Bill Text: CT SB01017 | 2013 | General Assembly | Comm Sub

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Bill Title: An Act Concerning Abandoned Boats.

Spectrum: Committee Bill

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2013-06-04 - Senate Recommitted to Environment [SB01017 Detail]

Download: Connecticut-2013-SB01017-Comm_Sub.html

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General Assembly		Raised Bill No. 1017
January Session, 2013		LCO No. 3891
		*_____SB01017JUD___041913____*
Referred to Committee on ENVIRONMENT
Introduced by:
(ENV)

AN ACT CONCERNING ABANDONED BOATS.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:

Section 1. Section 15-140c of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2013):

(a) No person shall abandon any vessel on the waters of this state or upon property other than his own without the consent of the owner thereof. For the purposes of this section, a vessel shall be presumed to be abandoned if: [left] (1) Left on the waters of this state not moored, anchored or made fast to the shore and unattended for a period greater than twenty-four hours, [or] (2) left upon property other than his own without the consent of said property owner for a period greater than twenty-four hours, [. The last owner of record of a vessel at the time it was abandoned shall be presumed to be the person who abandoned the same or caused or procured its abandonment] except in the case where a tenant leaves a vessel behind on property such tenant formerly rented, leased, or occupied, in which case such vessel shall be presumed to be abandoned ninety days after termination of occupancy by such tenant, (3) left at a mooring for more than sixty days since receipt of the last full payment, (4) left at a storage facility, repair facility or other commercial facility for more than one year since receipt of the last full payment by such facility, or (5) found during a declared emergency pursuant to chapter 517: (A) In a public right-of-way and that hinders access to a public right-of-way or hinders access to public utilities, or (B) in a location or condition that creates an imminent danger to public safety or to the environment.

[(b) Any officer authorized to enforce the provisions of this chapter upon discovery of any vessel apparently abandoned, whether situated on or out of the waters of the state, may take such vessel into his custody and may cause the same to be taken to and stored in a suitable place. There shall be no liability attached to such officer for any damages to such vessel while in his custody. All charges necessarily incurred by such officer in the performance of such duty shall be a lien upon such vessel. The owner or keeper of any marina or other place where such vessel is stored shall have a lien upon the same for his storage charges and if such vessel has been stored for a period of not less than sixty days, such owner or keeper may sell the same for storage charges owed thereon, provided a notice of intent to sell shall be sent to the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection, the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles, the Commissioner of Transportation and the owner of such vessel, if known, five days before the sale of such vessel. If the owner is unknown, such sale shall be advertised in a newspaper published or having a circulation in the town where such marina or other place is located three times, commencing at least five days before the sale. The proceeds of such sale, after deducting the amount due such marina owner or keeper and all expenses of the officer who placed such vessel in storage, shall be paid to the owner of such vessel or his legal representatives, if claimed by him or them at any time within one year from the date of such sale. If such balance is not claimed within said period, it shall escheat to the state.]

(b) The last owner of record of a vessel, as recorded with the governmental entity that issued such registration, shall be presumed to be the person who abandoned or caused the abandonment of such vessel, except where such person provides the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection with sufficient evidence of ownership. For any vessel presumed to be abandoned, the person who abandoned such vessel shall be deemed to have waived any and all rights with respect to the privacy and confidentiality of such registration and any information contained in such registration, except that any Social Security number shall not be made public and any personal information otherwise prohibited from disclosure pursuant to section 1-217 shall not be made public. For the purpose of this subsection, a vessel that is documented with the United States Coast Guard under maritime or admiralty law shall be considered to be registered with the United States Coast Guard.

(c) Only a party with standing or such party's designated agent, as identified in writing by such party with standing on a notification of abandoned vessel, may initiate the abandoned vessel procedures described in this section. For the purpose of this section, the following parties shall have standing:

(1) The owner of the property where the abandoned vessel came to rest or to which the abandoned vessel was made fast, unless such vessel is given over to a lienholder, harbormaster, police department, municipality or agent of the state;

(2) Any harbormaster, police department, municipality, or agent of the state that agrees to accept or process an abandoned vessel;

(3) Any emergency responder, including a responding utility, or any person or firm contracted by a governmental agency to provide emergency services and responding to a bona fide emergency in a declared emergency pursuant to chapter 517 or the aftermath of a declared emergency; and

(4) Any marine salvager or licensed automobile tower engaged by any of the persons described in subdivisions (1) to (3), inclusive, of this subsection.

