Utah State Parks board repeals two rules transferred to Division of Outdoor Recreation

At its Feb. 8 quarterly meeting, the Utah State Parks Board voted to repeal two administrative rules that staff said are no longer needed on the parks side after the off-highway vehicle (OHV) and nonresident OHP programs moved to the Division of Outdoor Recreation.

Deputy director Laurie Backus and assistant attorney general Shane Stroud explained the background: the rule R651-301 governed the state recreational fiscal assistance program (an OHV grant program) and R651-634 related to nonresident OHP registrations and fees. Staff said those programs were administratively moved to the Division of Outdoor Recreation and it is appropriate to remove duplicate rules from the parks rule book.

Board member Russ Stedman moved to repeal R651-301; the motion was seconded and approved by voice vote. The board then moved to repeal the nonresident OHP registration rule separately; that motion also passed by voice vote. Several members said they had appeared before the outdoor recreation board and that the transition appeared to be functioning well, with more grant funding reaching rural areas.

Staff noted the repeal was an administrative cleanup tied to the interdivision transfer and not a change in program funding or eligibility. The board recorded the repeals in the meeting minutes and moved to subsequent agenda items.