Bill Text: FL S0392 | 2011 | Regular Session | Comm Sub


Bill Title: Commercial Parasailing

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 2-1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2011-05-07 - Indefinitely postponed and withdrawn from consideration [S0392 Detail]

Download: Florida-2011-S0392-Comm_Sub.html
       Florida Senate - 2011                              CS for SB 392
       
       
       
       By the Committee on Environmental Preservation and Conservation;
       and Senators Jones and Latvala
       
       
       
       592-02314-11                                           2011392c1
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to commercial parasailing; amending s.
    3         327.02, F.S.; defining terms; creating s. 327.375,
    4         F.S.; requiring the owner of a vessel engaged in
    5         commercial parasailing to obtain and carry an
    6         insurance policy; providing minimum coverage
    7         requirements for the insurance policy; providing
    8         requirements for proof of insurance; specifying the
    9         insurance information that must be provided to each
   10         rider; providing for the launch and recovery of riders
   11         from a towing vessel; requiring a person engaged in
   12         operating a vessel for commercial parasailing to have
   13         certain licenses; requiring certain equipment;
   14         prohibiting commercial parasailing in certain areas,
   15         under certain weather conditions, and during certain
   16         hours; requiring a safety briefing for passengers and
   17         parasail riders; providing penalties; amending ss.
   18         320.08, 327.391, 328.17, 342.07, 713.78, and 715.07,
   19         F.S.; conforming cross-references to changes made by
   20         the act; providing an effective date.
   21  
   22  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   23  
   24         Section 1. Section 327.02, Florida Statutes, is amended to
   25  read:
   26         327.02 Definitions of terms used in this chapter and in
   27  chapter 328.—As used in this chapter and in chapter 328, unless
   28  the context clearly requires a different meaning, the term:
   29         (1) “Airboat” means a vessel that is primarily designed for
   30  use in shallow waters and powered by an internal combustion
   31  engine with an airplane-type propeller mounted above the stern
   32  and used to push air across a set of rudders.
   33         (2) “Alien” means a person who is not a citizen of the
   34  United States.
   35         (3) “Boating accident” means a collision, accident, or
   36  casualty involving a vessel in or upon, or entering into or
   37  exiting from, the water, including capsizing, collision with
   38  another vessel or object, sinking, personal injury, death,
   39  disappearance of any person from on board under circumstances
   40  that which indicate the possibility of death or injury, or
   41  property damage to any vessel or dock.
   42         (4) “Canoe” means a light, narrow vessel with curved sides
   43  and with both ends pointed. A canoe-like vessel with a transom
   44  may not be excluded from the definition of a canoe if the width
   45  of its transom is less than 45 percent of the width of its beam
   46  or it has been designated as a canoe by the United States Coast
   47  Guard.
   48         (5) “Commercial parasailing” means providing or offering to
   49  provide, for consideration, any activity involving the towing of
   50  a person by a motorboat when:
   51         (a) One or more persons are tethered to the towing vessel;
   52         (b) The person or persons ascend above the water; and
   53         (c) The person or persons remain suspended above the water
   54  while the vessel is underway.
   55         (6)(5) “Commercial vessel” means:
   56         (a) Any vessel primarily engaged in the taking or landing
   57  of saltwater fish or saltwater products or freshwater fish or
   58  freshwater products, or any vessel licensed pursuant to s.
   59  379.361 from which commercial quantities of saltwater products
   60  are harvested, from within and without the waters of this state
   61  for sale either to the consumer, retail dealer, or wholesale
   62  dealer.
   63         (b) Any other vessel, except a recreational vessel as
   64  defined in this section.
   65         (7)(6) “Commission” means the Fish and Wildlife
   66  Conservation Commission.
   67         (8)(7) “Dealer” means any person authorized by the
   68  Department of Revenue to buy, sell, resell, or otherwise
   69  distribute vessels. Such person shall have a valid sales tax
   70  certificate of registration issued by the Department of Revenue
   71  and a valid commercial or occupational license required by any
   72  county, municipality, or political subdivision of the state in
   73  which the person operates.
