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Senate committee approves ATV rules requiring insurance; counties may ban ATV use on unpaved roads
Summary
The Senate Transportation, Technology & Legislative Affairs committee approved a bill that limits certain all-terrain vehicle (ATV) operation to paved roads, sets minimum liability insurance requirements and gives county quorum courts authority to ban ATV operation on unpaved roads by a two-thirds vote.
Senator Allen Clark presented legislation to the Senate Transportation, Technology & Legislative Affairs committee that would limit the operation of certain all-terrain vehicles to paved roads, require minimum liability insurance and permit county quorum courts to ban ATV operation on unpaved roads by ordinance.
The bill requires that an all-terrain vehicle maintain liability insurance that provides, at a minimum, $25,000 for bodily injury or death of one person in any one accident and not less than $25,000 for damage to or destruction of property of others in any one accident, according to language read aloud by Clark. "The Association of County sent us language that they thought made it clear that it is only on paved roads," Clark said when explaining the amendment he brought back to the committee.
The measure also adds language allowing the quorum court of a county to adopt an ordinance prohibiting the operation of covered all-terrain vehicles on unpaved county roads by a two-thirds vote of the quorum court's total membership, Clark told the committee.
Committee members asked whether the insurance requirement would apply to farmers using ATVs for farm-related movements; Clark said the requirement applies only to the section covered by the bill and does not automatically extend to unrelated statutory uses. Senator Johnson described the quorum-court provision as giving local control but noted the two-thirds threshold was intended to prevent a smaller city or county judge of probate from unilaterally banning operation.
There was no public opposition in the hearing. Senator Johnson moved to approve the bill; Senator Bryant seconded. With the ayes having it, the committee approved the bill to be sent on to the next stage.
The committee also handled a procedural motion at the start of the session to expunge a prior committee vote on an unrelated bill (SB 261). That motion — made by Senator Johnson and seconded by Senator Love — was adopted at the start of the meeting, and the committee then proceeded to hear Clark's bill.
