(a) (1) Subject to Section 8352.1, and except as otherwise provided in paragraphs (2) and (3), on the first day of every month, there shall be transferred from moneys deposited to the credit of the Motor Vehicle Fuel Account to the Off-Highway Vehicle Trust Fund created by Section 38225 of the Vehicle Code an amount attributable to taxes imposed upon distributions of motor vehicle fuel used in the operation of motor vehicles off highway and for which a refund has not been claimed. Transfers made pursuant to this section shall be made prior to transfers pursuant to Section 8352.2.
(2) (A) Commencing July 1, 2012, the revenues attributable to the taxes imposed pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 7360 and otherwise to be deposited in the Off-Highway Vehicle Trust Fund pursuant to paragraph (1) shall instead be transferred to the General Fund.
(B) Commencing November 1, 2017, the revenues attributable to the taxes imposed pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 7360, any adjustment pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 7360, and Section 7361.2, and otherwise to be deposited in the Off-Highway Vehicle Trust Fund pursuant to subdivision (a), shall instead be transferred to the State Parks and Recreation Fund to be used for state parks, off-highway vehicle programs, or boating programs.
(3) The Controller shall withhold eight hundred thirty-three thousand dollars ($833,000) from the monthly transfer to the Off-Highway Vehicle Trust Fund pursuant to paragraph (1), and transfer that amount to the General Fund.
(b) The amount transferred to the Off-Highway Vehicle Trust Fund pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (a), as a percentage of the Motor Vehicle Fuel Account, shall be equal to the percentage transferred in the 2006–07 fiscal year. Every five years, starting in the 2013–14 fiscal year, the percentage transferred may be adjusted by the Department of Transportation in cooperation with the Department of Parks and Recreation and the Department of Motor Vehicles. Adjustments shall be based on, but not limited to, the changes in the following factors since the 2006–07 fiscal year or the last adjustment, whichever is more recent:
(1) The number of vehicles registered as off-highway motor vehicles as required by Division 16.5 (commencing with Section 38000) of the Vehicle Code.
(2) The number of registered street-legal vehicles that are anticipated to be used off highway, including four-wheel drive vehicles, all-wheel drive vehicles, and dual-sport motorcycles.
(3) Attendance at the state vehicular recreation areas.
(4) Off-highway recreation use on federal lands as indicated by the United States Forest Service’s National Visitor Use Monitoring and the United States Bureau of Land Management’s Recreation Management Information System.
(c) It is the intent of the Legislature that transfers from the Motor Vehicle Fuel Account to the Off-Highway Vehicle Trust Fund should reflect the full range of motorized vehicle use off highway for both motorized recreation and motorized off-road access to other recreation opportunities. Therefore, the Legislature finds that the fuel tax baseline established in subdivision (b), attributable to off-highway estimates of use as of the 2006–07 fiscal year, accounts for the three categories of vehicles that have been found over the years to be users of fuel for off-highway motorized recreation or motorized access to nonmotorized recreational pursuits. These three categories are registered off-highway motorized vehicles, registered street-legal motorized vehicles used off highway, and unregistered off-highway motorized vehicles.
(d) It is the intent of the Legislature that the off-highway motor vehicle recreational use to be determined by the Department of Transportation pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) be that usage by vehicles subject to registration under Division 3 (commencing with Section 4000) of the Vehicle Code, for recreation or the pursuit of recreation on surfaces where the use of vehicles registered under Division 16.5 (commencing with Section 38000) of the Vehicle Code may occur.
(e) In the 2014–15 fiscal year, the Department of Transportation, in consultation with the Department of Parks and Recreation and the Department of Motor Vehicles, shall undertake a study to determine the appropriate adjustment to the amount transferred pursuant to subdivision (b) and to update the estimate of the amount attributable to taxes imposed upon distributions of motor vehicle fuel used in the operation of motor vehicles off highway and for which a refund has not been claimed. The department shall provide a copy of this study to the Legislature no later than January 1, 2016.
(Amended by Stats. 2017, Ch. 5, Sec. 30. (SB 1) Effective April 28, 2017.)