(d) Any party with standing may seek full cost recovery from the person who abandoned the vessel for any unpaid expense incurred as a result of, or incidental to, such vessel abandonment. Any person who acts in good faith and without malicious intent in the processing, storage or movement of any abandoned vessel pursuant to this section shall be immune from civil liability for damage to such vessel.

(e) The Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection shall notify the Secretary of the State by electronic mail of the receipt of any notice of abandoned vessel for any abandoned vessel currently or previously registered in this state. Such notification shall include a description of the abandoned vessel and shall identify the name of the owner of the vessel, as recorded with the Department of Motor Vehicles, if known. The Secretary of the State shall inform the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection, not later than ten business days after receipt of such notification, of any security interest or commercial lien against such abandoned vessel and the Secretary shall notify all such lienholders that such vessel is deemed abandoned. If such abandoned vessel was documented in accordance with the maritime or admiralty laws of the United States, the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection shall determine whether any lien exists against such abandoned vessel and shall make reasonable attempts to notify all lienholders of the status and location of the abandoned vessel.

(f) Any party with a lien against an abandoned vessel, as filed with the Secretary of the State, shall seek a writ of attachment in accordance with the provisions of section 49-55d, at such party's own expense and not later than the issuance of a notice of assumed ownership to such party by the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection. If such party fails to seek such writ of attachment, such party shall be deemed to have discharged such lien pursuant to section 49-56a. Any party with a lien against an abandoned vessel as filed with an agency of the United States may take the vessel into custody. Any lienholder may request that the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection suspend the abandoned boat procedures pursuant to subsection (h) of this section for the purpose of arranging for the removal, transport or storage of an abandoned vessel. Any lienholder who takes an abandoned vessel into custody shall be liable to the applicable party with standing for any damage incurred to the vessel during the removal of such abandoned vessel. Any abandoned vessel, once in the custody of a lienholder or an agent of a lienholder, shall no longer be deemed to be an abandoned vessel and shall otherwise be processed pursuant to chapter 847.

(g) In the event an abandoned vessel is registered in another state, the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection shall notify the registering agency by electronic mail and shall allow such agency fifteen business days to return information regarding the owner of record of such vessel or to otherwise intervene in the abandoned vessel procedures described in this section. If such registering agency does not provide contact information or otherwise intervene in such procedures not later than fifteen business days after receipt of such notification, any further obligation to identify or contact the last owner of record shall be considered to be waived, unless the abandoned vessel is documented according to the maritime or admiralty laws of the United States, in which case the commissioner may use the information contained in such documentation to identify the last owner of record.

(h) The Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection shall establish the following online process for the disposition of abandoned vessels. Such process shall apply, in its entirety, only to those abandoned vessels that are not documented according to the maritime or admiralty laws of the United States or for which such documentation is expired or cancelled. The provisions of this subsection shall not apply to vessels that are documented according to the maritime or admiralty laws of the United States except the provisions of subdivisions (1) to (5), inclusive of this subsection.

(1) The party with standing shall file a notarized notice of abandoned vessel with the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection in person, by mail, or by paid delivery service. Such filing shall be on forms as prescribed by the commissioner. The fee for filing such notice shall be twenty dollars.

(2) Upon receipt of any such filing, the commissioner shall determine whether such vessel is reported as stolen or missing. If the vessel was reported as stolen or missing, the police department with whom the report was filed shall take such vessel into custody at the expense of the person who abandoned such vessel.

(3) The commissioner shall post information regarding the report of the abandoned vessel online, on a publicly accessible abandoned vessel Internet web site. Such information shall be sufficient to identify the abandoned vessel and shall contain, at a minimum and where such information is known, the registration number of such vessel, the make and model of such vessel, the length and color of such vessel, the town and water body nearest to the location of such vessel abandonment and instructions for contacting the commissioner.

(4) The commissioner shall send a certified letter to the person who abandoned such vessel, provided such person can be identified, and in such letter identify the abandoned vessel, notify the recipient of the consequences of abandonment under the law and provide instructions regarding retrieval of such vessel.

