BILL REQ. #:  S-3673.2 

Read first time 01/22/2004.   Referred to Committee on Parks, Fish & Wildlife.

     AN ACT Relating to recreational boater education; amending RCW 79A.60.010 and 79A.25.080; adding new sections to chapter 79A.60 RCW; and prescribing penalties.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

Sec. 1   RCW 79A.60.010 and 2003 c 39 s 45 are each amended to read as follows:
     Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter.
     (1) "Accredited course" means a mandatory course of instruction on boating safety education that has been accredited by the commission.
     (2) "Boat wastes" includes, but is not limited to, sewage, garbage, marine debris, plastics, contaminated bilge water, cleaning solvents, paint scrapings, or discarded petroleum products associated with the use of vessels.
     (((2))) (3) "Boater" means any person on a vessel on waters of the state of Washington.
     (((3))) (4) "Boater education card" means a card issued to a person who has successfully completed a boater education test and has paid the registration fee for a serial number record to be maintained in the commission data base.
     (5) "Carrying passengers for hire" means carrying passengers in a vessel on waters of the state for valuable consideration, whether given directly or indirectly or received by the owner, agent, operator, or other person having an interest in the vessel. This shall not include trips where expenses for food, transportation, or incidentals are shared by participants on an even basis. Anyone receiving compensation for skills or money for amortization of equipment and carrying passengers shall be considered to be carrying passengers for hire on waters of the state.
     (((4))) (6) "Certificate of accomplishment" means a certificate issued by a boating educator as the precursor to the boater education card.
     (7) "Commission" means the state parks and recreation commission.
     (((5))) (8) "Darkness" means that period between sunset and sunrise.
     (((6))) (9) "Environmentally sensitive area" means a restricted body of water where discharge of untreated sewage from boats is especially detrimental because of limited flushing, shallow water, commercial or recreational shellfish, swimming areas, diversity of species, the absence of other pollution sources, or other characteristics.
     (((7))) (10) "Guide" means any individual, including but not limited to subcontractors and independent contractors, engaged for compensation or other consideration by a whitewater river outfitter for the purpose of operating vessels. A person licensed under RCW 77.65.480 or 77.65.440 and acting as a fishing guide is not considered a guide for the purposes of this chapter.
     (((8))) (11) "Marina" means a facility providing boat moorage space, fuel, or commercial services. Commercial services include but are not limited to overnight or live-aboard boating accommodations.
     (((9))) (12) "Motor driven boats and vessels" means all boats and vessels which are self propelled.
     (((10))) (13) "Motor vessel safety checklist" means a printed list of the safety requirements for a vessel with a motor installed or attached to the vessel being sold or rented and meeting minimum requirements adopted by the commission in accordance with section 2 of this act.
     (14) "Muffler" or "muffler system" means a sound suppression device or system, including an underwater exhaust system, designed and installed to abate the sound of exhaust gases emitted from an internal combustion engine and that prevents excessive or unusual noise.
     (((11))) (15) "Operate" means to steer, direct, or otherwise have physical control of a vessel that is underway.
     (((12))) (16) "Operator" means an individual who steers, directs, or otherwise has physical control of a vessel that is underway or exercises actual authority to control the person at the helm.
     (((13))) (17) "Observer" means the individual riding in a vessel who is responsible for observing a water skier at all times.
     (((14))) (18) "Owner" means a person who has a lawful right to possession of a vessel by purchase, exchange, gift, lease, inheritance, or legal action whether or not the vessel is subject to a security interest.
     (((15))) (19) "Person" means any individual, sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, nonprofit corporation or organization, limited liability company, firm, association, or other legal entity located within or outside this state.
     (((16))) (20) "Personal flotation device" means a buoyancy device, life preserver, buoyant vest, ring buoy, or buoy cushion that is designed to float a person in the water and that is approved by the commission.
     (((17))) (21) "Personal watercraft" means a vessel of less than sixteen feet that uses a motor powering a water jet pump, as its primary source of motive power and that is designed to be operated by a person sitting, standing, or kneeling on, or being towed behind the vessel, rather than in the conventional manner of sitting or standing inside the vessel.
