Relating to the operation of registered all-terrain vehicles and off-road utility vehicles on highways

Under current law, a registered all-terrain vehicle (ATV) or off-road utility vehicle (UTV) may be operated on a county highway designated by the county board of supervisors for such use during a specified period. The county board of supervisors is required to evaluate the traffic conditions on all county highways and designate roadways on which ATVs and UTVs may be operated for the specified period without unduly interfering with or constituting an undue hazard to conventional motor vehicle traffic. In designating such roadways, the board is allowed but not required to authorize ATVs and UTVs to stop at service stations or convenience stores along a designated roadway. Registered ATVs and UTVs are also authorized to make a direct crossing of a highway under certain conditions. This bill allows registered ATVs and UTVs to operate on noninterstate primary highways over the most direct and accessible route between an ATV park or trail, a county highway, and a city street designated for use by ATVs and UTVs. The bill allows registered ATVs and UTVs to operate on all county highways. The bill strikes the authority of a county board of supervisors to regulate the operation of registered ATVs and UTVs and prohibits a county from adopting an ordinance, motion, resolution, or amendment, or using any other means, that prohibits or regulates the operation of registered ATVs and UTVs on county highways within its jurisdiction, unless otherwise authorized by state law. Any ordinance, motion, resolution, or amendment adopted prior to the effective date of the bill that violates this prohibition is void and unenforceable on and after the effective date of the bill.