28-1177. Off-highway vehicle user fee; indicia; registration; state trust land recreational permit; exception

A. A person shall not operate or allow the operation of an all-terrain vehicle or an off-highway vehicle in this state without either a resident or nonresident off-highway vehicle user indicia issued by the department if the all-terrain vehicle or off-highway vehicle meets both of the following criteria:

1. Is designed by the manufacturer primarily for travel over unimproved terrain.

2. Has an unladen weight of two thousand five hundred pounds or less.

B. A person shall apply to the department of transportation for a resident or nonresident off-highway vehicle user indicia by submitting an application prescribed by the department of transportation and a user fee for the indicia in an amount to be determined by the director of the department of transportation in cooperation with the director of the Arizona game and fish department and the Arizona state parks board. The resident or nonresident off-highway vehicle user indicia is valid for one year from the date of issuance and may be renewed. The department shall prescribe by rule the design and placement of the indicia.

C. When a person pays for a resident off-highway vehicle user indicia pursuant to this section, the person may request a motor vehicle registration if the vehicle meets all equipment requirements to be operated on a highway pursuant to article 16 of this chapter. If a person submits a signed affidavit to the department affirming that the vehicle meets all of the equipment requirements for highway use and that the vehicle will be operated primarily off of highways, the department shall register the vehicle for highway use and the vehicle owner is not required to pay the registration fee prescribed in section 28-2003. This subsection does not apply to vehicles that as produced by the manufacturer meet the equipment requirements to be operated on a highway pursuant to article 16 of this chapter.

D. The director shall deposit, pursuant to sections 35-146 and 35-147, seventy percent of the user fees collected pursuant to this section in the off-highway vehicle recreation fund established by section 28-1176 and thirty percent of the user fees collected pursuant to this section in the Arizona highway user revenue fund.

E. The Arizona game and fish department may provide for the purchase of nonresident off-highway vehicle user indicia and may impose an additional service fee in an amount to be determined by the Arizona game and fish commission by rule. The Arizona game and fish department shall deposit, pursuant to sections 35-146 and 35-147, the service fees collected pursuant to this subsection in the game and fish fund established by section 17-261.

F. An occupant of an off-highway vehicle with a resident or nonresident off-highway vehicle user indicia issued pursuant to this section who crosses state trust lands must comply with all of the rules and requirements under a state trust land recreational permit. All occupants of an off-highway vehicle with a resident or nonresident off-highway vehicle user indicia shall obtain a state trust land recreational permit from the state land department for all other authorized recreational activities on state trust land.

G. This section does not apply to off-highway vehicles, all-terrain vehicles or off-road recreational motor vehicles that are used off-highway exclusively for agricultural, ranching, construction, mining, mining exploration or building trade purposes.

H. In consultation with the department of transportation, the Arizona game and fish department may adopt rules necessary to implement this section.