Legislation intended to discourage all-terrain vehicles from operating on paved roads passed the Senate Tuesday on a 33-0 vote.

The bill (SB567) would technically ban ATVs on paved roads, except to cross roadways.

However, ATV riders could still operate their machines for up to 10 miles on the berm of paved roads, or on the far right side of the lane on roads without berms.

"It just sort of prevents you from joyriding down an asphalt road," Sen. Shirley Love, D-Fayette, said of the bill, which now goes to the House.

"There aren't as many joyriders as there once were, if you look at the obituaries," Senate Finance Chairman Walt Helmick, D-Pocahontas, commented.

The bill also continues the exemption from ATV laws for ATVs being used for farming, oil and gas drilling, surveying and other commercial operations.

Still, Senate Transportation Chairman John Unger, D-Berkeley, said the legislation is an improvement over current law.

"According to those concerned about safety with ATVs, they say it is a step forward," Unger said. "The intent is to get these vehicles off these paved roads."

The legislation was sought by ATV safety advocates to address consequences of the state's 2004 ATV law, which legitimized the operation of ATVs on any paved roads without center-lines. That goes against ATV manufacturers' warning against operating the vehicles on pavement.

Since the 2004 law was passed, fatal ATV accidents have increased in West Virginia, with a total of 134 deaths since 2004 - including a record 54 in 2006. Nearly two-thirds of the fatalities recorded between 2005 and 2007 occurred on paved roads, according to a study commissioned by the Manchin administration.

Karen Coria, an ATV safety lobbyist, called the vote in the Senate - traditionally the toughest obstacle for ATV laws - a "very positive step."

"I'm convinced - and statistics will certainly show - by passing this legislation, it will result in fewer deaths, and certainly fewer accidents."

An important aspect of the bill, she said, is that counties and municipalities can enact tougher ordinances - or make exceptions to the law, as towns along the popular Hatfield-McCoy Trail have done to accommodate ATV tourism.

"The single most important thing that could be done for safety, according to the report, is to remove ATVs from paved roads," Coria said.

Also Tuesday, the Senate passed and sent to the House the governor's "Bucks for Brains" initiative (SB289). The bill would provide a total of $50 million in state matching funds to allow Marshall and West Virginia University to underwrite high-tech research efforts in fields such as biotechnology and biometrics.

Legislation intended to discourage all-terrain vehicles from operating on paved roads passed the Senate Tuesday on a 33-0 vote.

The bill (SB567) would technically ban ATVs on paved roads, except to cross roadways.

However, ATV riders could still operate their machines for up to 10 miles on the berm of paved roads, or on the far right side of the lane on roads without berms.

"It just sort of prevents you from joyriding down an asphalt road," Sen. Shirley Love, D-Fayette, said of the bill, which now goes to the House.

"There aren't as many joyriders as there once were, if you look at the obituaries," Senate Finance Chairman Walt Helmick, D-Pocahontas, commented.

The bill also continues the exemption from ATV laws for ATVs being used for farming, oil and gas drilling, surveying and other commercial operations.

Still, Senate Transportation Chairman John Unger, D-Berkeley, said the legislation is an improvement over current law.

"According to those concerned about safety with ATVs, they say it is a step forward," Unger said. "The intent is to get these vehicles off these paved roads."

The legislation was sought by ATV safety advocates to address consequences of the state's 2004 ATV law, which legitimized the operation of ATVs on any paved roads without center-lines. That goes against ATV manufacturers' warning against operating the vehicles on pavement.

Since the 2004 law was passed, fatal ATV accidents have increased in West Virginia, with a total of 134 deaths since 2004 - including a record 54 in 2006. Nearly two-thirds of the fatalities recorded between 2005 and 2007 occurred on paved roads, according to a study commissioned by the Manchin administration.

Karen Coria, an ATV safety lobbyist, called the vote in the Senate - traditionally the toughest obstacle for ATV laws - a "very positive step."

"I'm convinced - and statistics will certainly show - by passing this legislation, it will result in fewer deaths, and certainly fewer accidents."

An important aspect of the bill, she said, is that counties and municipalities can enact tougher ordinances - or make exceptions to the law, as towns along the popular Hatfield-McCoy Trail have done to accommodate ATV tourism.

"The single most important thing that could be done for safety, according to the report, is to remove ATVs from paved roads," Coria said.

Also Tuesday, the Senate passed and sent to the House the governor's "Bucks for Brains" initiative (SB289). The bill would provide a total of $50 million in state matching funds to allow Marshall and West Virginia University to underwrite high-tech research efforts in fields such as biotechnology and biometrics.

The state's contribution - $35 million to WVU, $15 million to Marshall - would have to matched by each school's foundation. Research grants would then be funded from interest income on each school's fund.

Before the vote, Senate Majority Leader Truman Chafin, D-Mingo, reminded senators that Marshall President Stephen Kopp called the bill the most important piece of legislation to be passed this session.

Other bills passed by the Senate and sent to the House would:

Under the bill, up to 25 percent of funding from sales tax TIF districts of $50 million or more could be used for remediation of landfills or hazardous waste sites.

Locally, the legislation could help finance plans for an upscale shopping plaza in South Charleston to be built on the former FMC site, which includes an industrial drainage pond.

The bill was requested by the West Virginia Convention and Visitors Bureaus Association over concerns that there could be a proliferation of small-town CVBs to draw down 6 percent hotel-motel taxes. Under state law, 50 percent of all hotel-motel tax collections must to the CVB or CVBs in the locality.

The resolution was amended to clarify that the exemption does not apply to any other personal property tax collections, a concern for county commissions that rely on the taxes.

Also Tuesday, the Senate passed 32-0 a companion bill (SB782) to tax businesses' inventories as scrap value - or about 7.5 cents per $100 of value.

Sen. Brooks McCabe, D-Kanawha, said West Virginia is one of only 12 states that impose property taxes on inventories. Of the neighboring states, only Kentucky has an inventory tax, and it is about 5 cents per $100 of value, compared to West Virginia's current $1.50 per $100 rate.  

"When you look at industry specific, this is the most onerous tax we have," McCabe said. "Manufacturers have a difficult time in West Virginia. We are clearly not competitive in this area."

To contact staff writer Phil Kabler, use e-mail or call 348-1220.