Relating to snowmobile registrations and nonresident user permits, providing fees, and making penalties applicable

Current law requires a person, in order to operate a snowmobile on public land, public ice, or a designated snowmobile trail, to register the snowmobile with the department of natural resources (DNR) and obtain a user permit from the DNR. The annual snowmobile registration fee is $15 and the user permit fee is also $15. This bill removes the user permit requirement for an Iowa resident operating a snowmobile and increases the annual snowmobile registration fee from $15 to $30. The bill requires a person who is not an Iowa resident to apply for and receive a nonresident snowmobile user permit and affix a permit decal to the person’s snowmobile while operating the snowmobile in Iowa. The fee for a nonresident user permit is $15. A nonresident is not required to register a snowmobile in Iowa if the snowmobile is required to be registered and is registered in the nonresident’s state, and proof of the registration is displayed on the snowmobile. Under current law, snowmobile registration and user permit fees are subject to additional writing and administrative fees provided in Code chapter 321G. Fees collected by the DNR, including fees remitted by county recorders and license agents, are placed in a special snowmobile fund and appropriated to the DNR to support snowmobile programs in Iowa. In accordance with current law, a person who operates an unregistered snowmobile commits a simple misdemeanor punishable by a $65 scheduled fine. In addition, a person who operates an unregistered snowmobile is required to submit proof to the DNR that the snowmobile has subsequently been registered by providing a copy of the registration. A person who fails to provide the required proof within days of paying the scheduled fine commits a simple misdemeanor. A simple misdemeanor is punishable by confinement for no more than days and a fine of at least $105 but not more than $855. The scheduled fine for a person who does not obtain a user permit before operating a snowmobile is $65, and the scheduled fine for operating a snowmobile without displaying a registration or user permit decal is $30. The bill applies these penalties to a nonresident who does not obtain a nonresident user permit or display the permit, as required by the bill. The bill makes corresponding changes but does not modify the registration and user permit requirements under Code chapter 321I (all-terrain vehicles).