Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/125868
Lobbying at its finest pays off in Green Stickie battle By Cha rles Clayton Cred it Rus s Sanfo rd , ~Io t o rc ycl e Own ers, Riders and Enthusiasts' lobbyist in th e Cali forni a state cap ito l, with anot her clean sco re in the pol iti cal game. R ight up to the finish it lo oked like M.O.R.E. was go ing to lose and t he poli ce lobby was go ing to win the offro ad registration argu ment. It started last year, w hen the state Parks and Re creat ion Departmen t co m p la ined that not e nough ORV owners who ride on pub lic land were registering their vehicles to pay for the state's planned recreational land p rogram. The state po lice claimed tha t they co u ld not easily enforce the O RV registration law unle ss they c o u ld ticket un-registered ORVs while they were being tr ansp o r ted o n th e h igh ways. While in t he trai ler o r van, however, th e po lice had no proof th a t th e vehicles were ever ridden on public land, and thus subject to registration. An ORV o pera t or had to a ctually be ca ugh t on public lan d without a Creen Stickic or a license pla te. and not participating in an o rganized event, in order to be cited for a violation o f the ORV regis tration law. "Make every re creation al vehicle registe r and we will inspect th e m on the free way s an d en fo rc e th e law," sa id the lobbyist for the California Highway Patrol. Okay, sa id the Par ks Department, we'll invent a new kind of ORV registration, th e O range Stickie, and require a ll th e presen tl y ex em p te d veh icles to bu y that. " Why n ot go all the way , th en, " p ut in San ford, " and re q u ire the Creen Stickie o n a ll th e ORVs?" (T hat w ay the fee s would e n d u p doi ng so me ORV own ers so me good. T he Orange St ic k ie was to hav e been an o ut-and-o u t ta x.) The legislat or who a u t ho re d the b ill for the p olice a nd park peop le ag re e d to th e co m p ro mises : hi s b ill passed withou t mu ch opposition an d word went o u t th at, st ar t ing J uly I, 1974, al l rec rea ti o na l and ra cing vehicles in the sta te , w itho u t ex ception, would have to be registe red u n d er t he ORV·Creen Sti ckie program to be transpor te d o n s ta te h igh w a ys. Then th e ra ce c a r owners began to ho ller, then the road test publi cations as ked , " w ha t about us ?" Obviously, the com pro mise was unj us t. Why sh o u ld cit izens wh o derive n o benefit fr om ORV p arks a nd trails have to help pay fo r th em ? T he 1>1.0.R .E . lobbyist wa s cal led in to help the h ard-pressed legislature draw up a ne w bill to a llevia te som e of th e ha rd shi p th e no-exce p tion law w as ra u s i ng. This n ew bi ll, A8 3839 , pr o v id ed f or "ce r t i f ica tes o f registration " that would a p p ly to any specialized ra ci ng ve h icle. and th e Gre en Stic k le w ould n ot ha ve to be displ a yed. /\ 8 38 39 was rus he d th ro ug h th e legisla ture in th e last d a y s of the 19 74 sess io n . Wh ile A 8 38 39 was traveling through the va rio us co m m itt ee s. un opp o sed b y the po lice lo bby ist, S an ford was hard at work behind th e scenes c o nvin ci ng legisl ators tha t the wh ole th ing was un f air an d tha t t he G ree n Stickle law sh ou ld he put b ack th e w ay it was, re g ardl es s of th e difficulty o f r nfo rce-me nt. At th e sa me time , Ic.-gislalofs w ere h earing from m(~'re ou trage d const ituents who su d denl y ~ea li ze d that t hey were in for ' tee If h a rassment and do uhlc-tuxa tic someth ing wasn" t d o ne be fore ,. {y; Firs t. F jna lly, w it h one week left , t1>£ a u t h or , Assem bly man Eugene efta de cided to amend /\8 38 39 to, in elf. • lie re sc ind th e 19 73 law and res t o r orig inal ex e m p t io ns fro m 'Q R registrati on. A flood of last-mi n ut e an d wires to th e s la t e senators ass its pass age and G overnor Reaga n ~! .\ 8 38 39 into law on the last dayo sess io n . j us t twu da ys before the fa replac ed bet -arne e ffec t ive , A • E'BE LOOK NG FOB PEOPLE wao L KE TO SELL OUT. Accord ing to our latest survey. more than 60% of all Cycle News dealers sell every copy on their counters. Every issue. Cycle News sells ou t because readers like our no-B.S. approach to everyth ing from ecology and motorcycle legislation to shop tips, home repairs and no-holds-barred product evaluations. per issue makes you an o ff icial Cycle News dealer. As a dealer. yo u'll receive a handy Cycle News counter rack fo r your counter anda swell Cycle News window poste r for your wi ndow. Why wait? Wherever you are West. East . or Central - there's a Cycle News edition for yo u to sell BEFORE Most im porta nt ly , Cycle News ' is news. Race results. Point standings. Up-com ing event s. News while it's st ill new s. As a Cycle News dealer, yo u' l l not onl y have th e pleasure of dispensing a lot of good cycle news t o your customers. bu t yo u'll also have th e pleasure of pocket ing 40% pro fi t per copy sold per issue. . A mi nim um order of 10 copies out of. And a Cycle News person waiting to sign you up. Just pick a phone numb er or address below and use it. Cy cle News West. (21 3) 427-74 33 Box 498, Long Beach, Calif. 90 801 Cycle News Central, (5 12) 444 -7548. Bo x 1324 5, Aust in. Texas 787 11. Cycle New s East, (404) 934-7850 Box 805. 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