BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 941
Page 1
Date of Hearing: July 2, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Mike Gatto, Chair
SB 941 (Monning and DeSaulnier) - As Amended: June 18, 2014
Policy Committee:
TransportationVote:9-3
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
Yes Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill requires individuals to pass a boating safety
examination and obtain a vessel operator card in order to
legally operate a motorboat on state waterways. Specifically,
this bill:
1)Requires the Division of Boating and Waterways (DBW), within
the Department of Parks and Recreation, to develop the boating
safety program and a vessel operator card to provide to a
person who proves he or she has passed a boating safety
examination approved by the division.
2)Requires DBW to establish fees sufficient to cover program
start-up and operating costs, but not to exceed $30 for an
initial vessel operator card and $10 for a duplicate card. All
fee revenue will be deposited in the newly-established Vessel
Operator Certification Account within the Harbors and
Watercraft Revolving Fund (HWRF), and will be available upon
appropriation by the Legislature.
3)Requires that an amount of up to $4 million, upon
appropriation in the budget, be transferred from the HWRF to
the Vessel Operator Certification Account as a loan, to be
repaid within eight years, to develop and establish the new
program.
4)Requires, with specified exemptions, anyone age 20 or younger
to have a vessel operator card in order to operate a boat on
or after January 1, 2018, and increases this age threshold by
five years each succeeding year through January 1, 2025, after
which all persons, regardless of age, must possess the card to
SB 941
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operate a motorboat.
5)Makes a violation of the card requirement an infraction
subject to a fine of up to $100 for an initial conviction, up
to $250 for a second conviction, and up to $500 of a third and
subsequent convictions and a requires a violator to complete a
boating safety course.
6)Requires the division to annually report on its website the
number of cards issued, fee collections, administrative costs,
the correlation between card issuance and boating
accidents/injuries/ fatalities, and the number of violations,
and by April 1, 2023 and April 1, 2028 to include any
recommended changes to improve boating safety.
FISCAL EFFECT
To develop, implement and report on the new program will require
two positions at a cost of $170,000 annually and an information
technology position for up two years at $90,000 annually.
Based on the experience of Washington State, the DBW anticipates
that up to 20% (estimate at about 250,000) of those required to
complete the boater safety course will do so using a home study
course option. At an estimate cost of $6 to print the home study
course booklet, total costs would be $1.5 million over several
years as the course requirement expands to more age groups until
2025.
The DBW anticipates that, as in other states, the division will
contract with a private course provider who will collect a fee
for the course and certification and remit a portion of the fee
to the state sufficient to cover the department's start-up and
operating costs.
COMMENTS
1)Purpose . While no education or experience is necessary to
operate a motorized vessel in California, DBW does provide
boater education courses and issues cards for successful
completion. Completion of a boater education course is not
required unless ordered by a court following the conviction of
a moving vessel violation.
According to the authors, California remains one of six states
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that do not require individuals to take a boating safety
course before operating a motorized vessel. They point out
that in 2012 alone there were 247 boating-related injuries, 53
fatalities, and $5.7 million in property damage in California
resulting from boating accidents and they contend that boating
safety could be substantially improved if motorized vessel
operators receive proper safety training.
2)Prior Legislation . In 2008, AB 2110 (Duvall), which was
similar to this bill, was held on this committee's Suspense
file. In 2007, AB 1458 (Duvall) another similar bill, was
never heard in this committee.
Analysis Prepared by : Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081