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Area Coordinator: John Van Dinter, N-LAW |
State Liaison: Richard W. Ives |
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Michigan Department of Natural Resources Coast Guard Auxiliary District: 9ER and 9CR and 9WR Coast Guard District: 9th
First Quarter Report, 2008:
Senate Bill 629: This bill will amend Part 801 (Marine Safety) of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act To: Allow the legislative body of a political subdivision to adopt an ordinance banning jumping, diving, or swimming from a publicly-owned pier, jetty, or breakwater located in the Great Lakes or their connecting waters.
I (USCG Aux state liaison for Michigan) met with Michigan’s Lt. Governor John Cherry Jr., Chairman of the Council of Great Lakes Governors, also with Jack Minor, Legislative Director of Michigan State AFL-CIO, and Tim Hughes, Legislative Liaison for Governor Granholm. We discussed the priorities for the Great Lakes increased protection and preservation.
The Great Lakes and Water will be a major political subject in the coming years. In this session of the Legislature five new bills dealing with conservation, water withdrawals, and diversions have been introduced.
Michigan’s Secretary of State, Terry Lynn Land, for the past three years, has mailed information on safe boating and boating safety courses to the 953,000 citizens holding Michigan watercraft registrations. This information was supportive of the Coast Guard Auxiliary. However, budget constraints prevented her from mailing this information this year. Therefore, in place of this mailing, Ms. Land will issue a press release at the beginning of the 2008 supporting America’s Waterway Watch, the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, and encouraging all boaters to take a boating class.
Each week I receive reports from Senator Jason Allen (R) and from Senator Buzz Thomas (D) which provides a bi-partisan view of State Senate activities. The clerk of the House of Representatives e-mails daily listings of Committee Meetings.
Discussed with the BLA the letter sent out by the Chief of Operations branch. Some of the legislation affecting boaters and Auxiliarists are not covered by the MOU between the State and the Coast Guard.
The 2008 Boating Law Administrators Directory is available online.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Third Quarter Report, 2007:
There are no new laws pending involving boating in Michigan at this time. The Bill regarding adding the completion of a Safe Boating Course certificate number onto the Michigan Drivers License is still in committee pending the state’s decision to go or not go with the Federal Government’s Drivers License requirements. In regards to the Great Lakes: Comprehensive federal legislation to stop the introduction of invasive species has languished in the U.S. Congress, leading the State of Michigan to pass, in 2005, a law requiring oceangoing vessels to obtain a permit to discharge ballast water. A federal judge upheld the Michigan law designed to prevent oceangoing ships from dumping exotic species into the Great Lakes. Furthermore, U.S. District Judge, John Feikens, rejected a shipping industry suit claiming the law, which took effect this year, is unworkable and unconstitutional. At least 183 foreign aquatic species, including the Zebra and Guagga mussels, have invaded the Great Lakes. Many are believed to have come in ballast tanks of ships from Europe or Asia. New species continue arriving at a rate of one every eight months. These invasive species compete with native species, disrupting the natural eco-system. Estimated damage to the regional economy is $5.7 billion a year, including $4.5 billion to the Great Lakes fishery. Millions are spent annually to remove Zebra mussels from power company water intake pipes. The law is clear: States have the right to defend their waters and citizens from the onslaught of invasive species. Recently, legislators from eight states and the two Canadian provinces bordering Michigan met in Grand Travers to discuss this and hear testimony from experts concerning this problem. Updated Thursday May 15, 2008 | |
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