“GROW WITH THE ECONOMY”
OPINION ON THE APRIL 2, 2025 OHMVRD BUDGET
REPORT
The OHMVR Division Finance Team should be commended for
presenting a much appreciated and detailed Update on the OHMVR Trust Fund (OHVTF)
at today’s hearing. This report notes
the 2024-25 budget allocates $78,469,000 million dollars for State Operations,
encompassing State Vehicular Recreation Areas (SVRAs), Division Headquarters,
statewide projects, and administrative expenses.
OHMVRD BUDGET
UPDATE
https://ohv.parks.ca.gov/pages/1140/files/Staff%20Report%20-%20Budget%20Update.pdf
It also states the Grants and Cooperative Agreements
program is appropriated at $30,000,000 million dollars, that consists of a
$1,000,000 million dollar transfer from the State Parks and Recreation Fund
(SB-1) and $29,000,000 million dollars from the OHVTF.
The report states that any unspent State Operations funds
not used are retained for future use, a practice the helps ensure the long-term
sustainability of the fund. It also
references that Parks uses Tracking, Accountability, and Compliance (TAC)
procedures to ensure that OHVTF monies are not spent on general park
operations.
While this update contains a lot of important fiscal
information it does not provide any solutions to the ongoing 25-30% shortfall
of revenues coming into the OHVTF from the Motor Vehicle Fuel Tax, camping
fees, vehicle registration, and loan repayments of about $81,000,000 million dollars
vs. State Operations/Capital Outlay and
Local Assistance/Grant expenditures of about $111,439,000 million dollars. It is important to note that no new Capital
Outlay projects are planned, which is a direct result of the division attempt
to roll back program expenses. While necessary in the short term, Capital
Outlay projects are essential to administering a safe and sustainable program.
Nor is there a remedy provided to address the ongoing
drawdown of the OHVTF reserve balance that started off in 2018-2019 at $195,044,000
million dollars and is expected to end up at $119,265,000 million dollars in
2024-2025.
As Parks HQ and the OHMVR Division review options to
address the revenue shortfall, OHMVR Program supporters should urge them to
consider the following strategies that may be accomplished through policy,
regulation changes, and/or legislation.
STRATEGIES/SOLUTIONS
SB1 – The pre
SB1 off-highway fuel tax that was $0.18 cents/gallon and should have been
raised to the current rate, now $0.60 cents/gallon with increases going to the
OHVTF. However, that increase – about
$125,000,000 million dollars to $135,000,000 million dollars annually - was
instead redirected to the State Parks and Recreation Fund (SPRF).
The gas tax going to the OHMVR Program is based upon a
study conducted to determine how much of the total gasoline purchased in
California was purchased by owners of off-highway vehicles and highway licensed
vehicles used during off-highway activities as opposed to on-highway use. It
was determined that 2.446% of all gasoline purchased in CA is used for OHMVR
activities. Multiply the number of
gallons purchased X the gasoline tax X 2.446% and that is how much gasoline tax
revenue is transferred into the OHV Trust Fund monthly. The problem is that
when the legislature decided to redistribute and increase the gas tax after SB1
negotiations and then tie future gas tax increases to the cost of living, the OHMVR
Program was left out, still receiving the historically low $0.18 cents/gallon
that has ballooned to $0.60 cents/gallon and now increases annually. Instead,
ALL those increased gasoline tax distributions go into the SPRF to be
distributed at State Parks HQ discretion. Hundreds of millions of dollars have
been distributed to SPRF and the OHMVR Program receives a paltry $1,000,000
million dollars each year.
The Boating & Waterways Division of CA State Parks
took a similar hit to their program (gasoline purchased by boaters, obviously
not used on highways now goes into SPRF) and also receives only $1 million dollars
every year. Fair is fair and the redistribution of SB1 gasoline tax is long
overdue.
SOLUTION - Review
SB1 % allotments to make the OHVTF sustainable. At the very least, tie the
OHMVR Program gasoline tax distribution to the cost of living rather than an
antiquated set number.
AB 95 - In
2011, the Legislature passed AB 95 during the “Great Recession” on the misguided
assumption the OHMVR Program was being reduced while ignoring the reality that
salaries, construction materials, and other costs were rising. It continues to redirect $10M every year from
the Motor Vehicle Fuel Account (from OHV GAS TAX collected) to the General fund.
