Iowa legislator wants ATVs legal on public roads

After stalling in the Iowa Senate in late 2013, the sponsor of a bill to allow ATVs on paved and gravel public roads in the state hopes the bill will be reconsidered in the 2014 legislative session that begins on Jan. 13.

The bill, H.F. 619, calls for an annual fee of $50 in exchange for allowing the vehicles to travel on secondary roads and city streets where authorized. It would exclude primary highways except when needed to cross over a primary highway, or those within any city limits — unless permitted by ordinance.

The bill also would amend the definition of “vehicles subject to registration” for purposes of the exemption from the sales and use tax, to exclude ATVs and off-road utility vehicles registered for operation on highways, in order to continue the applicability of the sales tax to those vehicles.

More information on the proposal is available at www.legis.iowa.gov.