Bill Text: CA SB941 | 2013-2014 | Regular Session | Chaptered
Bill Title: Vessel operator cards.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)
Status: (Passed) 2014-09-18 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 433, Statutes of 2014. [SB941 Detail]
Download: California-2013-SB941-Chaptered.html
BILL NUMBER: SB 941 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 433
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE SEPTEMBER 18, 2014
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR SEPTEMBER 18, 2014
PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 21, 2014
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 20, 2014
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 18, 2014
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 18, 2014
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, 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, as specified.
The bill would require the division, on or before January 1, 2018,
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 authorize the division
to develop an 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 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 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 8 years of the effective date of this
act.
The bill would require the division on or before April 1, 2019,
and annually thereafter, to prepare a report that contains specified
information, including, among other things, the total number of
vessel operator cards issued and the number of violations reported to
the division. The bill would also require the division on or before
April 1, 2023, and again on April 1, 2028, to post on its Internet
Web site specified recommendations relating to the program.
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.
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. (a) On or before January 1, 2018, the division shall develop
a 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) A vessel operator card shall be valid for the life of the
person to whom it is issued.
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 thirty dollars
($30) for the initial vessel operator card issued pursuant to
subdivision (b) of Section 678.
(3) The division shall charge a fee not to exceed ten dollars
($10) for a duplicate vessel operator card issued pursuant to
subdivision (b) of Section 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.
678.5. (a) The division may develop and provide a vessel operator
examination on the division's Internet Web 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.
678.7. (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 678.3 within eight years of
the effective date of 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.
678.9. (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 that are reported pursuant to
Section 656.
(4) The number of violations of this article reported to the
division.
(b) The report shall be posted on the division's Internet Web
site.
(c) On or before April 1, 2023, and again on April 1, 2028, the
report prepared by the division and posted on its Internet Web site
shall include recommendations, developed by the division, in
consultation with the technical advisory group established pursuant
to subdivision (b) of Section 678.3, relating to any program changes
to improve boater safety in California or, alternatively, reasons why
the program should not be continued.
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.
(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 any of 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 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.
(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, 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.
(7) A person who has successfully completed a boating course
approved by the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training.
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 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.
