Senate Bill No. 427

Introduced by Senator Monning

February 21, 2013

An act to amend Sections 651 and 658.3 of the Harbors and Navigation Code, relating to vessels.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 427, as introduced, Monning. Vessels: equipment requirements: personal flotation devices.

(1) Existing law governs vessels and associated equipment used, to be used, or carried in vessels used on waters subject to the jurisdiction of this state, except as provided. For these purposes, existing law defines vessel to mean every description of watercraft used or capable of being used as a means of transportation on water, except as specified.

This bill would define vessel to mean every description of a watercraft or other artificial contrivance that is used or capable of being used as a means of transportation on water or is designed to be or is propelled on water by sail, mechanical means, power, oars or paddles, except as specified.

(2) Existing law requires a person under 13 years of age to wear a United States Coast Guard-approved personal flotation device when aboard a motorboat, sailboat, or vessel that is underway, except as provided. Existing law requires a person on board a personal watercraft or a person being towed behind a vessel on water skis, an aquaplane, or similar device to wear a United States Coast Guard-approved personal flotation device, except as provided. Existing law makes a violation of these requirements an infraction.

This bill would revise and recast these requirements by changing the type of United States Coast Guard-approved personal flotation device that a person is required to wear and the circumstances under which a person is required to wear a personal flotation device. Because existing law makes a violation of these requirements an infraction, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

(3) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Section 651 of the Harbors and Navigation Code
is amended to read:

651.  

As used in this chapter, unless the context clearly requires
a different meaning:

(a) “Alcohol” means any form or derivative of ethyl alcohol
(ethanol).

(b) “Alcohol concentration” means either grams of alcohol per
100 milliliters of blood or grams of alcohol per 210 liters of breath.

(c) “Associated equipment” means any of the following,
excluding radio equipment:

(1) Any system, part, or component of a boat as originally
manufactured or any similar part or component manufactured or
sold for replacement, repair, or improvement of the system, part,
or component.

(2) Any accessory or equipment for, or appurtenance to, a boat.

(3) Any marine safety article, accessory, or equipment intended
for use by a person on board a boat.

(d) “Boat” means any vessel that is any of the following:

(1) Manufactured or used primarily for noncommercial use.

(2) Leased, rented, or chartered to another for the latter’s
noncommercial use.

(3) Engaged in the carrying of six or fewer passengers, including
those for-hire vessels carrying more than three passengers while
using inland waters of the state that are not declared navigable by
the United States Coast Guard.

(4) Commercial vessels required to be numbered pursuant to
Section 9850 of the Vehicle Code.

(e) “Chemical test” means a test that analyzes an individual’s
breath, blood, or urine, for evidence of drug or alcohol use.

(f) “Controlled substance” means controlled substance as defined
in Section 11007 of the Health and Safety Code.

(g) “Department” means the Department of Boating and
Waterways.

(h) “Director” means the Director of Boating and Waterways.

(i) “Drug” means any substance or combination of substances
other than alcohol that could so affect the nervous system, brain,
or muscles of a person as to impair to an appreciable degree his
or her ability to operate a vessel in the manner that an ordinarily
prudent person, in full possession of his or her faculties, using
reasonable care, would operate a similar vessel under like
conditions.

(j) “Intoxicant” means any form of alcohol, drug, or combination
thereof.

(k) “Legal owner” is a person holding the legal title to a vessel
under a conditional sale contract, the mortgagee of a vessel, or the
renter or lessor of a vessel to the state, or to any county, city,
district, or political subdivision of the state, under a lease,
lease-sale, or rental-purchase agreement that grants possession of
the vessel to the lessee for a period of 30 consecutive days or more.

(l) “Manufacturer” means any person engaged in any of the
following:

(1) The manufacture, construction, or assembly of boats or
associated equipment.

(2) The manufacture or construction of components for boats
and associated equipment to be sold for subsequent assembly.

(3) The importation into this state for sale of boats, associated
equipment, or components thereof.

(m) “Marine employer” means the owner, managing operator,
charterer, agent, master, or person in charge of a vessel other than
a recreational vessel.

(n) “Motorboat” means any vessel propelled by machinery,
whether or not the machinery is the principal source of propulsion,
but shall not include a vessel that has a valid marine document
issued by the United States Coast Guard or any federal agency
successor thereto.

(o) “Operator” means the person on board who is steering the
vessel while underway.

(p) “Owner” is a person having all the incidents of ownership,
including the legal title, of a vessel whether or not that person
lends, rents, or pledges the vessel; the person entitled to the
possession of a vessel as the purchaser under a conditional sale
contract; or the mortgagor of a vessel. “Owner” does not include
a person holding legal title to a vessel under a conditional sale
contract, the mortgagee of a vessel, or the renter or lessor of a
vessel to the state or to any county, city, district, or political
subdivision of the state under a lease, lease-sale, or rental-purchase
agreement that grants possession of the vessel to the lessee for a
period of 30 consecutive days or more.

(q) “Passenger” means every person carried on board a vessel
other than any of the following:

(1) The owner or his or her representative.

(2) The operator.

(3) Bona fide members of the crew engaged in the business of
the vessel who have contributed no consideration for their carriage
and who are paid for their services.