   74         (9)(8) “Division” means the Division of Law Enforcement of
   75  the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
   76         (10)(9) “Documented vessel” means a vessel for which a
   77  valid certificate of documentation is outstanding pursuant to 46
   78  C.F.R. part 67.
   79         (11)(10) “Floating structure” means a floating entity, with
   80  or without accommodations built thereon, which is not primarily
   81  used as a means of transportation on water but which serves
   82  purposes or provides services typically associated with a
   83  structure or other improvement to real property. The term
   84  “floating structure” includes, but is not limited to, each
   85  entity used as a residence, place of business or office with
   86  public access, hotel or motel, restaurant or lounge, clubhouse,
   87  meeting facility, storage or parking facility, mining platform,
   88  dredge, dragline, or similar facility or entity represented as
   89  such. Floating structures are expressly excluded from the
   90  definition of the term “vessel” provided in this section.
   91  Incidental movement upon water or resting partially or entirely
   92  on the bottom shall not, in and of itself, preclude an entity
   93  from classification as a floating structure.
   94         (12)(11) “Florida Intracoastal Waterway” means the Atlantic
   95  Intracoastal Waterway, the Georgia state line north of
   96  Fernandina to Miami; the Port Canaveral lock and canal to the
   97  Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway; the Atlantic Intracoastal
   98  Waterway, Miami to Key West; the Okeechobee Waterway, Stuart to
   99  Fort Myers; the St. Johns River, Jacksonville to Sanford; the
  100  Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, Anclote to Fort Myers; the Gulf
  101  Intracoastal Waterway, Carrabelle to Tampa Bay; Carrabelle to
  102  Anclote open bay section (using Gulf of Mexico); the Gulf
  103  Intracoastal Waterway, Carrabelle to the Alabama state line west
  104  of Pensacola; and the Apalachicola, Chattahoochee, and Flint
  105  Rivers in Florida.
  106         (13)(12) “Homemade vessel” means any vessel built after
  107  October 31, 1972, for which a federal hull identification number
  108  is not required to be assigned by the manufacturer pursuant to
  109  federal law, or any vessel constructed or assembled prior to
  110  November 1, 1972, by other than a licensed manufacturer for his
  111  or her own use or the use of a specific person. A vessel
  112  assembled from a manufacturer’s kit or constructed from an
  113  unfinished manufactured hull shall be considered to be a
  114  homemade vessel if such a vessel is not required to have a hull
  115  identification number assigned by the United States Coast Guard.
  116  A rebuilt or reconstructed vessel shall in no event be construed
  117  to be a homemade vessel.
  118         (14)(13) “Houseboat” means any vessel that which is used
  119  primarily as a residence for a minimum of 21 days during any 30
  120  day period, in a county of this state, and this residential use
  121  of the vessel is to the preclusion of the use of the vessel as a
  122  means of transportation.
  123         (15)(14) “Length” means the measurement from end to end
  124  over the deck parallel to the centerline excluding sheer.
  125         (16)(15) “Lien” means a security interest that which is
  126  reserved or created by a written agreement recorded with the
  127  Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles pursuant to s.
  128  328.15 which secures payment or performance of an obligation and
  129  is generally valid against third parties.
  130         (17)(16) “Lienholder” means a person holding a security
  131  interest in a vessel, which interest is recorded with the
  132  Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles pursuant to s.
  133  328.15.
  134         (18)(17) “Live-aboard vessel” means:
  135         (a) Any vessel used solely as a residence and not for
  136  navigation;
  137         (b) Any vessel represented as a place of business or a
  138  professional or other commercial enterprise; or
  139         (c) Any vessel for which a declaration of domicile has been
  140  filed pursuant to s. 222.17.
  141  
  142  A commercial fishing boat is expressly excluded from the term
  143  “live-aboard vessel.”
  144         (19)(18) “Livery vessel” means any vessel leased, rented,
  145  or chartered to another for consideration.
  146         (20)(19) “Manufactured vessel” means any vessel built after
  147  October 31, 1972, for which a federal hull identification number
  148  is required pursuant to federal law, or any vessel constructed
  149  or assembled prior to November 1, 1972, by a duly licensed
  150  manufacturer.
