Friday, April 26, 2024 | St. Lawrence County, NY
Legislation that Sen. Betty Little, R-Queensbury, says will help improve safety on more than 8,000 miles of public snowmobile trails across New York State was signed into law and takes effect next …
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Legislation that Sen. Betty Little, R-Queensbury, says will help improve safety on more than 8,000 miles of public snowmobile trails across New York State was signed into law and takes effect next year.
Little co-sponsored the bill (S4542b/A1584c) at the request of local snowmobile clubs and with the support of the New York State Snowmobile Association, her office said.
“We have an incredible network of snowmobile trails, offering tremendous recreational opportunity for many New Yorkers and attracting a lot of out-of-state visitors,” Little said in a prepared statement. “That translates into hundreds of millions of dollars of economic activity, such as overnight stays, meals in restaurants and rentals or purchases of snowmobiles and equipment. This new law will help keep riders safe as they enjoy the trails.”
The new law limits the use of the trails to only vehicles designed to be operated on public snowmobile trails; assures appropriate fees go to support the Snowmobile Trail Development and Maintenance Fund by adjusting fines for operating an unregistered sled; and enhances financial incentives for municipalities to increase the presence of local law enforcement particularly in areas of the state that have the most snowmobile activity, Little’s office said.
Funding available to counties for local law enforcement has not increased since the trail fund’s creation in 1985, the senator said.
Using only trail fund dollars, the law enhances financial incentives for municipalities to increase the presence of law enforcement personnel on the trails by raising the reimbursement rate and cap. The reimbursement rate will be increased to 75 percent and the funding allocated to the program by $50,000 from $150,000 to $200,000. The maximum law enforcement grant to a municipality will increase from $12,500 to $37,500, according to Little’s office.
The fine for operating a snowmobile without registration would increase from a maximum of $200 to a maximum of $500, which goes into the trail development and maintenance fund, Little’s office said.
