wa-law.org > bill > 2025-26 > HB 1537 > Original Bill
The legislature finds that the green dot roads system has existed for more than half a century and has been a vital network for on and off-road recreational travel. While in the 1980s almost 1,000 miles of green dot roads came under the jurisdiction of what are now the departments of natural resources and fish and wildlife, insufficient funding has meant that the roads have not been sufficiently maintained over time.
The legislature finds that cities or towns that have enacted ordinances that authorize the travel of wheeled all-terrain vehicles on their roadways should be eligible for funding assistance to promote safety, signage, education, and enforcement of laws relating to the operation of wheeled all-terrain vehicles within their jurisdictions.
The legislature, therefore, intends to expand access to funds in the multiuse roadway safety account under RCW 46.09.540 by making the departments of natural resources and fish and wildlife eligible for interagency transfers from the department of transportation for certain purposes and by making certain cities and towns eligible to apply for grants.
The multiuse roadway safety account is created in the motor vehicle fund. All receipts from vehicle license fees under RCW 46.17.350(1)(r) must be deposited into the account. Moneys in the account may be spent only after appropriation. Expenditures from the account may be used only for grants or interagency transfers administered by the department of transportation to:
Local governments to perform safety engineering analysis of mixed vehicle use on any road within the jurisdiction;
Local governments to provide funding to erect signs providing notice to the motoring public that (i) wheeled all-terrain vehicles are present or (ii) wheeled all-terrain vehicles may be crossing;
The state patrol or local law enforcement for purposes of defraying the costs of enforcement of chapter 23, Laws of 2013 2nd sp. sess.;
Law enforcement to investigate accidents involving wheeled all-terrain vehicles;
Local governments to (i) enhance or maintain any segment of a road within the jurisdiction in which the segment has been designated as part of a travel or tourism route for use by wheeled all-terrain vehicles; and (ii) purchase, print, develop, or use educational brochures or mapping technology that aids in the safety and direction of users of wheeled all-terrain vehicle routes; and
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(A) Mitigating impacts to road surfaces caused by wheeled all-terrain vehicles on public roadways authorized for wheeled all-terrain vehicle travel;
(B) Erecting signage to identify the designation of public roadways as either open or closed to wheeled all-terrain vehicles, depending on whether the roadway has been authorized for wheeled all-terrain vehicle travel; or
(C) Purchasing, printing, developing, or using educational brochures or mapping technology that aids in the safety and direction of users of wheeled all-terrain vehicle routes.
ii. The department of transportation must limit the interagency transfers to the departments of natural resources and fish and wildlife under this subsection (1)(f) such that a minimum of $80,000 is available to be allocated for grants to eligible local governments during the biennium.
The department of transportation must prioritize grant awards in the following priority order:
For the purpose of marking highway crossings with signs warning motorists that wheeled all-terrain vehicles may be crossing when an ORV recreation facility parking lot is on the other side of a public roadway from the actual ORV recreation facility; and
For the purpose of marking intersections with signs where a wheeled all-terrain vehicle may cross a public road to advise motorists of the upcoming intersection. Such signs must conform to the manual on uniform traffic control devices.
Prior to an interagency transfer to either the department of natural resources or the department of fish and wildlife, the county or counties in which the proposed project will take place must first submit a letter of support to the implementing department and to the department of transportation.
For the purposes of this section, "local government" means: (a) A county; or (b) a city or town that has approved the operation of wheeled all-terrain vehicles on roadways within its jurisdiction.
This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and takes effect July 1, 2025.