SPRINGFIELD — State Rep. Orlando Ramos, D-Springfield, is leading the charge on refiling a home-rule petition in the Legislature that aims to wipe out illegal dirt bike riding from city streets.
The bill is a new iteration of a previous one filed in 2021, when Ramos was a city councilor.
“The city has done a lot to hold people accountable for illegal dirt bike riding,” he said Tuesday, pointing to the enforcement of up to $2,500 in state fines or $300 in local fines. Police, he said, have discretion on how much the fines are. But more can and will be done, he said.
As part of its annual push to eradicate dirt bikes from the streets, Springfield’s Police Department and mayor are partnering with several law enforcement agencies from nearby municipalities, including Chicopee, Holyoke and Ludlow. They announced a new regional task force at a press conference on Monday.
While Ramos served Ward 8 in Springfield, he was the chairman of the City Council’s Public Safety Committee and advocated for cracking down on dirt bikes, he said.
Ramos said his interest in the issue came after hearing a lot of public outcry. “They’re not just a nuisance but also a public safety issue,” he said.
One of the city ordinances he worked on prevents businesses from selling gas to illegal dirt bike riders, he said.
Ramos and his colleagues have considered proposing a statewide ban on gas sales to dirt bikes, similar to Springfield’s ordinance.
It is also illegal, he said, to drive dirt bikes, 4-wheelers or other off-highway vehicles on city roads, unless properly modified. “There are tracks or other places they can be driven, but not on main roads,” he said.
Ramos plans to file a home-rule petition, legislation which allows cities to advocate for local needs at the Legislature, that would stop the circulation of dirt bikes in the city.
“Dirt bikes and other off-highway vehicles that are bought illegally will be confiscated and destroyed,” he said. “The ones purchased legally, but driven illegally, will not be given back to the rider or auctioned off.”
Hampden County Sheriff Nicholas Cocchi supports the idea. “We want to let people know we’re going to continue to eradicate, fracture and destroy these illegal dirt bikes,” he said Monday.
Ramos is waiting for the City Council to approve the home-rule petition before he files it with the Legislature.