BILL ANALYSIS Ó SB 1162 Page 1 Date of Hearing: June 9, 2014 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION Bonnie Lowenthal, Chair SB 1162 (Berryhill) - As Amended: April 7, 2014 SENATE VOTE : 37-0 SUBJECT : Vessels: violations SUMMARY : Reclassifies certain boating law violations from misdemeanors to infractions. Specifically, this bill : 1)Reclassifies the following violations as infractions and reduces the associated fine to the amount specified: a) Mooring a vessel to a buoy or beacon, except a designated mooring buoy ($100); b) Violating a "blue light law" by failing to provide a clear course for a law enforcement vessel ($100); c) Owning, operating, commanding, or permitting the use of a vessel at a speed over five miles per hour (mph) within 100 feet of a swimmer ($100); d) Owning, operating, commanding, or permitting the use of a vessel at a speed over five mph within 200 feet of an occupied beach, swimming float, diving platform, lifeline, or way or landing float used to fast a boat ($100); e) Operating a vessel towing a person on water skis without a person of at least 12 years of age on board, in addition to the operator, to monitor the progress of the persons being towed ($200); f) Operating a vessel towing a person on water skis at night ($200); g) Violating the United States Coast Guard Navigation Rule 20 relating to navigation lights, which describes timeframe and condition during which vessel operators must comply with regulations on lighting ($100); h) Improperly shielding floodlights or headlights that may SB 1162 Page 2 interfere with proper navigation of approaching vessels ($100); and, i) Performing certain reckless or negligent acts including riding on the bow, gunwale, or transom of a moving vessel that lacks deterrents to falling overboard ($250). 1)Makes additional non-substantive changes. EXISTING LAW : 1)Defines a misdemeanor as a crime punishable, at the discretion of the court, by a maximum of 6 months in a county jail, a maximum fine of $1,000, or a combination of both. 2)Generally defines an infraction as a violation punishable by a maximum fine of $100 for traffic violations and $250 for all other violations. 3)Defines beacons as permanently fixed aids to navigation structures ranging from lighthouses to small, single-pile structures located on land or in the water. 4)Defines buoys as floating aids moored to the seabed by concrete sinkers. 5)Specifies that mooring a vessel to a buoy or beacon placed by an authority in the navigable waters of the state is subject to a maximum penalty of a $1,000 fine and/or 6 months in jail. 6)Specifies that violating the "blue light law" by failing to provide a clear course for a law enforcement vessel is punishable with a maximum penalty of a $1,000 fine and/or 6 months in jail. 7)Specifies that owning, operating, commanding, or permitting the use of a vessel at a speed over five mph within 100 feet of a swimmer is subject to a maximum penalty of $100 and/or 5 days in jail. 8)Specifies that owning, operating, commanding, or permitting the use of a vessel at a speed over five mph within 200 feet of an occupied beach, swimming float, diving platform, lifeline, or way or landing float used to fast a boat is SB 1162 Page 3 subject to a maximum penalty of $100 fine and/or 5 in jail. 9)Specifies that operating a vessel while towing a person on water skis without a person of at least 12 years of age on board, in addition to the operator, to monitor the progress of the persons being towed is subject to a maximum of $200 fine. 10)Specifies that violating United States Coast Guard Navigation Rule 20 relating to navigation lights, which describes time frames and conditions during which vessel operators must comply with regulations on lighting is subject to a maximum penalty of $100 and/or 5 days in jail. 11)Specifies that improperly shielding floodlights or headlights that may interfere with proper navigation of approaching vessels is subject to a $100 fine and/or 5 days in jail. 12)Specifies that performing certain reckless or negligent acts including riding on the bow, gunwale, or transom of a moving vessel that lacks deterrents to falling overboard is subject to penalties including a $1,000 fine and/or 6 months in jail. FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown. COMMENTS : A misdemeanor is a criminal offense punishable by a fine of up to $1,000 and/or up to one year of jail time. Misdemeanors are considered "lesser" criminal offenses when compared to felonies and are generally punished less severely than felonies but more so than administrative infractions. Misdemeanors typically include crimes such as fleeing from an officer, driving without a license or on a suspended license, and reckless driving. Infractions, on the other hand, are not considered a criminal charge and do not carry with them any jail time requirements. Infractions carry only a financial penalty, typically between $100 and $250 (not including assessments). Common infractions include seatbelt violations, speeding, and failure to stop a stop sign. According to the author, there are a number of boating violations in current law that are classified as misdemeanors despite the fact that the severity of these crimes is more in line with infractions. The author cites that when these relatively minor violations carry the weight of a misdemeanor, law enforcement officers become reluctant to issue citations and instead issue warnings which can reduce the effectiveness of the SB 1162 Page 4 law to deter the unwanted behavior. Additionally, the author notes that when citation are issued for these violations (with misdemeanor penalties), prosecutors and courts often fail to take action on them because they are considered minor in comparison to other, more serious offenses that law enforcement and the courts are dealing with. To address this issue, the author has introduced this bill which would reclassify a number of relatively minor boating law violations as infractions. The author believes that reclassifying the penalties for these violations will result in increased enforcement, and therefore increased compliance, while at the same time reducing the burden on the court system. Writing in support, the bill's sponsor, the California State Sheriff's Association, notes that the violations addressed in this bill have disproportionate penalties under existing law given the severity of the offense. They claim that prosecuting these violations as misdemeanors only serves to "sap" law enforcement and court resources since peace officers must prepare additional reporting when these violations are cited despite the fact the most district attorneys decline prosecution because the crime is relative minor in comparison to other, more severe violations these entities must address. REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION : Support California State Sheriffs' Association (Sponsor) San Bernardino Sheriff's Department Opposition None on file. Analysis Prepared by : Victoria Alvarez / TRANS. / (916) 319- 2093