Arizona is going through a similar exercise.
http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/daily/all_headlines/80871
From the link above:
Off-road vehicle bill goes another route
Cronkite News Service
PHOENIX - Supporters have revived legislation calling for a registration fee on off-highway vehicles despite objections from two lawmakers about provisions that make certain types of riding illegal.
The original bill failed in the Senate, but Rep. Jerry Weiers, R-Glendale, the bill's sponsor, brought it back Wednesday in the House Committee on Natural Resources and Public Safety, which he chairs. He offered it as a strike-everything amendment to another bill.
The committee endorsed the measure 8-2, with Reps. Andy Biggs, R-Gilbert, and John Kavanaugh, R-Fountain Hills, voting against and arguing that the bill is vague as to the types of riding that would be illegal.
The measure would create a $20-to-$25 annual fee for each off-highway vehicle to maintain and build trails, restore damaged areas, educate riders and provide more law enforcement. It also would make certain activities misdemeanors, including driving off paths in a manner that damages wildlife, property or natural resources.
A bipartisan group of co-sponsors and a diverse coalition ranging from off-roading groups to environmental organizations supported the original bill, saying it would help protect landscapes and preserve the pastime in Arizona.
"This state's too beautiful to not allow people to enjoy it," Weiers said.
Weiers said the bill would clear up what he called a mess of laws that cover off-highway vehicles while still allowing vehicle owners to enjoy the ride.
"If we do nothing, our counties are closing down all the places for people to ride," he said.
Weiers' original bill, HB 2573, failed March 19 on a 3-3 vote with one member absent in the Senate Natural Resources and Rural Affairs Committee. The revived version is written over SB 1167, a measure sponsored by Sen. Linda Gray, R-Phoenix, dealing with funeral escort vehicles.
As amended, the bill will go to the House floor and, if approved, back to the Senate.
Biggs said the bill was too broad. Without clear definitions of what is illegal, he said, the measure could lead to a person being arrested for merely smashing a patch of grass.
"I'm afraid when you have such ambiguous terms that you have opened the door to Pandora's Box of criminal prosecution that we cannot explain to our constituents," Biggs said. "This is the height, quite frankly, of legislative irresponsibility."
Tony Guiles, legislative liaison for the Arizona Game & Fish Department, which patrols state land used by off-highway vehicles, said that, while the bill may not define "damage," from a law enforcement perspective, there are plenty of avenues where it is defined, such as the state criminal code or the court systems.
Joe Sacco, the off-highway vehicle law enforcement program manager for Game & Fish, said the legislation would help clear up confusion about current regulations and add seven officers who are sorely needed to patrol areas used by the vehicles.
