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Committee adopts amendment and advances bill to eliminate 10‑day OHRV temporaries and adjust enforcement grants (SB 505)
Summary
SB 505 would eliminate the 10-day nonresident OHRV temporary registration, allow online full-year registration for out-of-state visitors, and remove a $25,000 cap on Fish & Game law-enforcement grants; committee adopted amendments, set an effective date, and voted ought to pass as amended.
Sen. David Rocheford (Senate District 1), prime sponsor of SB 505, told the committee the bill would eliminate the 10‑day nonresident OHRV temporary registration (currently $34 plus fees, roughly $42) and modernize registration and grant authority for Fish & Game. "The current cost of a 10 day registration is $34 with a couple of extra fees that bring it up to $42," Rocheford said, and he argued the temporary registration historically attracted visitors but now creates administrative and enforcement problems.
Captain Michael Eastman, OHRV coordinator for the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, testified that the temporary sticker program is widely gamed, that the $42 fee mostly covers administrative costs rather than trail maintenance, and that the temporary process is done largely by hand at a limited number of agents. "That $42 really doesn't go towards the trail maintenance," Eastman said, noting 3,800 temporary registrations a year and numerous loopholes in sticker use.
OHRV clubs also supported the change. Steve Wilke of the New Hampshire Highway Vehicle Association said clubs prefer eliminating the temporary because it funnels more users to full registrations and club engagement, which would improve enforcement and trail etiquette.
Committee members asked about systems impacts and effective dates; agency staff said temporaries are not centrally recorded (mostly hand-written) and that the licensing division is implementing online improvements and a 20‑day holding process until physical stickers arrive. The committee adopted amendment 144s, voted to set the effective date to Nov. 1, 2026 (committee amendment), and then voted 'Ought to Pass as Amended' (OPTA) with the amendment adopted. The chair placed the bill on consent for later processing.
Why it matters: Eliminating the temporary registration shifts most nonresident riders toward full online registration, proponents said, which should increase funds flowing to trail maintenance and reduce administrative loopholes. It also expands Fish & Game’s grant flexibility by removing the $25,000 cap for local law-enforcement grants tied to trail enforcement.
What’s next: As amended the committee advanced SB 505 on consent; the transcript records committee adoption of amendment 144s, the committee amendment changing the effective date to 11/01/2026, and an OTPA vote putting the measure on consent.