  151         (21)(20) “Marina” means a licensed commercial facility that
  152  which provides secured public moorings or dry storage for
  153  vessels on a leased basis. A commercial establishment authorized
  154  by a licensed vessel manufacturer as a dealership shall be
  155  considered a marina for nonjudicial sale purposes.
  156         (22)(21) “Marine sanitation device” means any equipment
  157  other than a toilet, for installation on board a vessel, which
  158  is designed to receive, retain, treat, or discharge sewage, and
  159  any process to treat such sewage. Marine sanitation device Types
  160  I, II, and III shall be defined as provided in 33 C.F.R. part
  161  159.
  162         (23)(22) “Marker” means any channel mark or other aid to
  163  navigation, information or regulatory mark, isolated danger
  164  mark, safe water mark, special mark, inland waters obstruction
  165  mark, or mooring buoy in, on, or over the waters of the state or
  166  the shores thereof, and includes, but is not limited to, a sign,
  167  beacon, buoy, or light.
  168         (24)(23) “Motorboat” means any vessel equipped with
  169  machinery for propulsion, irrespective of whether the propulsion
  170  machinery is in actual operation.
  171         (25)(24) “Muffler” means an automotive-style sound
  172  suppression device or system designed to effectively abate the
  173  sound of exhaust gases emitted from an internal combustion
  174  engine and prevent excessive sound when installed on such an
  175  engine.
  176         (26)(25) “Navigation rules” means the International
  177  Navigational Rules Act of 1977, 33 U.S.C. appendix following s.
  178  1602, as amended, including the annexes thereto, for vessels on
  179  waters outside of established navigational lines of demarcation
  180  as specified in 33 C.F.R. part 80 or the Inland Navigational
  181  Rules Act of 1980, 33 U.S.C. ss. 2001 et seq., as amended,
  182  including the annexes thereto, for vessels on all waters not
  183  outside of such lines of demarcation.
  184         (27)(26) “Nonresident” means a citizen of the United States
  185  who has not established residence in this state and has not
  186  continuously resided in this state for 1 year and in one county
  187  for the 6 months immediately preceding the initiation of a
  188  vessel titling or registration action.
  189         (28)(27) “Operate” means to be in charge of or in command
  190  of or in actual physical control of a vessel upon the waters of
  191  this state, or to exercise control over or to have
  192  responsibility for a vessel’s navigation or safety while the
  193  vessel is underway upon the waters of this state, or to control
  194  or steer a vessel being towed by another vessel upon the waters
  195  of the state.
  196         (29)(28) “Owner” means a person, other than a lienholder,
  197  having the property in or title to a vessel. The term includes a
  198  person entitled to the use or possession of a vessel subject to
  199  an interest in another person, reserved or created by agreement
  200  and securing payment of performance of an obligation, but the
  201  term excludes a lessee under a lease not intended as security.
  202         (30)(29) “Person” means an individual, partnership, firm,
  203  corporation, association, or other entity.
  204         (31)(30) “Personal watercraft” means a vessel less than 16
  205  feet in length which uses an inboard motor powering a water jet
  206  pump, as its primary source of motive power and which is
  207  designed to be operated by a person sitting, standing, or
  208  kneeling on the vessel, rather than in the conventional manner
  209  of sitting or standing inside the vessel.
  210         (32)(31) “Portable toilet” means a device consisting of a
  211  lid, seat, containment vessel, and support structure which that
  212  is specifically designed to receive, retain, and discharge human
  213  waste and which that is capable of being removed from a vessel
  214  by hand.
  215         (33)(32) “Prohibited activity” means such activity as will
  216  impede or disturb navigation or creates a safety hazard on
  217  waterways of this state.
  218         (34)(33) “Racing shell,” “rowing scull,” or “racing kayak”
  219  means a manually propelled vessel that which is recognized by
  220  national or international racing associations for use in
  221  competitive racing and in which all occupants, with the
  222  exception of a coxswain, if one is provided, row, scull, or
  223  paddle, and that which is not designed to carry and does not
  224  carry any equipment not solely for competitive racing.
  225         (35)(34) “Recreational vessel” means any vessel:
  226         (a) Manufactured and used primarily for noncommercial
  227  purposes; or
  228         (b) Leased, rented, or chartered to a person for the
  229  person’s noncommercial use.
