Off-highway vehicles.

(1) Existing law generally requires motor vehicles that are operated or used exclusively off the highways to be issued and display an identification plate or device issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles. Under existing law, certain vehicles are exempt from this requirement, including 4-wheeled motor vehicles operated solely in organized racing or competitive events upon a closed course, as specified. Existing law permits a motorcycle issued a special transportation identification device to be transported on a highway to and from a closed course. Existing law authorizes a special transportation identification device to be issued upon payment of a fee. This bill would repeal provisions relating to special transportation identification devices for motorcycles and corresponding fees, and would make other related conforming changes. The bill would additionally provide that competition all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) are not exempt from identification. (2) Existing law requires the Department of Motor Vehicles, upon identifying an off-highway motor vehicle subject to identification, to issue to the owner a suitable identification plate or device that is capable of being attached to the vehicle, as specified. Existing law requires the department to determine the size, color, and letters or number of the identification plate or device issued for off-highway motor vehicles. A violation of the Vehicle Code is punishable as an infraction. This bill would require the department to, until July 1, 2026, issue to the owner of a competition motorcycle or ATV a competition identification for the operation of that vehicle on public lands, as specified. The bill would require, for the issuance or renewal of a competition identification, a specified configuration for the vehicle identification number and product identification number for an off-highway motor vehicle or ATV that is model year 2022 or later and is used solely for competition not on a public highway. The bill would impose restrictions on the operation of a competition motorcycle or ATV on public lands, including, among others, a requirement that a rider possess a current and valid competition card from a competition-sanctioning organization when practicing for a sanctioned event on public lands. Because operating a competition motorcycle or ATV on public lands in violation of those requirements would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require the Department of Parks and Recreation, in collaboration with the State Air Resources Board and the Department of Motor Vehicles, to submit a report to the Legislature by March 1, 2025, that documents specified information about the program for identification of competition motorcycles and ATVs created by this bill. (3) Existing law requires all identification plates or devices to be displayed in a specified manner, including on the left fork leg of a motorcycle, either horizontal or vertical, and visible from the left side of the motorcycle. This bill would require that a competition motorcycle display that identification plate or device on the left side of the motorcycle. Because a violation of this requirement would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (4) Existing law generally imposes specified fees on off-highway motor vehicles, including, among others, a service fee of $7 for the issuance or renewal of identification of off-highway motor vehicles subject to identification and a special fee of $33 paid at the time of payment of the service fee. Existing law requires the special fees, specified use fees for state vehicular recreation areas, and other specified funds to be deposited in the Off-Highway Vehicle Trust Fund, and requires moneys in the fund, upon appropriation, to be allocated for specified purposes related to off-highway recreation. This bill would instead, until July 1, 2026, impose specified fees on competition motorcycles and ATVs model year 2022 and newer, including a special fee of $126 for those vehicles that will be operated on public lands for which funds from the Off-Highway Vehicle Trust Fund have been expended and an additional amount to allow the department to recover its reasonable regulatory costs to establish the competition motorcycle and ATV registration program established by this bill. The bill would require the department to collect that special fee at the time of issuance or renewal of a competition identification and to deposit the fee in the Off-Highway Vehicle Trust Fund, to be used exclusively for the reasonable costs to the Department of Parks and Recreation related to the activities of those vehicles that are conducted on public lands, including enforcement of restrictions on the use of competition off-highway motorcycles and all-terrain vehicles on public lands. (5) Existing law requires every off-highway motor vehicle to meet specified requirements, including, among others, a requirement that the vehicle be equipped with a spark arrester maintained in effective working order. Existing law generally exempts from those requirements certain off-highway motor vehicles being operated in an organized racing or competitive event upon a closed course. This bill would limit those exemptions by requiring competition-identified motorcycles and ATVs to be equipped with a muffler, spark arrester, and silencer or other device that limits noise emissions when operating on public lands. (6) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.