(5) The commissioner shall provide to the party with standing a water resistant adhesive label advising that the subject vessel is being processed pursuant to the provisions of this section and that contains instructions on how to contact the commissioner in order to acquire more information or intervene in such procedures. The party with standing shall immediately affix the label to the abandoned boat in a prominent location in such a manner as to be visible to an approaching party.

(6) A forty-five-day abandoned boat period shall commence beginning on the date of the first attempt to deliver the certified letter described in subdivision (4) of this subsection. In any case in which a vessel is not registered, such period shall begin when the commissioner posts information regarding the abandoned vessel on the Internet web site described in subdivision (3) of this subsection. The commissioner may suspend such abandoned boat period for not more than six months for just cause, provided the commissioner shall state in writing, for publication on such abandoned boat Internet web site described in subdivision (3) of this subsection, the reason for such suspension and the elements necessary to resume the abandoned boat period.

(7) On the day following the expiration of the abandoned boat period, if the person who abandoned such vessel did not contact the commissioner or otherwise failed to remove such abandoned vessel, the commissioner shall issue a notice of assumed ownership, by certified mail, to the party with standing and provide a copy of the notice to the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles by electronic mail. If such abandoned vessel is the subject of a commercial lien, as filed with the Secretary of the State, the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection shall send a copy of such notice of assumed ownership, by electronic mail, to said Secretary. Said Secretary shall consider such notice of assumed ownership to be a termination of any and all liens against such vessel and to satisfy the notice of removal requirements of section 49-56a. Upon issuance of said notice of assumed ownership the party with standing shall be deemed to be the owner of the abandoned vessel, and the original of the notice of assumed ownership shall be prima facie evidence of such ownership. The Commissioner of Motor Vehicles shall cancel the existing registration for such vessel and shall note the transfer of ownership to the party with standing in the vessel registration record, if such record exists. If such vessel is registered by a registering agency other than the Department of Motor Vehicles, the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles shall notify such agency, by electronic mail, of the transfer of ownership.

(8) If the person who abandoned such vessel contacts the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection, such person shall have until the last day of the abandoned boat period described in subdivision (6) of this subsection to remove such abandoned vessel from the property or possession of the party with standing, as applicable. If the person who abandoned such vessel fails to remove such vessel by said day, the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection shall cause the registration of the abandoned vessel to be cancelled and shall issue a notice of assumed ownership to the party with standing. The commissioner may suspend the abandoned boat period, in accordance with subdivision (6) of this subsection, at the request of the person who abandoned the vessel and for just cause shown. The person who abandoned the vessel shall be liable for any property damage caused by the removal of the abandoned vessel that is undertaken pursuant to this subdivision.

(i) For a period of forty-five days following the end of a declared state of emergency that resulted in the widespread displacement of vessels and that was declared to be an emergency by the Governor pursuant to chapter 517, there shall be no fee for the filing of a notice of abandoned vessel, pursuant to subdivision (1) of subsection (h) of this section, and notarization of such notice shall not be required.

(j) A notice of abandoned vessel, as described in subdivision (1) of subsection (h) of this section, shall be prepared and submitted to the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection for each abandoned vessel, including any vessel that is documented with the United States Coast Guard in accordance with the maritime or admiralty laws of the United States or that is relocated to an abandoned boat holding area by persons or agents acting in a relief or emergency capacity.

(k) The commissioner may waive the requirement to contact the person who abandoned such vessel by certified mail, as required by subsection (h) of this section, if contact with such person is otherwise established by electronic mail or another suitable means of communication, as determined by the commissioner.

(l) Notwithstanding any provisions of the general statutes, any waste oil, fuel, antifreeze or other hazardous materials stored on an abandoned vessel and incidental to the operation and maintenance of such abandoned vessel shall be deemed household hazardous waste, for the purpose of disposal of such materials, if removed from such abandoned vessel in preparation for the storage, removal or destruction of such abandoned vessel.

(m) Any person who abandons a vessel shall have committed a violation and shall be fined not less than three hundred dollars nor more than five hundred dollars, except if such abandonment occurred during a declared emergency and as a result of the conditions that caused such emergency to be declared.

This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1	October 1, 2013	15-140c

JUD

Joint Favorable