  230         (36)(35) “Registration” means a state operating license on
  231  a vessel which is issued with an identifying number, an annual
  232  certificate of registration, and a decal designating the year
  233  for which a registration fee is paid.
  234         (37)(36) “Resident” means a citizen of the United States
  235  who has established residence in this state and has continuously
  236  resided in this state for 1 year and in one county for the 6
  237  months immediately preceding the initiation of a vessel titling
  238  or registration action.
  239         (38)(37) “Sailboat” means any vessel whose sole source of
  240  propulsion is the wind.
  241         (39)“Support system” means a device used to tether,
  242  connect, or otherwise suspend a person under the canopy.
  243         (40)“Sustained wind speed” means a wind speed determined
  244  by averaging the observed wind speed rounded to the nearest
  245  whole knot over a 2-minute period.
  246         (41)(38) “Unclaimed vessel” means any undocumented vessel,
  247  including its machinery, rigging, and accessories, which is in
  248  the physical possession of any marina, garage, or repair shop
  249  for repairs, improvements, or other work with the knowledge of
  250  the vessel owner and for which the costs of such services have
  251  been unpaid for a period in excess of 90 days from the date
  252  written notice of the completed work is given by the marina,
  253  garage, or repair shop to the vessel owner.
  254         (42)(39) “Vessel” is synonymous with boat as referenced in
  255  s. 1(b), Art. VII of the State Constitution and includes every
  256  description of watercraft, barge, and airboat, other than a
  257  seaplane on the water, used or capable of being used as a means
  258  of transportation on water.
  259         (43)(40) “Waters of this state” means any navigable waters
  260  of the United States within the territorial limits of this
  261  state, and the marginal sea adjacent to this state and the high
  262  seas when navigated as a part of a journey or ride to or from
  263  the shore of this state, and all the inland lakes, rivers, and
  264  canals under the jurisdiction of this state.
  265         Section 2. Section 327.375, Florida Statutes, is created to
  266  read:
  267         327.375Commercial parasailing.—
  268         (1) The owner of a vessel engaged in commercial parasailing
  269  may not offer or provide for consideration any parasailing
  270  activity unless the owner first obtains and carries in full
  271  force and effect an insurance policy, from an insurance carrier
  272  licensed in this state or approved by the Department of
  273  Insurance, insuring against any accident, loss, injury, property
  274  damage, death, or other casualty caused by or resulting from any
  275  commercial parasailing activity. The insurance policy must
  276  provide coverage of at least $1 million per person and $2
  277  million per event. Proof of insurance must be available for
  278  inspection at the location where commercial parasailing is
  279  offered or provided for consideration and each customer who
  280  requests it shall be provided with the insurance carrier’s name
  281  and address and the insurance policy number.
  282         (2) A person engaged in commercial parasailing must meet
  283  the following requirements:
  284         (a) Commercial parasail operators shall launch riders only
  285  from and recover riders only to the vessel.
  286         (b) A person may not operate a vessel engaged in commercial
  287  parasailing on the waters of this state unless the person has a
  288  current and valid license issued by the United States Coast
  289  Guard authorizing that person to engage in carrying passengers
  290  for hire. The license must be appropriate for the number of
  291  passengers carried and the displacement of the vessel. The
  292  license must be carried on the vessel and be available for
  293  inspection while commercial parasailing activities are
  294  conducted.
  295         (c) A person may not operate a vessel for commercial
  296  parasailing unless an observer 18 years of age or older is
  297  present in the vessel at all times to monitor the progress of
  298  any tethered parasail rider and parasail equipment. The observer
  299  may not be a customer, must be attentive to the parasail rider
  300  or riders and equipment, and may not have any other duties while
  301  the rider or riders are in the water or suspended above the
  302  water.
