Anti-snowmobile legislation in MN.....

RED Alert!!

The eco-extreme organization from Duh-luth , MRR, has already drafted a bill that has been introduced into the legislature (SF3087) , to have the "unrefunded highway gas tax" that we pay each time we fill up a sled, motorcycle, or boat taken away from the Grant-In-Aid trail system.

They arrogantly call themselves "Minnesotans for Responsible Recreation."
"Responsible" as THEY define it.
Some refer to them as Minnesotans for Ridiculous Restrictions, but they are to be taken seriously.

This will completely kill the trail system in the State
There will be NO money for grooming or trail maintenance, and no money for additional new trails obviously.

This tax money belongs to you and me.
MRR is lying about it coming from the general tax revenues. We could keep receipts and get a refund, or let the DNR use it to fund trails and other snowmobile related endeavours, as in been the common practive for decades.

Snowmobiling gets (read carefully) "one percent OF one percent'" of the unrefunded gas tax. This provides about $4 Million Dollars, not including sled registrations and trail permits that funds the GIA system.

So in effect MRR is proposing that our own gas tax money not be used as we have a right to.

If you have never contacted your State legislators, NOW is the time
Use this link to find who represents you.
http://geo.commissions.leg.state.mn.us/districts/start.html

Here is text from MRR, (I borrowed this from a post on hardcoresledder.com )
Minnesota forum:
2008 MRR Legislation
User-funded Implementation of Legislative Audit Recommendations and MRR's Five Standards
2/20/08

STATE CAPITAL - Working with Representative Alice Hausman and other legislators, MRR has drafted two pieces of legislation, both of which repeal gas-tax funding of motorized recreation and provide for user-funded implementation of standards for protecting our state from the unwanted effects of motorized recreation. One bill implements the recommendations of the Office of the Legislative Auditor's Program Evaluation Report: State Funded Trails for Motorizec Recreation. A second bill prioritizes user-funds to implement MRR's Five Standards for Protecting Minnesota from the Unwanted Effects of Motorized Recreation. Both bills will be introduced in the coming days.

Two MRR bills to be introduced in coming days

MRR Legislation Repeals Gas-tax Diversions to Motorized Recreation. User-funded Implementation of Recommendations - Legislative Auditor's Report, State Funded Trails for Motorized Recreation

MRR Legislation Repeals Gas-tax Diversionsto Motorized Recreation. User-funded Implementation of MRR's Five Standards for Protecting Minnesota from the Unwanted Effects of Motorized Recreation
http://www.mnresponsiblerec.org/legislation/documents/2008MRRLeg-UserFundedImplement2003LegAuditRec.pdf

http://www.mnresponsiblerec.org/legislation/documents/2008MRRLeg-UserFundedImplement5Standards.pdf

Read the above links to understand what they are proposing.

Then Call, write, email your state legislators in the next few DAYS, not weeks

Done.

It is a shame that members of any specific group must fight battles like this to protect any form of recreation they choose to participate in.

I no longer live in Mn so my input may be moot but I still follow an interest of riding in Mn for the generations that follow us, not to mention the amount of $$$$$ that the snowmobile industry brings to the state.

In my opinion, for what it is worth, try to find an attorney with an interest in snowmobiling and file a suit against the MRR for attempted mis-appropreation of funds due to the snowmobiling community. Remind them that we too are form of responsible recreation as well as any other form of recreation as they perceive it.

Sledding is NOT a crime but unfortunatly some ignorant people would like to see it like that.

It would be interesting to see what form of recreation the people who head up this organization choose to participate in, and how much they would like to see thier choices politicially eliminated.

Just my $.02.

Good luck with this.

Link to "template" letter, and talk points.

This piece of socialist legislation already has a file number!

SF3087.
Here is a link on Hardcore Sledder.com, MN forum, where there has been a lot more activity about this.
http://www.hardcoresledder.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=319619
(side note, I am "Minnesota Flats" on that 4M)

DPSNODNO, thanks for your input. I was in your new area Jan.5-11 at Tog.

Roger.

Facts about MN trail funding.

Good info for knowing funding facts when writing your MN legislators.

BTW this needs to be done SOON. Bill number is SF3087.

(Compiled by MNUSA, MN United Snowmobile A$$ociation.) Thats us, the good guys. LOL.

How the Snowmobilers Pay for Their Trails
Every time a snowmobiler buys gasoline for his/her snowmobile in our state, the $.20 per gallon

gas tax that is paid at the pump, goes into the snowmobile dedicated account. The gas tax paid at

the pump is a user fee. If we put the gasoline in our motor vehicle, the tax goes to roads. If we

put the gasoline in our boats, the gas tax goes to boat landings. Farmers are able to purchase

gasoline for their non-road farm equipment without paying the gas tax. Based on studies done

by the legislature, the legislature has determined that 1% of the state’s annually collected

unrefunded gas-tax revenues are attributed to snowmobile gas purchases. This user fee is

approximately $5 million each year.

Snowmobilers also pay snowmobile registration fees and trail permits to fund the snowmobile

trail program. The amount appropriated by the legislature to fund the program for FYE 6/30/08

and 6/30/09 is $14.2 million. These funds are available from the gas tax, snowmobile

registration and trail permit receipts. $8.4 million is paid to groom and maintain approximately

20,000 miles of trails through the grants-in-aid program and the balance goes to the Department

of Natural Resources for program administration, enforcement and grooming and maintenance of

approximately 2,000 miles of state snowmobile trails. No general fund dollars pay for the

snowmobile program.

Grants-in-aid funds are paid to a local unit of government based on the number of miles in a trail

system. In many cases, the local unit of government contracts with a local non-profit

corporation, generally a snowmobile club, to do the trail maintenance and grooming. The funds

pay for equipment purchase and rental, fuel, culverts, bridges, signage, trail maps and insurance

necessary to do the trail work. The grant amounts are based on an average reimbursement of

65% of equipment use and labor for snowmobile trail maintenance and 90% of the cost of the

equipment use and labor used for trail grooming. Club members volunteer their time and often

hold fund raisers to help pay for the work on the trails which they are providing to the general

public.

In January of 2003, a Legislative Audit Report on State Funded Trails for Motorized Recreation

was presented and found ... “snowmobiles have gained a level of acceptance in Minnesota and

contributed millions of tourism dollars to the state’s economy.” The oversight concerns

expressed in the 2003 audit on the snowmobile program have been addressed in program

changes. Each year the Department of Natural Resources conducts program reviews of the grant

recipients. All grants reviewed are being managed in accordance with the program requirements.

Snowmobiling is important to Minnesota’s economy. Minnesota’s snowmobile trail system is

the backbone of winter tourism in the state. With a snowmobile trail system budget of $14.2

million, a conservative $200 million is generated in tourism dollars. A recently completed

economic impact study reports the snowmobile effect on Minnesota includes 8,000 jobs with

wages and salaries of $245 million; $529 million in gross state product; $1 billion in gross

receipts/sales and $56 million in state and local tax revenues. Snowmobiling is an important

industry to Minnesota and the extensive trail system is provided to the public through

snowmobile user fees.

Public funds provide bicycle trails.

Been reading their site... (Conference call was boring anyway...)...

And, I just love how these delusional mushroom lickers are toting the collapse of the 35W bridge as a battle cry to try and get gas tax diversions to motorized recreation stopped... That alone pissed me off. Like it is somehow our fault.

Letters/Calls... Skipping work and doing it now...

Thanks for letting us know!