Bill Text: FL S0512 | 2011 | Regular Session | Comm Sub
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Vessels
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (? 2-1)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2011-05-04 - Ordered enrolled -SJ 851 [S0512 Detail]
Download: Florida-2011-S0512-Comm_Sub.html
Bill Title: Vessels
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (? 2-1)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2011-05-04 - Ordered enrolled -SJ 851 [S0512 Detail]
Download: Florida-2011-S0512-Comm_Sub.html
Florida Senate - 2011 CS for CS for SB 512 By the Committees on Budget; and Environmental Preservation and Conservation; and Senator Negron 576-04541-11 2011512c2 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to vessels; amending s. 327.33, F.S.; 3 revising penalty provisions for the violation of 4 navigation rules; providing that a violation resulting 5 in serious bodily injury or death is a second-degree 6 misdemeanor; providing that a violation that does not 7 constitute reckless operation of a vessel is a 8 noncriminal violation; amending s. 327.395, F.S.; 9 providing an additional exemption from the requirement 10 that certain persons possess a boating safety 11 identification card while operating a motor vessel of 12 a specified horsepower; amending s. 327.54, F.S.; 13 prohibiting a livery from leasing, hiring, or renting 14 a motor vessel of certain horsepower to a person 15 unless the person presents photographic identification 16 and a valid boater safety identification card or 17 provides proof that the person has successfully 18 completed the boater education course; amending s. 19 327.73, F.S.; providing for increased penalties for 20 certain noncriminal violations of navigation rules; 21 deleting a duplicate provision; reenacting and 22 amending s. 327.72, F.S., relating to penalties, to 23 incorporate the amendment made to s. 327.73, in a 24 reference thereto; correcting a cross-reference; 25 reenacting s. 327.731(1), F.S., relating to mandatory 26 education for violators, to incorporate the amendment 27 made to s. 327.73, F.S., in a reference thereto; 28 providing an effective date. 29 30 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 31 32 Section 1. Subsection (3) of section 327.33, Florida 33 Statutes, is amended to read: 34 327.33 Reckless or careless operation of vessel.— 35 (3) Each person operating a vessel upon the waters of this 36 state shall comply with the navigation rules. 37 (a) A person who violateswhose violation ofthe navigation 38 rules and the violation results in a boating accident causing 39 serious bodily injury as defined in s. 327.353 or death, but the 40whoseviolation doesdidnot constitute reckless operation of a 41 vessel, commitsis guilty ofa misdemeanor of the second degree, 42 punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083. 43 (b) A person who violateswhose violation ofthe navigation 44 rules and the violationdoes not result in a boating accident45anddoes not constitute reckless operation of a vessel commits 46is guilty ofa noncriminal violation as defined in s. 775.08, 47 punishable as provided in s. 327.73. 48 (c) Law enforcement vessels may deviate from the 49 navigational rules when such diversion is necessary to the 50 performance of their duties and when such deviation may be 51 safely accomplished. 52 Section 2. Subsection (6) of section 327.395, Florida 53 Statutes, is amended to read: 54 327.395 Boating safety identification cards.— 55 (6) A person is exempt from subsection (1) if he or she: 56 (a) Is licensed by the United States Coast Guard to serve 57 as master of a vessel. 58 (b) Operates a vessel only on a private lake or pond. 59 (c) Is accompanied in the vessel by a person who is exempt 60 from this section or who holds an identification card in 61 compliance with this section, is 18 years of age or older, and 62 is attendant to the operation of the vessel and responsible for 63 the safe operation of the vessel and for any violation that 64 occurs during the operation of the vessel. 65 (d) Is a nonresident who has in his or her possession proof 66 that he or she has completed a boater education course or 67 equivalency examination in another state which meets or exceeds 68 the requirements of subsection (1). 69 (e) Is operating a vessel within 90 days after the purchase 70 of that vessel and has available for inspection aboard that 71 vessel a bill of sale meeting the requirements of s. 328.46(1). 72 (f) Is operating a vessel within 90 days after completing 73 the requirements of paragraph (1)(a) or paragraph (1)(b) and has 74 a photographic identification card and a boater education 75 certificate available for inspection as proof of having 76 completed a boater education course. The boater education 77 certificate must provide, at a minimum, the student’s first and 78 last name, the student’s date of birth, and the date that he or 79 she passed the course examination. 80 (g)(f)Is exempted by rule of the commission. 81 Section 3. Subsection (2) of section 327.54, Florida 82 Statutes, is amended to read: 83 327.54 Liveries; safety regulations; penalty.