BILL NUMBER: SB 941 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 27, 2014
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 22, 2014
INTRODUCED BY Senators Monning and DeSaulnier
( Coauthor: Assembly Member
Buchanan )
FEBRUARY 4, 2014
An act to add Article 1.4 (commencing with Section 678) to Chapter
5 of Division 3 of the Harbors and Navigation Code, relating to
vessels.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 941, as amended, 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 authorize
the division to develop an examination and
examination. The bill would require the division to provide
links to approved examinations on its Internet Web site. The bill
would require the division to charge an unspecified fee
specified fees 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 8
years of the effective date of the regulations issued by the
division. this act.
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. 678. (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, 678.13, a vessel
operator card shall be valid for the life of the person to whom it is
issued.
678.5. 678.3. (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 ___
exceed thirty dollars ($30) for the initial
vessel operator card issued pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section
678.3. 678.
(3) The division shall charge a fee not to exceed ___
exceed ten dollars ($10) for a duplicate vessel
operator card issued pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section
678.3. 678.
(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. 678.5. (a) The division
shall may develop and provide a vessel
operator examination on the division's Internet Web site and
site. The division 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. 678.7. (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
678.3 within three eight 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. 678.9. (a) On or before
April 1, 2019, and on or before April 1 annually thereafter, the
division shall prepare a report that includes all of the following
information with respect to the prior calendar year:
(1) The total number of vessel operator cards issued pursuant to
this article.
(2) The fees collected, and the costs incurred, by the division
pursuant to this article.
(3) The correlation between vessel operator cards issued and the
number of accidents, injuries, and fatalities related to the
operation of vessels in the state. state that
are reported pursuant to Section 656.
(4) The total number of violations of this
article. article reported to the division.
(b) The report shall be posted on the division's Internet Web
site.
678.13. 678.11. (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. 678.
(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
678.3 678 or a rental vessel operator
card issued pursuant to Section 678.15 678.13
or who is not required to possess a vessel operator
card pursuant to paragraph (6).
(3) A person operating a vessel in an organized regatta or vessel
race, or water ski race.
(4) A person operating a rental vessel who is in possession of a
rental vessel operator card pursuant to Section 678.15.
678.13.
(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. Guard, or
who is in possession of a valid certificate issued pursuant to the
International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and
Watchkeeping for Seafarers, 1978, as amended.
678.15. 678.13. (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, rental agent shall require the
renter or operator of the a rental
vessel to show proof of possession of a vessel operator card issued
pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 678.3
678 before renting a vessel. If the renter or operator of the
rental 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
678 and a map of the waterway the renter or operator indicates
is the location of intended operation.
(b) (1) The A rental agent
shall issue a 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
678.7 678.5 with a focus on basic vessel
operation, navigation, and safety. The division shall make
the examination available on its Internet Web site.
(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) The division may charge a rental agent a fee to cover the
costs to the division of approving a site-specific rental vessel
operator examination pursuant to paragraph (3) for the site at which
the rental agent operates. The fee shall not exceed those costs.
(4)
(5) 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).
(d) For purposes of this section, "rental agent" means 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.
678.17. 678.15. (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.