ATV Riders in New Mexico Get a Repreive as Governor Vetoes Proposed Looting of OHV Trust Fund

States have a habit of taking money from OHV funds and using them in the general fund, or worse, giving OHV funds to State Parks that don't allow OHVs. New Mexico's Governor recently vetoed part of plan that would have used OHV funds for various general fund projects that had nothing to do with OHVs.

Gov. Bill Richardson gets it.

The OHV program was not raided, but the budget still took over $100 million from other special funds and poured it into the state's general-purpose fund. The reason the OHV fund was not raided was because of the effort put forth by the AMA to inform riders about the pending theft of their funds, and encouraged them to contact Bill Richardson and tell him not to allow it.

The same thing happened in Ohio this past summer when Gov. Ted Strickland quickly changed his plans to pilfer the Motorcycle Safety and Education Program for almost a million dollars after his constituents told him to keep his hands off it. At least some in our government realize the repercussion if they don't listen to their bosses. Lets hope it starts catching on.

Image by Matt Finley