(4) Any guest on board a vessel that is being used exclusively
for pleasure purposes who has not contributed any consideration,
directly or indirectly, for his or her carriage.

(r) “Person” means an individual, partnership, firm, corporation,
limited liability company, association, or other entity, but does not
include the United States, the state, or a municipality or subdivision
thereof.

(s) “Personal watercraft” means a vessel 13 feet in length or
less, propelled by machinery, that is designed to be operated by a
person sitting, standing, or kneeling on the vessel, rather than in
the conventional manner of sitting or standing inside the vessel.

(t) “Recreational vessel” means a vessel that is being used only
for pleasure.

(u) “Registered owner” is the person registered by the
Department of Motor Vehicles as the owner of the vessel.

(v) “Special-use area” means all or a portion of a waterway that
is set aside for specified uses or activities to the exclusion of other
incompatible uses or activities.

(w) “State” means a state of the United States, the
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam,
American Samoa, and the District of Columbia.

(x) “State of principal use” means the state on which waters a
vessel is used or intended to be used most during a calendar year.

(y) “Undocumented vessel” means any vessel that is not required
to have, and does not have, a valid marine document issued by the
United States Coast Guard or any federal agency successor thereto.

(z) “Use” means operate, navigate, or employ.

(aa) “Vessel” includes every description of begin insert a end insert watercraft begin insert or other
artificial contrivance that i end insert begin insert s end insert used or capable of being used as a
means of transportation on begin delete water, except end delete begin insert water or is designed to
be propelled on water by sail, mechanical means, power, oars, or
paddles. “Vessel” does not include end insert either of the following:

(1) A seaplane on the water.

(2) A watercraft specifically designed to operate on a
permanently fixed course, the movement of which is restricted to
a fixed track or arm to which the watercraft is attached or by which
the watercraft is controlled.

(bb) “Water skis, an aquaplane, or a similar device” includes
all forms of water skiing, barefoot skiing, skiing on skim boards,
knee boards, or other contrivances, parasailing, ski kiting, or any
activity where a person is towed behind or alongside a boat.

(cc) “Waters of this state” means any waters within the territorial
limits of this state.

SEC. 2.  

Section 658.3 of the Harbors and Navigation Code is
amended to read:

658.3.  

(a) A person shall not operate a motorboat, sailboat, or
vessel that is 26 feet or less in length, begin insert or a vessel that is more than
26 feet in length and has an open cockpit, end insert unless every person on
board who is under 13 years of age is wearing a begin delete type I, II, III, or
V end delete Coast Guard-approved personal flotation device begin insert in serviceable
condition and of a type and size appropriate for the conditions
and the activity being engaged in end insert while that motorboat, sailboat,
or vessel is underway begin insert , moored, or at anchor end insert .

(b) Subdivision (a) does not apply to a person operating a
sailboat on which a person who is under 13 years of age is
restrained by a harness tethered to the vessel, or to a person
operating a vessel on which a person who is under 13 years of age
is in an enclosed cabin.

(c) A person on board a personal watercraft or a person being
towed behind a vessel on water skis, an aquaplane, or similar
device, except for an underwater maneuvering device intended for
use by a submerged swimmer, shall wear a begin delete type I, II, III, or V end delete
Coast Guard-approved personal flotation device begin insert in serviceable
condition and of a type and size appropriate for the conditions
and the activity being engaged in end insert . An underwater maneuvering
device is a towed or self-powered apparatus that a person can pilot
through diving, turning, and surfacing maneuvers that is designed
for underwater use.

(1) This subdivision does not apply to a person aboard a personal
watercraft or a person being towed behind a vessel on water skis,
if that person is a performer engaged in a professional exhibition,
or preparing to participate or participating begin insert with authorization
pursuant to a United States Coast Guard permit or other permit
granted pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 268 end insert in an official
regatta, marine parade, tournament, or exhibition.

(2) In lieu of wearing a Coast Guard-approved personal flotation
device begin delete of a type end delete begin insert as end insert described in this subdivision, a person engaged
in slalom skiing on a marked course or a person engaged in
barefoot, jump, or trick waterskiing may elect to wear a wetsuit
designed for the activity and labeled by the manufacturer as a water
ski wetsuit. A Coast Guard-approved personal flotation device begin delete of
a type end delete begin insert as end insert described in this subdivision shall be carried in the tow
vessel for each skier electing to wear a water ski wetsuit pursuant
to this paragraph.

(d) The requirements set forth in subdivisions (a) and (c) do not
apply to a person begin insert 13 years of age or older end insert operating a motorboat,
sailboat, or vessel if the begin delete operator is reacting to end delete begin insert vessel is engaged
in end insert an emergency rescue situation.

(e) The following definitions govern the construction of this
section:

(1) “Enclosed cabin” means a space on board a vessel that is
surrounded by bulkheads and covered by a roof.

(2) “Operate a motorboat, sailboat, or vessel” means to be in
control or in charge of a motorboat, sailboat, or vessel while it is
underway.

(3) “Underway” means all times except when the motorboat,
sailboat, or vessel is anchored, moored, or aground.

(f) A violation of this section is an infraction punishable as
provided in subdivision (a) of Section 668.

SEC. 3.  

No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of
the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within
the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.