|
News
Summary of Activity on HB 898
Background
About a week before the deadline to get new bills considered by the New Hampshire Legislature
I was asked by NHMA to prepare a bill to get Sled Dogs officially recognized as a user group in New
Hampshire and to see if we could get permission to use ATVs on State trails for training our dogs.
I contacted Rep. Jay Phinizy, who I was told would sponsor such a bill to find out how to go about
this task. On his advice, I sent him a summary of what we wanted to accomplish and what the
rationale was for the request. This information was then sent to the Legislative Services Bureau
who was to put that information into the form of a Bill. On Monday March 5th the "formal" Bill
came out of Legislative Services and was the first time we saw the results of our request. A
hearing was scheduled for Thursday March 8th in Concord. On Tuesday I received word that Chris
Gamache, Chief of N.H. Trails Bureau was not going to support the bill as written and would oppose
it unless we removed the two sections which attempted to get the trails opened to our ATV usage.
On a personal note, I was very unsure if Chris was a friend or foe of the mushing community and
this action certainly seemed to answer that question. I decided to call Chris on Wednesday morning
to try to understand why he was opposed to our bill. It was clear to all of us that with his opposition
our bill would go nowhere. My conversation with Chris was very fruitful! After further discussion and
explaining what we were trying to accomplish, (which Chris understood fairly well) we were able to
come up with wording that not only took us out of the ATV category but also actually made the Bill
more favorable to our goals. Essentially we used the definition of "sled dogs" to accomplish our goal.
With his guidance I was able to re-write the Bill, have him review it and give it his full support. I no
longer have any questions about his support for our sport!
Hearing
The hearing on HB 898 was held on Thursday March 8th. Our Legislative sponsors were
Rep. Jay Phinizy, Rep. David Russell, Rep. Richard Snow and Sen. John Gallus. All were present except
Sen. Gallus who was attending a different hearing. Rep. Phinizy, our primary sponsor introduced the Bill
to the committee. We had hoped to have the newly amended Bill in place before the start of the meeting
but were unable to do it in time. I had run off copies of the amended Bill (just in case) which were passed
out to the committee members at the start of the hearing so they could all follow the changes we had made.
There were approximately 20 members of the mushing community present and about half of us spoke
before the committee. We decided prior to the start of the meeting to speak on different aspects of mushing
and the Bill so as not to have a lot of repetition. All speakers were effective and gave a strong representation
of the mushing community. Also speaking in support of the Bill was Chris Gamache, Chief of N.H. Trails Bureau.
Obviously, his testimony weighed heavily on the committee. Chris was not only perhaps the most concise speaker
on our behalf but also stood firmly and strongly in his support of our efforts. There were several questions from the
committee which were handled by various speakers and again, Chris. In my mind, one of the most telling moments
came when a committee member asked how many trails were involved if they allowed us to train with ATVs. We
pretty much all looked at each other when Chris came to the rescue and stated "Right now about 90% of the State
trails are not usable by dog teams running ATVs". When asked if opening all those trails to dog teams wouldn't
present a problem, Chris stated "It would not."
There was only one speaker who voiced opposition to the Bill. That was a fellow from ATV Watch ( www.atvwatch.com ...check it out!).
His position was that a dog tem with an ATV is still an ATV and should be treated as such. I do not believe he had a very big impact on the committee.
Overall, those on attendance agree that the hearing went very well. It appeared that we certainly have the support of the majority of the committee
and perhaps unanimous support is not out of the question. We do have one issue remaining; we need to re-work the bill to include a definition of "musher".
The next step will be to iron out the final wording (this could require a sub-committee to handle but hopefully will not) and then they will meet in executive session
(attendance by public permitted but cannot speak) to vote to send the Bill on to the Legislature for a vote.
It's not over yet but we have made great strides forward for what could be the most important development for mushing in the State of New Hampshire.
A copy of the amended (but not final) Bill:
Amended HB 898
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Seven
|
AN ACT relative to the use of sled dogs and the training of sled dogs on state trails.
|
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
|
1 New Paragraph; Definitions; Sled Dogs. Amend RSA 215-A:1 by inserting after paragraph XX the following new paragraph:
XXI. "Sled dogs" means teams of dogs driven by a person or persons pulling sleds, a skier, wheeled rigs, and other motorized
and non-motorized devices used to train or control the teams. For the purposes of this chapter, when an OHRV is attached to
a team of sled dogs and used for the purposes of training, it shall not be classified as an OHRV.
2 Use of Statewide Trail System; Mushing Added. Amend RSA 216-F:2, I to read as follows:
I. The trails within the system shall be held, developed and administered under this chapter primarily as recreational trails for
hiking, nature walks, bird watching, horseback riding, bicycling, ski touring, snowshoeing, snowmobiling, mushing, and off highway
recreational vehicles and the natural scenic beauty thereof shall be preserved insofar as is practical; provided, however, that the commissioner
may permit uses of trails and land acquired hereunder, by the owner of adjoining land or others, in such a manner and at such seasons as will
not substantially interfere with the primary use of the trails.
3 Multi-Use Statewide Trail System; Advisory Committee. Amend RSA 216-F:5, I to read as follows:
I. The commissioner shall appoint a New Hampshire statewide trail system advisory committee, for the purposes of advising the director of parks
and recreation on matters related to the New Hampshire statewide trail system. The members shall equally represent the different trail interests
involved and the general public. This committee shall include, but not be limited to, representation from the following: the bureau of trails; department
of fish and game; office of energy and planning; department of transportation; governor's commission on disability; New Hampshire Snowmobile Association;
a representative of Granite State ATV Association; Appalachian Mountain Club; New Hampshire Municipal Association; Society for the Protection of New Hampshire
Forests; the New Hampshire Heritage Trail; the New Hampshire Farm Bureau Federation; the New Hampshire Horse Council, Inc.; the New Hampshire
Mushers Association; a representative of landowners; and the bicycle trail coordinator from the department of transportation.
4 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
|
<< Back
|
|