     (((18))) (22) "Polluted area" means a body of water used by boaters that is contaminated by boat wastes at unacceptable levels, based on applicable water quality and shellfish standards.
     (((19))) (23) "Public entities" means all elected or appointed bodies, including tribal governments, responsible for collecting and spending public funds.
     (((20))) (24) "Reckless" or "recklessly" means acting carelessly and heedlessly in a willful and wanton disregard of the rights, safety, or property of another.
     (((21))) (25) "Rental motor vessel" means a motor vessel that is legally owned by a corporation that is registered as a rental and leasing agency for recreational motor vessels, and has a signed agreement of lease or rental between themselves and the operator of their rental vessel.
     (26) "Sewage pumpout or dump unit" means:
     (a) A receiving chamber or tank designed to receive vessel sewage from a "porta-potty" or a portable container; and
     (b) A stationary or portable mechanical device on land, a dock, pier, float, barge, vessel, or other location convenient to boaters, designed to remove sewage waste from holding tanks on vessels.
     (((22))) (27) "Underway" means that a vessel is not at anchor, or made fast to the shore, or aground.
     (((23))) (28) "Vessel" includes every description of watercraft on the water, other than a seaplane, used or capable of being used as a means of transportation on the water. However, it does not include inner tubes, air mattresses, sailboards, and small rafts or flotation devices or toys customarily used by swimmers.
     (((24))) (29) "Water skiing" means the physical act of being towed behind a vessel on, but not limited to, any skis, aquaplane, kneeboard, tube, or any other similar device.
     (((25))) (30) "Waters of the state" means any waters within the territorial limits of Washington state.
     (((26))) (31) "Whitewater river outfitter" means any person who is advertising to carry or carries passengers for hire on any whitewater river of the state, but does not include any person whose only service on a given trip is providing instruction in canoeing or kayaking skills.
     (((27))) (32) "Whitewater rivers of the state" means those rivers and streams, or parts thereof, within the boundaries of the state as listed in RCW 79A.60.470 or as designated by the commission under RCW 79A.60.495.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   A new section is added to chapter 79A.60 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) The commission must establish and implement by rule a program to provide required boating safety education. The boating education program must include training on preventing the spread of aquatic invasive species. The program must be phased in so that all boaters not exempted under section 3(2) of this act are required to obtain a boater education card by January 1, 2014. To obtain a boater education card, a boater must provide a certificate of accomplishment issued by a boating educator for taking and passing an accredited boating safety course, or pass an equivalency exam, or provide proof of completion of a course that meets the standard adopted by the commission taken prior to July 1, 2004.
     (2) As part of the boating safety education program, the commission must:
     (a) Establish a minimum standard of boating safety education accomplishment. After July 1, 2004, the standard must be consistent with the applicable standard established by the national association of state boating law administrators;
     (b) Adopt minimum standards for boating safety course of instruction and examination that ensures compliance with the national association of state boating law administrators minimum standards;
     (c) Accredit boating safety education courses operated by volunteers, commercial, or nonprofit organizations, with special consideration given to courses given by the United States coast guard auxiliary and the United States power squadrons;
     (d) Develop an equivalency examination that may be taken as an alternative to the boating safety education course;
     (e) Establish a fee for the boater education card at a rate necessary to fund all commission activities related to the boating safety education program created by this act, after the initial costs of developing the program; and
     (f) Establish a fee for the replacement of the boater education card that covers the cost of replacement.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   A new section is added to chapter 79A.60 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) A person may not operate motor driven boats and vessels under mechanical power of ten horsepower or more unless the person:
     (a) Is at least sixteen years of age; and
     (b) Has in his or her possession a boater education card or a certificate of accomplishment; or
     (c) Is accompanied by and is under the direct supervision of a person sixteen years of age or older who is in possession of a boater education card or certificate of accomplishment, or who is exempt from carrying a boater education card.