To date, about $140,000,000 million
dollars of transfers have occurred. The
legislature worked some magic on this move. By law any funds taken from the OHV
Trust Fund must be considered loans and paid back. So, the legislature instead
determined that if the $10M in gasoline taxes collected from OHV users was
transferred into the General Fund before hitting the OHV Trust Fund it is not a
loan and not required to be paid back.
SOLUTION: Object to and eliminate the $866,000
dollars monthly gas tax diversion to the General Fund that has continued for 13+
years.
UPDATE OHV FEES
– Most of the OHV-related fees, an important part of the revenue stream, have
not been updated in over 20 years. For
example, overnight camping fees at a non-OHV state park are $50 dollars/night
vs. $10 dollars/night at a State Vehicular Recreation Area. The CA OHV Green Sticker registration fee is
$52 dollars/every 2 years (only $33 goes to the OHMVR Program) where the new
Maine OHV registration is $70 dollars/yr.
SOLUTION- Update
OHV fee schedule to enhance revenue stream into the OHVTF.
TRANSFORMATION REVIEW-
In 2014, California State Parks launched the Park Transformation Process. At that time, the State Park Director said
the California Department of Parks and Recreation was going through a series of
initiatives supporting strategic goals, such as improving visitors’ experiences
and making the system more relevant to a broader and more diverse population.
The effort, dubbed “Transformation”, would alter policies, procedures,
guidelines, and organizational structures to support an entrepreneurial,
service-oriented, creative and collaborative culture within the Department.
There is an axiom that active forms of recreation such as
OHV and boating are most effectively managed by frontline staff at the local
level where they have on-the-ground knowledge and meaningful relationships with
their customers. Historically, decisions
to administer event permits, designate routes, and manage other park operations
have been made by SVRA District Superintendents. The same on-site decision-making holds true
for units managed by county park departments, the Forest Service, and BLM.
Since 1982, there has been a direct chain of
command/communications between the Division and SVRA District Superintendents
that is necessary for the Program to continue delivering sustainable world-
class OHV recreation to CA residents and tourists. Thanks to Transformation that effective chain
of command no longer exists because the SVRAs have been moved into mega park
districts.
The OHV districts and their District Superintendents had
separate but equal management and budgeting powers compared to “regular” state
park districts that were essential to the fast-paced recreation needs of the
OHV community. That local decision-making power has been diluted by routing
many decisions to either a mega district with twenty or more park units
competing for workload or sometimes to the Parks HQ Deputy Director who is in
charge of park operations statewide for 280 park units.
SOLUTION – Review
cost and management efficacy of Transformation that significantly increased
middle management bureaucracy and reduced local decision-making authority. Consolidation of services in diverse forms of
recreation is not a plus in this case.
GROW WITH THE
ECONOMY SUMMARY
The hallmark of the 1971 bill was the creation of the OHV
Trust Fund to provide an independent, sound, and ongoing funding source without
any General Fund assistance. OHV gas tax
and Green, Red Sticker, soon-to-be
Competition Sticker, and other related fees must be updated to ensure a reliable
revenue stream is structured and allowed to “Grow with the Economy” so that
future generations can have access to high-quality environmentally sound OHV recreation. The
OHMVR Program cannot continue to provide essential recreation and resource
protection services or soon even exist without an equitable distribution of gasoline
tax revenue. Raising camp and day use fees and vehicle registrations alone will
not bridge this economic divide created by the legislature.
# # #
Don Amador has been in the trail advocacy and recreation
management profession for over 34 years.
Don is President of Quiet Warrior Racing LLC. Don serves as the Western
States Representative for the Motorcycle Industry Council. Don is Past
President/CEO and current board member of the Post Wildfire OHV Recovery
Alliance. Don served as a contractor to the BlueRibbon Coalition from 1996
until June, 2018. Don served on the California Off-Highway Motor Vehicle
Recreation Commission from 1994-2000. He has won numerous awards including
being a 2016 Inductee into the Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame and the 2018
Friend of the AMA Award. Don served as the government affairs lead for AMA
District 36 in Northern California from 2019 – 2023. Don is a Co-Founder and
current Core-Team member on FireScape Mendocino. Don served as an AD Driver for the FS North
Zone Fire Cache during the 2022, 2023, and 2024 wildfire seasons. Don is a
contributor to Dealernews Magazine. Don writes from his home in Cottonwood, CA.
