Idaho House Transportation Committee To Discuss New Snowmobile Rules

On Jan. 21, we posted a story about a new proposed Idaho law that will require snowmobilers and other recreationists to register their vehicles at the local DMV or online beforehand and the effect that could have not only on snowmobilers, but on local economies.

At the Jan. 19 Idaho Recreation Council (IRC) general membership meeting, the vote was unanimous to oppose the transfer. The issue will be presented as a revised statute before the Idaho House Transportation Committee on Wednesday, Feb. 6 at 1:30 p.m. There will not be an opportunity to testify but the more people in attendance, especially dealers and other business owners, the better. A hearing will be held sometime the following week.

If you would like to share your opinions about the transfer, now would be an ideal time to do so. Letters and emails don’t need to be long. It would probably be a good idea to include these points:

• Any changes to registration should make the program more efficient and less expensive. The proposed transfer to ITD does the opposite.
• Eliminating the option of registering snowmobiles, OHVs and boats with local dealers and vendors would hurt those businesses.
• The registration program should be handled by people who understand and care about outdoor recreation.
• The Idaho Department of Parks & Recreation (IDPR) has managed the program well for 30 years and can do so without making major program changes.
• Registration is already down statewide; this is not the right time to make a major change and cause confusion for recreationists.

Below is a list of the members of the Idaho House Transportation Committee and their contact information.

Chairman Joe Palmer                jpalmer@house.idaho.gov

Paul Shepherd                          pshepher@house.idaho.gov

JoAn Wood                             jawood@house.idaho.gov

Linden Bateman                        lbateman@house.idaho.gov

Frank Henderson                      fhenderson@house.idaho.gov

Lawrence Denney                     ldenny@house.idaho.gov

Terry Gestrin                            tgestrin@house.idaho.gov

Marc Gibbs                              mgibbs@house.idaho.gov

Brandon Hixon             bhixon@house.idaho.gov

Clark Kauffman                        ckauffman@house.idaho.gov

Kelley Packer                           Kpacker@house.idaho.gov

Mark Patterson                        Patterson@house.idaho.gov

Rick Youngblood                     ryoungblood@house.idaho.gov

Shirley Ringo                            Sringo@house.idaho.gov

Phylis King                               Pking@house.idaho.gov

John Gannon                            jgannon@house.idaho.gov