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Committee hears concern about $3.8M ranger funding from OHV registration fees and a legislative audit
Summary
A committee member reported a legislative audit into OHV funds and said the state program seeks about $3.8 million for rangers; members discussed whether county sheriffs should receive more support and were urged to contact legislators before decisions are finalized.
Speaker 8 told the committee the OHV grant cycle opens Jan. 15 and closes March 2 and raised an audit filed by Representative Albrecht that examines how OHV registration fees are being used. He said a proposed request seeks roughly $3.8 million this year for rangers (up from about $3.3 million last year) and questioned whether that money should instead support county sheriff departments and local enforcement or be allocated to ground‑level projects.
Speaker 8 said the ranger program has taken a growing share of funds and that advisory councils were not consulted on the recent appropriation. He described instances where rangers declined involvement in a vandalism incident and questioned whether counties are seeing sufficient enforcement benefits. Committee members responded by suggesting outreach to Wade (agency contact) and to local legislators (Representative Hinkins and others) to express county priorities.
No formal motion or local vote on the OHV funding was taken; the discussion serves as an advisory warning to members and community stakeholders to follow the grant and legislative timelines if they wish to influence allocations.
