A new 10% surcharge on recreational vehicle registrations in Massachusetts was added to the state budget, costing snowmobilers, ATV riders and boaters an additional $4. The increase went into effect September 1.
The sledmass crew first got a whiff of the increase when “snoging” posted a reference to it in the sledmass forums on September 29th.
The increase caught snowmobilers by surprise. Larry McCullough, a SAM Delegate and member of the Easy Riders Snowmobile Club, was quoted in the Worcester Telegram and Gazette, pointing out that he hadn’t heard of the surcharge.
“It just doesn’t make sense that they snuck that through without anybody knowing about it,” Mr. McCullough said. “They seem to have this idea that they can keep increasing fees and increasing fees and nobody’s going to balk.”
The Telegram and Gazette reported “The surcharge will go to a newly created Massachusetts Environmental Police Trust Fund under the control of the secretary of energy and environmental affairs. The fund will pay to train and equip new environmental police officers and to maintain their office, Ms. Mahler said.”
The T&G also pointed out that there will also be a surcharge added to tickets written by the environmental police. That surcharge will be 20%.
The full story and a photo of Larry can be found at telegram.com
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