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January 26, 2024 SB 24-056
Legislative Council Staff
Nonpartisan Services for Colorado’s Legislature
Fiscal Note
Drafting Number:
Prime Sponsors:
LLS 24-0550
Sen. Hinrichsen
Date:
Bill Status:
Fiscal Analyst:
January 26, 2024
Senate Transportation & Energy
Colin Gaiser | 303-866-2677
colin.gaiser@coleg.gov
Bill Topic: OUT-OF-STATE SNOWMOBILE PERMIT & SEARCH RESCUE FEE
Summary of
Fiscal Impact:
☒ State Revenue
☒ State Expenditure
☐ State Transfer
☐ TABOR Refund
☐ Local Government
☐ Statutory Public Entity
The bill requires out-of-state snowmobilers to obtain a permit, creates a registration
exemption for snowmobiles on private property, and adds the backcountry search and
rescue fee to out-of-state snowmobile permits and off-highway use permits. The bill
will minimally impact state revenue and workload on an ongoing basis.
Appropriation
Summary:
No appropriation is required.
Fiscal Note
Status:
The fiscal note reflects the introduced bill.
Summary of Legislation
The bill expands the snowmobile registration exemption to include all snowmobiles use on
private property, regardless of whether the snowmobile is being used commercially.
The bill requires an owner or operator of an out-of-state snowmobile to obtain a permit when
recreating on public land. Snowmobiles exempt from the permit include those owned by
governments, operating in an authorized organized event, or operating for nonrecreational
purposes. The Colorado Division of Parks and Wildlife (CPW) in the Department of Natural
Resources must begin issuing the permits by January 1, 2025, and establish the fee for a permit,
which will be deposited into the snowmobile recreation fund. Permits are valid from April 1 of
the current permit year through March 31. The fine for not displaying an out-of-state permit is
$100.
The bill also adds the backcountry search and rescue fee to out-of-state snowmobile and
off-highway use permits.
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January 26, 2024 SB 24-056
Background
The CPW manages the Snowmobile Program, which provides funding for trail grooming, trail
improvements, the Snowmobile Safety Certification Program, as well as enforcement and
signage. Program funding comes from registrations and out-of-state use permits. CPW also
requires off-highway vehicle (OHV) registration for residents and sells OHV permits for
non-residents and for resident-registered highway vehicles. These products are sold through the
Integrated Parks and Wildlife System (IPAWS) and agents.
The annual snowmobile registrations and permits are each sold for $30.25 and are valid from
October 1 through September 30 each year. The annual OHV registrations and permits are each
sold for $25.25 and are valid from April 1 through March 31 each year. These costs include a
$0.25 search and rescue fee that is deposited into the Backcountry Search and Rescue (BSAR)
Fund. The remaining funds are deposited into the Snowmobile Recreation Fund or OHV
Recreation Fund, respectively, and fund the Snowmobile and OHV Programs appropriated
annually in the Long Bill. CPW is a state enterprise, and revenue from BSAR, Snowmobile, and
OHV is not subject to TABOR.
In the past two fiscal years, CPW has issued an average of 6,740 non-resident snowmobile
permits per year, and an average of 49,000 off-highway vehicle permits (resident and
non-resident) per year.
The CPW also issues a $100 fine for violating the out-of-state permit requirement, though the
noncompliance rate for out-of-state snowmobiles is low.
Assumptions
The fiscal note assumes that the bill largely codifies existing CPW regulatory framework. The
bill’s change to remove commercial snowmobile users from the registration requirement if they
are only operating on private land is not expected to reduce revenue by a significant amount.
Comparable Crime Analysis
Legislative Council Staff is required to include certain information in the fiscal note for any bill
that creates a new crime, changes the classification of an existing crime, or creates a new factual
basis for an existing crime. The following section outlines crimes that are comparable to the
offense in this bill and discusses assumptions on future rates of criminal convictions resulting
from the bill.
Prior conviction data and assumptions. This bill creates the new offense of operating an
out-of-state snowmobile without a permit, a civil infraction. To form an estimate on the
prevalence of this new crime, the fiscal note analyzed the existing offense of operating an
unregistered snowmobile as a comparable crime. From FY 2020-21 to FY 2022-23, 15 offenders
have been convicted for this existing offense. Of the persons convicted, all 15 were male.
Demographically, 4 were White, and 11 were classified as "Other." Based on the low occurrence Page 3
January 26, 2024 SB 24-056
of the existing offense, the fiscal note assumes that there will be minimal additional case filings
or convictions for the new offense under the bill. Because the bill is not expected to have a
tangible impact on criminal justice-related expenditures or revenue at the state or local levels,
these potential impacts are not discussed further in this fiscal note.
State Revenue and Expenditures
The bill is not expected to have an overall impact on state revenue, as the CPW already collects
permit fees from out-of-state snowmobile operators as well as the backcountry search and
rescue fee. However, the permit expiration dates in the bill do not align with existing expiration
dates, and may temporarily shift this revenue as snowmobile operators renew their permits. The
bill minimally increases workload in the CPW to update rules; this can be accomplished within
existing appropriations.
Effective Date
The bill takes effect 90 days following adjournment of the General Assembly sine die, assuming
no referendum petition is filed.
State and Local Government Contacts
Counties County Clerks Judicial
Natural Resources Public Safety Revenue
Transportation Treasury
The revenue and expenditure impacts in this fiscal note represent changes from current law under the bill for each
fiscal year. For additional information about fiscal notes, please visit the General Assembly website.