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Area Coordinator: John Van Dinter, N-LAW |
State Liaison: Como Marshall E. Bullard |
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Oklahoma Coast Guard Auxiliary District: 8WR Coast Guard District: 8th
First Quarter Report, 2008:
The Oklahoma legislature is in session from the first Monday in February until 28 May.
Two initiatives were being advanced this year. One would change the mandatory education requirement (currently only applicable to 12 to 15 year olds) to be applicable to all persons born on or after a specific date. The second would penalize Boating Under the Influence of alcohol by attaching a BUI conviction record to a persons vehicle drivers license. Besides being made a part of a persons driving record, the boating offense proposed by the Senator could escalate to a felony if there are multiple violations.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Fourth Quarter Report, 2007:
The Oklahoma Legislature adjourned at the end of May and will not be in session again until February (of 2008)
Third Quarter Report, 2007: The Oklahoma legislature adjourned before Memorial Day (Constitutional requirement) so there has been no activity. This is the first summer for the new mandatory Boating Education requirement. Lots of classes were held all over the state – primarily by the Oklahoma Lake Patrol. A lake patrol officer stopped a young man on a PWC who was carrying a forged ABC wallet card. As a result, the Auxiliary provided the lake patrol with computer images of the ABC certificate and wallet card to help them identify the genuine article. Bills affecting boating in Oklahoma are in the jurisdiction of the Public Safety committees in the House and Senate. I will be contacting the chairs of both committees in a few weeks as they begin to do their pre-session committee work on potential bills. Second Quarter Report, 2007: The Oklahoma legislature is constitutionally limited to meeting from the first Monday in February to the last Friday in May. So they are out of session until next February. There was no boating legislation this year. The new mandatory education law went into effect on 1 January and is the significant event in Oklahoma this year. We have seen a lot more people than normal looking for classes this spring. My flotilla did an ABC course and had 25 attendees, 10 of them being under age 18. Since then, we have had two more teens (both 14) take the ABC exam. All 12 minors we have been associated with successfully completed the exam. Here is a summary of the new mandatory boating education law in Oklahoma that went into effect January 1. January 1, the new Oklahoma mandatory boating education bill went into effect. A summary of the bill's requirements: A child under 12 years of age may not operate a vessel powered by a motor or combination of motors over 10 hp, a PWC or a sail-powered vessel 16 feet or more in length. A child 12 to 15 years of age may operate a vessel powered by a motor or combination of motors over 10 hp, a PWC, or a sail-powered vessel 16 feet or more in length only if all of the following conditions are met: (1) He or she has successfully completed an approved boating safety education course or passed a proctored equivalency examination and has received a Boating Safety Education Certificate and (2) He or she is supervised by a competent adult who is at least 18 years of age. If the vessel is other than a PWC, the supervising adult must be on board and in position to take immediate control of the vessel. If the vessel is a PWC, the adult must be visually supervising within 500 yards of the PWC. All vessel operators must carry on board one of the following: (1) An original Boating Safety Education Certificate as proof the operator meets the education requirements or (2) A photo ID that shows the operator is 16 years or older. Non-residents who have successfully completed another state's boating safety education course or equivalency examination that is approved by the Department of Public Safety are exempt from Oklahoma's boater education requirement. Also exempt are children operating a PWC in a no wake zone while under the supervision of an adult. Updated Thursday July 03, 2008 | |
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