Boondocks No. 21

Monday, March 26, 2007

Senate Budget Includes Exemption for Hunters/Fishermen from Snowmobile Trail Fund Fees. The Senate's version of TED Language Bill S.2109-B Part GG, the Transportation, Education, and Economic Development Budget Language Bill has language that would reduce the fee that hunters and ice fishermen have to pay for their snowmobile registration, and exempt them from having to join a snowmobile club.

The snowmobile clubs, as you might guess, are seriously up in arms about this proposal. It could mean that they get fewer members, and many hunters and fishermen do benefit from their trails. On the other hand the hunters and fishermen want this proposal, as witnessed by the Senate including it in their proposed budget.

My guess is it will be stripped out of the final budget negotiations. While I don't have any inside information on this, it would ultimately cost the state money, and their isn't that strong of support for it even in the outdoors men community.

Here is the actual text of Part GG:

PART GG

§ Section 1. Section 2222 of the vehicle and traffic law is amended by adding a new subdivision 2-a to read as follows:

2-a. The commissioner is authorized to register a snowmobile as a non-trail snowmobile which shall be used solely for the purpose of gaining access to hunting and fishing areas. Such registration shall be comprised of a blaze orange background with black lettering. The fee for the registration of a snowmobile as a non-trail snowmobile and each renewal thereof shall be twenty-five dollars, fifteen dollars of which shall be deposited into the snowmobile trail development and maintenance fund set forth in section 21.07 of the parks, recreation and historic preservation law.

§ 2. Section 2230 of the vehicle and traffic law is amended by adding a new subdivision 3 to read as follows:

3. Any person who violates the provisions of subdivision two-a of section twenty-two hundred twenty-two of this article shall be guilty of a violation punishable by a fine of five hundred dollars for each offense, of which four hundred dollars of such fine shall be deposited in the snowmobile trail development and maintenance fund set forth in section 21.07 of the parks, recreation and historic preservation law. In addition to such fine, any second or subsequent offense within a five year period shall result in the suspension of all licenses set forth in section 11-0701 of the environmental conservation law held by such person for a period of one year.

§ 3. This act shall take effect immediately.

It should be interesting to watch, as always. P'Link

Roy McDonald Says Lack of Cellphone Reception in Discrimination. The Assemblyman from Saratoga who doesn't own a farm, but likes Local Jobs for Local People, says that somebody is being discriminatory against rural people by not providing cell phone reception everywhere one goes. P'Link

CAFO Fee Increases in Budget? As noted about a month back, one of Spitzer's proposals (A.4309-A Part R) was to increase the medium-sized CAFO registration fee from $50 to $150 and the large CAFO fee from $50 to $500. The Assembly continues that in A.4309-B Part M, but not surprisingly the Senate pulled it in their version, S.2109-B Part M.

This one that will have to be worked out in the discussions. No hints on where this budget item is currently going, though I have my suspicions that it might not make it into the final budget, as the Senate wants. I'm sure the dairy farmers are watching this one carefully. P'Link

Ford's Burning Particle Traps. It looks like Ford is having more problems with it's trucks lately, with the latest bad news relating to diesel particle traps that could get fuel leaking in them and catching on fire, assuming your truck had fuel leaking into it from another leak.

Fires can be rather messy in your car. And it looks bad for Ford—though they have a software update that shutdowns the truck should the particle filter get too hot. Still, it doesn't fix the root of the problem, fluids leaking in there. P'Link