Senate Bill No. 941

Introduced by Senators Monning and DeSaulnier

February 4, 2014

An act to add Article 1.4 (commencing with Section 678) of Chapter 5 of Division 3 of the Harbors and Navigation Code, relating to vessels.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 941, as introduced, Monning. Vessel operator cards.

(1) Existing law prohibits the operation or navigation of a for-hire vessel, as defined, in the waters of California while carrying passengers, except by a person who holds a valid operator’s license issued by the Division of Boating and Waterways. Under existing law, a person applying for an operator’s license is required to undergo an examination, that may include, among other things, an inspection of the for-hire vessel.

Existing law requires the division to approve boating safety courses and personal watercraft education courses, as specified.

This bill would prohibit the operation of a vessel that is propelled by an engine in the waters of the state except by a person who is in possession of a valid vessel operator card developed and issued by the division, and would impose that prohibition on persons pursuant to a specified schedule. The bill would exempt certain persons from that requirement and would allow a person who rents a vessel to instead possess a rental vessel operator card, as specified.

The bill would require the division to develop vessel operator cards and issue a vessel operator card to a person who provides the division with proof that the person has passed a vessel operator examination and would require the division to develop an examination and provide links to approved examinations on its Internet Web site. The bill would require the division to charge an unspecified fee for those cards, would establish the Vessel Operator Certification Account in the Harbors and Watercraft Revolving Fund, and would require the fees to be deposited in that account. The bill would authorize the division to expend the moneys in the account, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for purposes of the vessel operator card program.

The bill would require the division to adopt implementing regulations.

The bill would require an amount not to exceed $4,000,000 to be transferred, upon appropriation in the annual Budget Act, from the Harbors and Watercraft Revolving Fund to the Vessel Operator Certification Account in the form of a loan to be used by the division to develop and establish the program. The bill would require the division to repay the loan from fees received from the issuance of vessel operator cards within 3 years of the effective date of the regulations issued by the division.

The bill would provide that a violation of the bill’s provisions is an infraction, and would require a court to order a person who violates those provisions to complete and pass a boating safety course approved by the division. By creating a new crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

(2)  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.  

Article 1.4 (commencing with Section 678) is
added to Chapter 5 of Division 3 of the Harbors and Navigation
Code, to read:

 

Article 1.4.  Vessel Operators’ Education and Certification Cards

 

678.  

The division shall adopt regulations to implement this
article or to make this article more specific, including regulations
setting forth the fees to be charged and collected pursuant to
Section 678.5.

678.3.  

(a) On or before December 31, 2017, the division shall
develop a vessel operator card and a rental vessel operator card to
be issued pursuant to this article.

(b) The division shall issue, or cause to be issued, a vessel
operator card to a person who provides the division with proof that
the person has passed a vessel operator examination approved by
the division or a vessel operator course that includes an
examination and is approved by the division pursuant to Section
668.1 or 668.3.

(c) Except for a rental vessel operator card issued pursuant to
Section 678.15, a vessel operator card shall be valid for the life of
the person to whom it is issued.

678.5.  

(a) (1) The division shall determine the fees required
under this section in amounts sufficient to cover the reasonable
costs of the development, establishment, and operation of the
program. The fees shall not exceed those costs.

(2) The division shall charge a fee not to exceed ___ for the
initial vessel operator card issued pursuant to subdivision (b) of
Section 678.3.

(3) The division shall charge a fee not to exceed ___ for a
duplicate vessel operator card issued pursuant to subdivision (b)
of Section 678.3.

(b) In determining the amount of the fees imposed pursuant to
this section, the division shall establish, and consult with, a
technical advisory group consisting of interested persons, including,
but not limited to, representatives of the boating community. The
director shall appoint the members of the advisory group.

(c) The fees collected pursuant to this section shall be deposited
in the Vessel Operator Certification Account, which is hereby
established within the Harbors and Watercraft Revolving Fund.

(d) The division may expend the moneys in the Vessel Operator
Certification Account, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for
purposes of implementing this article.

678.7.  

(a) The division shall develop and provide a vessel
operator examination on the division’s Internet Web site and shall
provide links from the division’s Internet Web site to other vessel
operator examinations approved by the division that are available
through a provider whose course has been approved by the National
Association of State Boating Law Administrators.

(b) If the division contracts for the provision of vessel operator
examination services with test vendors, the division shall conduct
a formal competitive bid process and shall contract with more than
one vendor for those services.

(c) A vessel operator examination developed or approved by
the division shall be consistent with the National Association of
State Boating Law Administrators’ National Boating Education
Standards, as applicable to basic vessel operations, rules of
navigation, and boating safety only.

678.9.  

(a) An amount not to exceed four million dollars
($4,000,000) shall, upon appropriation in the annual Budget Act,
be transferred from the Harbors and Watercraft Revolving Fund
to the Vessel Operator Certification Account in the form of a loan
to be used by the division to develop and establish the program
under this article.

(b) The division shall repay the loan described in subdivision
(a) from fees received pursuant to Section 678.5 within three years
of the effective date of the regulations issued by the division
pursuant to this article.

(c) If the division has not repaid the loan within the time period
specified in subdivision (b), the division shall notify the Joint
Legislative Budget Committee.

(d) The loan shall not impair the intended expenditure purposes
of the Harbors and Watercraft Revolving Fund.