  303         (d) A person may not operate any vessel engaged in
  304  commercial parasailing unless:
  305         1. All riders wear an appropriate floatation device
  306  approved by the United States Coast Guard, other than an
  307  inflatable device, which is in serviceable condition and of the
  308  proper size;
  309         2. The vessel is in full compliance with all requirements
  310  of the United States Coast Guard governing crewing and equipment
  311  carriage for passenger-carrying vessels as specified in the Code
  312  of Federal Regulations or as otherwise specified by the United
  313  States Coast Guard in the vessel’s certificate of inspection;
  314  and
  315         3. The vessel is equipped with a functional VHF marine
  316  transceiver and a separate electronic device capable of access
  317  to National Weather Service forecasts and current weather
  318  conditions.
  319         (e) No more than three persons may be tethered to the
  320  towing vessel and ascend above the water at any time.
  321         (f) A person may not operate a vessel towing a commercial
  322  parasailing rider on any coastal waters of the state less than
  323  1,800 feet from the shore. This restriction applies to the
  324  entire commercial parasailing apparatus, including the vessel,
  325  towline, and rider.
  326         (g) A person may not operate a vessel towing a commercial
  327  parasailing rider so that the vessel, towline, or rider comes
  328  within 400 feet of:
  329         1. An anchored vessel;
  330         2. A person in the water; or
  331         3. A structure, bridge, power line, wharf, pier, dock,
  332  platform, piling, marker, or other similar fixed objects.
  333         (h) A person may not operate any vessel towing a parasail
  334  or engage in parasailing within 100 feet of the marked channel
  335  of the Florida Intracoastal Waterway.
  336         (i) Commercial parasailing is prohibited when the current
  337  conditions or those forecasted by the National Weather Service
  338  include a sustained wind speed of over 20 miles per hour in the
  339  area of operation, rain or heavy fog that results in reduced
  340  visibility of less than 0.5 miles, or a known lightning storm
  341  within 7 miles of the parasailing area.
  342         (j) The vessel captain shall use all available means to
  343  determine prevailing and forecasted weather conditions and
  344  record this information in a weather log each time passengers
  345  are to be taken out on the water. The weather log must be
  346  available for inspection at all times at the place of business.
  347         (k) Towlines used for commercial parasailing must be rated
  348  for a tensile strength that exceeds 4,800 pounds, must be
  349  braided, and must be a low-stretch type and may not exceed 500
  350  feet in length.
  351         (l) Each passenger and parasail rider must be given a
  352  safety briefing before embarking or before the parasail activity
  353  commences. This briefing must include a description of the
  354  equipment, the parasail activity, inherent risks, and
  355  instruction on how to safely evacuate from the passenger support
  356  during a water landing.
  357         (m) A person operating a vessel for commercial parasailing
  358  may not engage in parasailing, or any similar activity, at any
  359  time between the hours of one-half hour after sunset to one-half
  360  hour before sunrise.
  361         (3) A person or operator who violates this section commits
  362  a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as provided in s.
  363  775.082 or s. 775.083.
  364         Section 3. Paragraph (d) of subsection (5) of section
  365  320.08, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
  366         320.08 License taxes.—Except as otherwise provided herein,
  367  there are hereby levied and imposed annual license taxes for the
  368  operation of motor vehicles, mopeds, motorized bicycles as
  369  defined in s. 316.003(2), tri-vehicles as defined in s. 316.003,
  370  and mobile homes, as defined in s. 320.01, which shall be paid
  371  to and collected by the department or its agent upon the
  372  registration or renewal of registration of the following:
  373         (5) SEMITRAILERS, FEES ACCORDING TO GROSS VEHICLE WEIGHT;
  374  SCHOOL BUSES; SPECIAL PURPOSE VEHICLES.—
  375         (d) A wrecker, as defined in s. 320.01(40), which is used
  376  to tow a vessel as defined in s. 327.02(42) s. 327.02(39), a
  377  disabled, abandoned, stolen-recovered, or impounded motor
  378  vehicle as defined in s. 320.01(38), or a replacement motor
  379  vehicle as defined in s. 320.01(39): $41 flat, of which $11
  380  shall be deposited into the General Revenue Fund.