     (2) The following persons are exempt from the requirement to carry a boater education card:
     (a) A person at least sixteen years old who rents or charters a motor driven boat or vessel with an engine ten horsepower or greater who completes a commission-approved dockside motor vessel safety checklist before operating the motor driven boat or vessel;
     (b) The operator of a vessel engaged in a lawful commercial fishery operation as licensed by the department of fish and wildlife under Title 77 RCW;
     (c) A person who possesses a valid marine operator license issued by the United States coast guard;
     (d) A person who is legally engaged in the operation of a vessel that is exempt from vessel registration requirements under chapter 88.02 RCW and applicable rules and is used for purposes of law enforcement or official government work;
     (e) A person who is not a resident of Washington state and who does not operate a motor driven boat or vessel greater than ten horsepower in waters of the state for more than sixty consecutive days;
     (f) A person who is not a resident of Washington state and who holds a current out-of-state or out-of-country certificate or card that is equivalent to the rules adopted by the commission;
     (g) A person who has purchased the boat or vessel within the last sixty days, and has a bill of sale in his or her possession to document the date of purchase;
     (h) A person who is involved in practicing for, or engaging in, a local, state, or federal government agency permitted racing event where a valid document has been issued by the appropriate agency for the event, and is available for inspection on-site during the racing event; and
     (i) A person who is not yet required to have a boater education card or certificate of accomplishment under the phased schedule developed by the commission under section 2 of this act.
     (3) Unless exempt from so doing, a boater must carry a boater education card or a temporary certificate of accomplishment while operating a vessel or boat and is required to present the boater education card or temporary certificate of accomplishment to a law enforcement officer upon request.
     (4) Failure to possess a boater education card or certificate of accomplishment if required by this section is an infraction under chapter 7.84 RCW. The penalty may be reduced if the boater provides proof to the court within sixty days that he or she has received a certificate of accomplishment or boater education card.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   A new section is added to chapter 79A.60 RCW to read as follows:
     The boating safety education certification account is created in the custody of the state treasurer. All receipts from fees collected for the issuance of a boater safety education card must be deposited into the account. Expenditures from the account may be used only for the purposes of sections 2 and 3 of this act. Only the commission or the commission's designee may authorize expenditures from the account. The account is subject to allotment procedures under chapter 43.88 RCW, but an appropriation is not required for expenditures.

Sec. 5   RCW 79A.25.080 and 2000 c 11 s 74 are each amended to read as follows:
     Moneys transferred to the recreation resource account from the marine fuel tax refund account may be used when appropriated by the legislature, as well as any federal or other funds now or hereafter available, to pay the necessary administrative and coordinative costs of the interagency committee for outdoor recreation established by RCW 79A.25.110. During the biennium ending June 30, 2005, moneys in the account may also be transferred to the boating safety education certification account created in section 4 of this act to be used by the commission to develop the boating safety education program described in this act. All moneys so transferred, except those appropriated as aforesaid, shall be divided into two equal shares and shall be used to benefit watercraft recreation in this state as follows:
     (1) One share as grants to state agencies for (a) acquisition of title to, or any interests or rights in, marine recreation land, (b) capital improvement and renovation of marine recreation land, including periodic dredging in accordance with subsection (3) of this section, if needed, to maintain or make the facility more useful, or (c) matching funds in any case where federal or other funds are made available on a matching basis for purposes described in (a) or (b) of this subsection;
     (2) One share as grants to public bodies to help finance (a) acquisition of title to, or any interests or rights in, marine recreation land, or (b) capital improvement and renovation of marine recreation land, including periodic dredging in accordance with subsection (3) of this section, if needed, to maintain or make the facility more useful. A public body is authorized to use a grant, together with its own contribution, as matching funds in any case where federal or other funds are made available for purposes described in (a) or (b) of this subsection. The committee may prescribe further terms and conditions for the making of grants in order to carry out the purposes of this chapter.
     (3) For the purposes of this section "periodic dredging" is limited to dredging of materials that have been deposited in a channel due to unforeseen events. This dredging should extend the expected usefulness of the facility for at least five years.