Amended in Senate April 15, 2013

Senate Bill No. 457

Introduced by Senator Monning

February 21, 2013

An act to amend Section 656 of the Harbors and Navigation Code, relating to vessels.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 457, as amended, Monning. Vessels: collisions and accidents.

Existing law regulates the operation and equipment of vessels subject to the jurisdiction of this state. Existing law specifies that it is the duty of the operator of a vessel involved in a collision, accident, or other casualty, so far as the operator can do so without serious danger to his or her own vessel, crew, and passengers, to render assistance to other persons affected by the collision, accident, or other casualty as may be practicable and necessary to save those persons from, or minimize any, danger caused by the collision, accident, or other casualty. Existing law further requires the owner, begin delete operator end delete begin insert operator, end insert or other person on board a vessel involved in a casualty or accident to report the casualty or accident in accordance with regulations adopted by the Department of Boating and Waterways.

begin delete This bill would require that the other person required to report a casualty or accident on board the vessel be at least 18 years of age and physically capable of making the report. end delete The bill would require that any public agency that is under contract with the department to receive law enforcement grant funds from the department, pursuant to regulations adopted by the department, complete and submit to the department a report for any boating accident to which it responds or for which it receives a report, and begin delete would end delete begin insert may end insert make any public agency that fails to comply with that reporting requirement ineligible to receive any future law enforcement grant funds from the department for begin delete at least end delete begin insert up to end insert 5 fiscal years following the date of the failure to submit an accident report. begin insert The bill would require the department to use reasonable means to obtain from the public agency a complete report for any boating accident to which it responds or for which it receives a report. The bill would further require the department to use reasonable means to notify the public agency of the failure to submit a report prior to the department’s determination that the public agency is ineligible to receive future grant funds. end insert

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

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

SECTION 1.  

Section 656 of the Harbors and Navigation Code
is amended to read:

656.  

(a) It is the duty of the operator of a vessel involved in a
collision, accident, or other casualty, so far as the operator can do
so without serious danger to his or her own vessel, crew, and
passengers, to render to other persons affected by the collision,
accident, or other casualty that assistance that is practicable and
necessary in order to save them from, or minimize any, danger
caused by the collision, accident, or other casualty.

(b) Any person who complies with subdivision (a) or Section
656.1, 656.2, or 656.3 or who gratuitously and in good faith renders
assistance at the scene of a vessel collision, accident, or other
casualty without objection by any person assisted, shall not be held
liable for any civil damages sought as a result of the rendering of
assistance or for any act or omission in providing or arranging
salvage, towage, medical treatment, or other assistance, if the
assisting person has acted as an ordinary, reasonably prudent person
would have acted under the same or similar circumstances.

(c) (1) An individual employee of a public entity engaged in
rescue pursuant to this code shall not be a proper party defendant
and shall be dismissed on motion, unless the employee has violated
a statute other than a statute creating a general obligation to rescue
or is guilty of oppression, fraud, malice, or the conscious disregard
of the safety of others.

(2) The public entity employing such an individual shall be
liable in civil damages if the individual employee has failed to act
as a reasonably prudent person would have acted under the same
or similar circumstances.

(3) If a public entity has given a reasonable printed, electronic,
or verbal warning of the danger causing the distress that created
the necessity for the rescue, and there has been a reasonable
opportunity for the party in distress to receive the warning, the
public entity is liable only for acts or omissions of its employee
that were taken in a grossly negligent manner.

(d) The owner, operator, or other person who is begin delete at least 18 years
of age and physically capable end delete on board a vessel involved in a
casualty or accident shall report the casualty or accident in
accordance with regulations adopted by the department. The
department shall adopt regulations to maintain a uniform casualty
and accident reporting system for vessels subject to this code in
conformity with federal casualty and accident reporting regulations
promulgated by the United States Coast Guard or any successor
to those regulations. Consistent with Public Law 92-75 and the
federal regulations contained in Part 173 of Title 33 of the Code
of Federal Regulations, a peace officer or harbor begin delete policeman, end delete begin insert police
officer end insert upon receiving an initial report of a casualty involving the
death or disappearance of a person as a result of a boating accident,
shall immediately forward the report, by quickest means available,
to the department.

(1) A public agency that is under contract with the department
to receive law enforcement grant funds from the department shall,
pursuant to regulations adopted by the department, complete and
submit to the department a report for any boating accident to which
it responds or for which it receives a report.

(2) A public agency that has received any law enforcement grant
funds from the department that does not submit an accident report
as required under paragraph (1) begin delete shall end delete begin insert may end insert be begin insert determined by the
department to be end insert ineligible to receive future grant funds for begin delete at least end delete
begin insert up to end insert five fiscal years following the date of the failure to submit
a report.

begin insert

(3) The department shall use reasonable means to do both of
the following:

end insert begin insert

(A) Obtain from a public agency any complete report required
to be submitted pursuant to paragraph (1).

end insert begin insert

(B) Notify a public agency of the failure to submit a report
required under paragraph (1) before taking action pursuant to
paragraph (2).

end insert

(e) Neither the report required by this section nor any action
taken by the department with regard to the report shall be referred
to in any way, or be any evidence of negligence or due care of any
party, at the trial of any action at law to recover damages.

(f) All required accident reports, and supplemental reports, shall
be without prejudice to the individual so reporting and shall be for
the confidential use of the department and any peace officer
actually engaged in the enforcement of this chapter, except that
the department shall disclose the names and addresses of persons
involved in, or witnesses to, an accident, the registration numbers
and descriptions of vessels involved, and the date, time, and
location of an accident to any person who may have a proper
interest in that information, including the operator involved or the
legal guardian of that operator, the parent of a minor operator, the
authorized representative of an operator, or any person injured,
and the owners of vessels or property damaged, in the accident.

(g) This section applies to foreign vessels, military or public
recreational-type vessels, vessels owned by a state or subdivision
of a state, and ship’s lifeboats otherwise exempted from this chapter
pursuant to Section 650.1.