  381         Section 4. Subsection (1) of section 327.391, Florida
  382  Statutes, is amended to read:
  383         327.391 Airboats regulated.—
  384         (1) The exhaust of every internal combustion engine used on
  385  any airboat operated on the waters of this state shall be
  386  provided with an automotive-style factory muffler, underwater
  387  exhaust, or other manufactured device capable of adequately
  388  muffling the sound of the exhaust of the engine as described in
  389  s. 327.02(25) s. 327.02(24). The use of cutouts or flex pipe as
  390  the sole source of muffling is prohibited, except as provided in
  391  subsection (4). Any person who violates this subsection commits
  392  a noncriminal infraction punishable as provided in s. 327.73(1).
  393         Section 5. Subsection (4) of section 328.17, Florida
  394  Statutes, is amended to read:
  395         328.17 Nonjudicial sale of vessels.—
  396         (4) A marina, as defined in s. 327.02(21) s. 327.02(20),
  397  shall have:
  398         (a) A possessory lien upon any vessel for storage fees,
  399  dockage fees, repairs, improvements, or other work-related
  400  storage charges, and for expenses necessary for preservation of
  401  the vessel or expenses reasonably incurred in the sale or other
  402  disposition of the vessel. The possessory lien shall attach as
  403  of the date the vessel is brought to the marina or as of the
  404  date the vessel first occupies rental space at the marina
  405  facility.
  406         (b) A possessory lien upon any vessel in a wrecked, junked,
  407  or substantially dismantled condition, which has been left
  408  abandoned at a marina, for expenses reasonably incurred in the
  409  removal and disposal of the vessel. The possessory lien shall
  410  attach as of the date the vessel arrives at the marina or as of
  411  the date the vessel first occupies rental space at the marina
  412  facility. If the funds recovered from the sale of the vessel, or
  413  from the scrap or salvage value of the vessel, are insufficient
  414  to cover the expenses reasonably incurred by the marina in
  415  removing and disposing of the vessel, all costs in excess of
  416  recovery shall be recoverable against the owner of the vessel.
  417  For a vessel damaged as a result of a named storm, the
  418  provisions of this paragraph shall be suspended for 60 days
  419  following the date the vessel is damaged in the named storm. The
  420  operation of the provisions specified in this paragraph run
  421  concurrently with, and do not extend, the 60-day notice periods
  422  provided in subsections (5) and (7).
  423         Section 6. Subsection (2) of section 342.07, Florida
  424  Statutes, is amended to read:
  425         342.07 Recreational and commercial working waterfronts;
  426  legislative findings; definitions.—
  427         (2) As used in this section, the term “recreational and
  428  commercial working waterfront” means a parcel or parcels of real
  429  property which that provide access for water-dependent
  430  commercial activities, including hotels and motels as defined in
  431  s. 509.242(1), or provide access for the public to the navigable
  432  waters of the state. Recreational and commercial working
  433  waterfronts require direct access to or a location on, over, or
  434  adjacent to a navigable body of water. The term includes water
  435  dependent facilities that are open to the public and offer
  436  public access by vessels to the waters of the state or that are
  437  support facilities for recreational, commercial, research, or
  438  governmental vessels. These facilities include public lodging
  439  establishments, docks, wharfs, lifts, wet and dry marinas, boat
  440  ramps, boat hauling and repair facilities, commercial fishing
  441  facilities, boat construction facilities, and other support
  442  structures over the water. As used in this section, the term
  443  “vessel” has the same meaning as in s. 327.02(42) s. 327.02(39).
  444  Seaports are excluded from the definition.
  445         Section 7. Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section
  446  713.78, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
  447         713.78 Liens for recovering, towing, or storing vehicles
  448  and vessels.—
  449         (1) For the purposes of this section, the term:
  450         (b) “Vessel” means every description of watercraft, barge,
  451  and airboat used or capable of being used as a means of
  452  transportation on water, other than a seaplane or a “documented
  453  vessel” as defined in s. 327.02(10) s. 327.02(9).
  454         Section 8. Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section
  455  715.07, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
  456         715.07 Vehicles or vessels parked on private property;
  457  towing.—
  458         (1) As used in this section, the term:
  459         (b) “Vessel” means every description of watercraft, barge,
  460  and airboat used or capable of being used as a means of
  461  transportation on water, other than a seaplane or a “documented
  462  vessel” as defined in s. 327.02(10) s. 327.02(9).
  463         Section 9. This act shall take effect July 1, 2011.

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