Moronacity Cycling Journal » Advocacy, Uncategorized
State Park, Boating Access Site and Forest Recreation Passport Fee
By Diane UrsuWhile I’ve had a lot of fun poking fun at the Iceman (Cold Blast for Iceman Registration and Grrrr, Phhhtt, Scratch, Claw, ROAR!) and Facebook, something worth writing about has come up. This is something that affects Michigan residents, and I believe it is something worth while. Currently, the MMBA is supporting it as many, many of Michigan’s mountain bike trails are located within state parks. There really is an amazing network of mountain biking in the urban sprawl of Detroit to Lansing to Battle Creek.
Currently, state park annual passes are $24 and the DNR receives no money from the state’s general fund. At this rate, the DNR will be running in the red, this year. The Citizens Committee for State Parks made a proposal to the Michigan Legislature to adopt a method of funding that has been successfully implemented in Montana.
How It Works
• Under the new proposal, the $24 annual state park resident motor vehicle permit and the $24 boating access site permit will be eliminated.
• A $10 fee (adjusted each year for inflation) will be added to the annual vehicle license plate registration and a $5 fee be added to the motorcycle license plate registration. This fee would allow access to all of the state parks and recreation areas.
• Citizens who do not use state recreation areas can opt out of the “State Park, Boating Access Site and Forest Recreation Passport” fee when registering their vehicles.
• Since people may opt out of this fee, it cannot be viewed as a tax. Instead, it will be a long-term stable fund.
What if People Opt Out?
In Montana, 30% of vehicle registrants opted out of the park funding fee in the first year, and this number decreased in subsequent years. We would break even if as many as 60% of Michigan registrants opted out.
For more information, check out the Resolution of the Citizens Committee for Michigan State Parks to Eliminate the Michigan State Park Motor Vehicle Permit and Boating Access Site Permit and Improve Funding for Michigan State Parks and Other Michigan Outdoor Recreation Areas.
About 5 years ago, the people of Michigan voted on a millage which was to be used strictly for our state parks. What happened to that money if the parks are receiving no support from the State?
I don’t know if this would be a good idea. Here in Michigan, I can see everyone using the parks but no one paying the extra on their license plates. If they’re going to do this, the fee should be mandatory or else there should be something on the license plates indicating that they DID pay!
The Citizen’s Committee really does not feel this will be the case. Montana has given us a great example. Like I said, if only 30% of Michigan citizen’s decide to pay the fee, then the parks will break even. As it is now, the parks will be running in the red come November. Then, our parks will probably start to disappear. This is something we don’t want to see.