678.11.  

On or before December 31, 2018, and on or before
December 31 annually thereafter, the division shall prepare a report
regarding the total number of vessel operator cards issued pursuant
to this article and shall include information about the correlation
between vessel operator cards issued and the number of accidents,
injuries, and fatalities related to the operation of vessels in the
state. The report shall be posted on the division’s Internet Web
site.

678.13.  

(a) Subject to the schedule in subdivision (b), a person
shall not operate on waters subject to the jurisdiction of the state
a vessel that is propelled by an engine, regardless of whether the
engine is the principal source of propulsion, unless the person has
in his or her possession a vessel operator card issued by the division
pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 678.3.

(b) A person is subject to subdivision (a) according to the
following schedule:

(1) On and after January 1, 2018: A person 20 years of age or
younger.

(2) On and after January 1, 2019: A person 25 years of age or
younger.

(3) On and after January 1, 2020: A person 35 years of age or
younger.

(4) On and after January 1, 2021: A person 40 years of age or
younger.

(5) On and after January 1, 2022: A person 45 years of age or
younger.

(6) On and after January 1, 2023: A person 50 years of age or
younger.

(7) On and after January 1, 2024: A person 60 years of age or
younger.

(8) On and after January 1, 2025: All persons, regardless of age.

(c) This section does not apply to the following:

(1) A person who is a resident of another state or a foreign
country who is operating a vessel and meets either of the following
requirements:

(A) The person is temporarily using the waters of this state for
a period not to exceed 60 days, and meets the applicable
requirements, if any, of his or her state of residency.

(B) The person is temporarily using the waters of this state for
a period not to exceed 90 days, and meets the applicable
requirements, if any, of his or her country of residency.

(2) A person operating a vessel while under the direct
supervision of a person 18 years of age or older who is in
possession of a vessel operator card issued pursuant to subdivision
(b) of Section 678.3 or a rental vessel operator card issued pursuant
to Section 678.15 or is not required to possess a vessel operator
card pursuant to paragraph (7).

(3) A person operating a vessel in an organized regatta or vessel
race, or water ski race.

(4) A person operating a rented vessel who is in possession of
a rental vessel operator card pursuant to Section 678.15.

(5) A person who is in possession of a current commercial
fishing license.

(6) A person who is in possession of a valid marine operator
license, for the waters upon which the licensee is operating, issued
by the United States Coast Guard.

678.15.  

(a) On and after January 1, 2018, a person engaged in
the business of providing for rent a vessel or vessels propelled by
an engine, regardless of whether the engine is the principal source
of propulsion, shall require the renter or operator of the rental
vessel to show proof of possession of a vessel operator card issued
pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 678.3 before renting a vessel.
If the renter or operator of the rented vessel does not provide proof
of possession of a vessel operator card, the rental agent shall,
subject to the requirements of subdivision (b), issue to the renter
or operator of the rental vessel a rental vessel operator card
developed by the division pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section
678.3 and a map of the waterway the renter or operator indicates
is the location of intended operation.

(b) (1) The rental vessel operator card shall be issued only to
a person who completes and passes a rental vessel operator
examination that is developed or approved by the division for the
purpose of this section.

(2) The rental vessel operator examination that is developed by
the division shall be an abbreviated version of the vessel operator
examination developed by the division pursuant to Section 678.7
with a focus on basic vessel operation, navigation, and safety.

(3) The division shall also approve site-specific rental vessel
operator examinations. These site-specific examinations shall be
tailored to and recognize the vessel rental circumstances, include
information specific to the type of vessel and the type of waterway,
and provide information concerning state boating laws, operating
instructions, equipment operation, and boating safety.

(4) A person may satisfy the requirements of the rental vessel
operator examination by passing the division-developed rental
operator examination or an approved site-specific rental vessel
operator examination.

(c) A rental vessel operator card shall be valid for a period of
not more than 30 days from the date of the initial rental for which
the card was issued pursuant to subdivision (a).

678.17.  

(a) A violation of this article is an infraction.

(b) A person convicted of an infraction for a violation of this
article shall be punished as follows:

(1) For an initial conviction, by a fine of not more than one
hundred dollars ($100).

(2) For a second conviction, by a fine of not more than two
hundred fifty dollars ($250).

(3) For a third or subsequent conviction, by a fine of not more
than five hundred dollars ($500).

(c) A fine imposed on a vessel operator pursuant to subdivision
(b) shall be waived, if the vessel operator provides proof that he
or she had a valid vessel operator card or rental vessel operator
card at the time of the citation.

(d) (1) In addition to the fines imposed by subdivision (b), the
court shall order a person convicted of violating this article to
complete and pass a boating safety course approved by the division
pursuant to Section 668.3.

(2) If a person who is ordered to complete and pass a boating
safety course pursuant to paragraph (1) is 18 years of age or
younger, the court may require that person to obtain the consent
of a parent or guardian to enroll in that course.

(3) A person who has been ordered by a court to complete a
boating safety course pursuant to paragraph (1) shall submit to the
court proof of completion and passage of the course within seven
months of the date of his or her conviction. The proof shall be in
a form that has been approved by the division and that is capable
of being submitted to the court or a state or local agency approved
by the division through the United States Postal Service or another
certified means of transmission.

SEC. 2.  

 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.