U. S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Office of Government Affairs

HB 1423 passed the Legislature and is awaiting the Governor's signature and enactment. A proposal to change Florida’s mandatory wear of life jackets was taken out of the bill. The education portion will take effect on Jan. 1, 2010, and other measures are in the planning phase to enable temporary certificates for those out of state people engaging in marine events, renting various craft – and they may be able to satisfy the requirements with correspondence courses or online courses. The content of this significant bill is:

1. Establishing penalties for Sea Grass Damage – this was passed; the main thrust was setting penalties which begin at $50 non-criminal for a first offense. Subsequent offenses within certain time frames see increased penalties.

2. Boating Safety Education – this bill passed with modifications. It will apply to an operator of a motor boat of 10 HP or more. An exemption will be made for anyone operating a newly purchased boat within 90 days of purchase. The law will apply to anyone born after Jan. 1, 1988 --those born before this date are exempt.

3. Vessel Management, commonly known as the anchoring and mooring bill, was passed with modifications. A pilot program will be established to test various anchoring/mooring restrictions, modifying signage for inland waterways, codifying a District Court of Appeals ruling pertaining to local boating restricted areas, and clarifying vessel registration requirements for vessels used, operated, or stored on the water.

4. Boating Safety / Illegal Transportation of Excessive Fuel on the Water – this will apply to carrying fuel in unapproved containers and to storing fuel in compartments with unapproved ventilation. The term fuel was changed to gasoline.

5. Boating Under the Influence – This proposal passed without discussion. Specifically, the blood alcohol level would be lowered from 0.20 or more to 0.15 or more to trigger enhanced penalties when charged with a BUI. This aligns the BUI levels with those of DUI.

6. An amendment to protect coral reef from anchoring in the counties between Martin and Monroe was added. If someone anchors on a reef, they now will be required to self report themselves. It’s not known how the reefs will be defined or how this will be enforced.

The Florida Water Commission is not planning any legislation for the 2010 session, because of the many boating parts of this year’s effort. The Council will adjust their schedule of meetings to better align with the Legislature’s lead times for legislation.