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Rut Row
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We have a Bill! HB1143

Post by Rut Row »

Right now we have a Bill working its way through the Maryland legislation that we need your help getting out of committee.

Currently, in Allegany and Garrett counties, you can purchase a permit from the county to ride on the road with your Snowmobile, ATV, or SxS on county roads, up to 2 miles. This means riders at Wolf Den Run State Park, or Saint John's Rock ORV trail, must pull off of the road and re-enter to reach their final destinations. And off-highway motorcycles, unless they have a license plate, need to be trailered between locations. This created a potentially confusing law for multi-OHV type groups to navigate. But HB 1143 will change that.

HB1143 will add Off-Highway Motorcycles to the definition of ATV's for the on road ATV law of Allegany and Garrett counties. HB 1143 will also increase the mileage of onroad travel up to 5 miles from the current limit. This is a large step in the right direction for creating better and easier OHV access. This will allow WDRSP to function as designed and allow WDRSP riders and SJR riders access to their respective towns of Kitzmiller and Lonaconing and bring their business with them.


So, how do you help? Testify! The Transportation Committee hearing is 3/9 at 1pm. You can submit written testimony, or provide oral testimony virtually via ZOOM. You will need to create a "MY MGA" account. To do this, click on this link that gives Bill details, https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/ ... ils/hb1143 and click on the "MY MGA" logo at the top right corner.

However, there is a limited window of opportunity to sign up to testify. You can create your account at any time, but you must sign up on Monday, March 7th between 8am and 3pm. Outside of that window, you will not be able to sign up.

Several members of this Committee have been to Wolf Den Run State Park, ridden the trails, and utilized this on road provision to access the different parcels, so they are familiar with how this law currently functions.

I want to thank everyone for their support to date, and thank you for your help on this legislation. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me directly.


Sincerely,

James Ratino
President of Maryland OHV Alliance
Ken
Die young as late as possible, remember who you were before the world told you how it should be. -- Barry Morris
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Twist
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Re: We have a Bill! HB1143

Post by Twist »

OK, I've created the account. Will there be a link tomorrow on the bill to submit my written testimony?
The two most important days in your life are the day you were born and the day you figure out why. - Mark Twain
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Joker
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Re: We have a Bill! HB1143

Post by Joker »

There is a drop box option for the bill to determine which form of testimony you would like to give. You will need to upload a doc to submit written
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Rut Row
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Re: We have a Bill! HB1143

Post by Rut Row »

Yesterday at about 5:30PM, 4.5 hours after the committee hearing was scheduled to start, HB 1143 was finally heard. Delegate Buckel introduced the Bill on behalf of the Allegany County and Garrett County Delegations and did a wonderful job expressing their and the counties unanimous support. There was no opposition to the Bill, and only 1 delegate had questions as she was unfamiliar with the original Bill and was seeking clarification on which roads are eligible for riding, and what type of people this law would cater to.

Several members of this committee came to Wolf Den Run State Park when it first opened and have experienced this on road law as intended. One of them, Delegate David Fraser-Hidalg (Montgomery County), helped further clarify the simple nature of this Bill in a very positive light to the rest of the committee members. If anyone is interested in watching the 10 minute hearing on this Bill. We run from the 3Hr 13 min - 3Hr 25min mark.


Thank you everyone for your support and submitting testimony,

James
Ken
Die young as late as possible, remember who you were before the world told you how it should be. -- Barry Morris
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Joker
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Re: We have a Bill! HB1143

Post by Joker »

Looks like its due to become law. Thank you to all those who assisted in this endeavor
HB1143.PNG
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