Bill description: HB 24 would remove weight restrictions for utility-type vehicles (UTVs).

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Does it give government any new, additional, or expanded power to prohibit, restrict, or regulate activities in the free market? Conversely, does it eliminate or reduce government intervention in the market?

Under current Idaho law, all-terrain vehicles, snowmobiles, motorbikes, and UTVs are classified as off-highway vehicles. These vehicles only require an off-road sticker and, in some cases, a restricted vehicle plate. UTV owners are not required to pay the costlier registration fees that must be paid for other recreational vehicles, like tent trailers. In exchange, UTVs are allowed limited access to roads.

To qualify under current law, UTVs must have a width of less than 74 inches, a wheelbase (length from axle to axle) of less than 110 inches, and weigh less than 2,000 pounds.

HB 24 would take away the 2,000-pound maximum for classification as a UTV. By removing this limitation, companies that sell heavier vehicles would be able to sell their products in Idaho as UTVs.

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