— 84 (2) A livery may not knowingly lease, hire, or rent any 85 vessel powered by a motor of 10 horsepower or greater to any 86 person who is required to comply with s. 327.395, unless such 87 person presents to the livery photographic identification and a 88 valid boater safety identification card as required under s. 89 327.395(1), or meets the exemption provided under s. 90 327.395(6)(f)to the livery. 91 Section 4. Subsections (1) and (5) of section 327.73, 92 Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 93 327.73 Noncriminal infractions.— 94 (1) Violations of the following provisions of the vessel 95 laws of this state are noncriminal infractions: 96 (a) Section 328.46, relating to operation of unregistered 97 and unnumbered vessels. 98 (b) Section 328.48(4), relating to display of number and 99 possession of registration certificate. 100 (c) Section 328.48(5), relating to display of decal. 101 (d) Section 328.52(2), relating to display of number. 102 (e) Section 328.54, relating to spacing of digits and 103 letters of identification number. 104 (f) Section 328.60, relating to military personnel and 105 registration of vessels. 106 (g) Section 328.72(13), relating to operation with an 107 expired registration. 108 (h) Section 327.33(2), relating to careless operation. 109 (i) Section 327.37, relating to water skiing, aquaplaning, 110 parasailing, and similar activities. 111 (j) Section 327.44, relating to interference with 112 navigation. 113 (k) Violations relating to boating-restricted areas and 114 speed limits: 115 1. Established by the commission or by local governmental 116 authorities pursuant to s. 327.46. 117 2. Speed limits established pursuant to s. 379.2431(2). 118 (l) Section 327.48, relating to regattas and races. 119 (m) Section 327.50(1) and (2), relating to required safety 120 equipment, lights, and shapes. 121 (n) Section 327.65, relating to muffling devices. 122 (o) Section 327.33(3)(b), relating to a violation of 123 navigation rules:.124 1. That does not result in an accident; or 125 2. That results in an accident not causing serious bodily 126 injury or death, for which the penalty is: 127 a. For a first offense, up to a maximum of $250. 128 b. For a second offense, up to a maximum of $750. 129 c. For a third or subsequent offense, up to a maximum of 130 $1,000. 131 (p) Section 327.39(1), (2), (3), and (5), relating to 132 personal watercraft. 133 (q) Section 327.53(1), (2), and (3), relating to marine 134 sanitation. 135 (r) Section 327.53(4), (5), and (7), relating to marine 136 sanitation, for which the civil penalty is $250. 137 (s) Section 327.395, relating to boater safety education. 138 (t) Section 327.52(3), relating to operation of overloaded 139 or overpowered vessels. 140 (u) Section 327.331, relating to divers-down flags, except 141 for violations meeting the requirements of s. 327.33. 142 (v) Section 327.391(1), relating to the requirement for an 143 adequate muffler on an airboat. 144 (w) Section 327.391(3), relating to the display of a flag 145 on an airboat. 146 (x) Section 253.04(3)(a), relating to carelessly causing 147 seagrass scarring, for which the civil penalty upon conviction 148 is: 149 1. For a first offense, $50. 150 2. For a second offense occurring within 12 months after a 151 prior conviction, $250. 152 3. For a third offense occurring within 36 months after a 153 prior conviction, $500. 154 4. For a fourth or subsequent offense occurring within 72 155 months after a prior conviction, $1,000. 156 157 Any person cited for a violation of anysuchprovision of this 158 subsection shall be deemed to be charged with a noncriminal 159 infraction, shall be cited for such an infraction, and shall be 160 cited to appear before the county court. The civil penalty for 161 any such infraction is $50, except as otherwise provided in this 162 section. Any person who fails to appear or otherwise properly 163 respond to a uniform boating citation shall, in addition to the 164 charge relating to the violation of the boating laws of this 165 state, be charged with the offense of failing to respond to such 166 citation and, upon conviction, be guilty of a misdemeanor of the 167 second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 168 775.083. A written warning to this effect shall be provided at 169 the time such uniform boating citation is issued. 170 171Any person cited for a violation of any such provision shall be172deemed to be charged with a noncriminal infraction, shall be173cited for such an infraction, and shall be cited to appear174before the county court. The civil penalty for any such175infraction is $50, except as otherwise provided in this section.176Any person who fails to appear or otherwise properly respond to177a uniform boating citation shall, in addition to the charge178relating to the violation of the boating laws of this state, be179charged with the offense of failing to respond to such citation180and, upon conviction, be guilty of a misdemeanor of the second181degree, punishable as provided in s.775.082or s.775.083. A182written warning to this effect shall be provided at the time183such uniform boating citation is issued.184 (5) Any person electing to appear before the county court 185 or who is required so to appear shall be deemed to have waived 186 the limitations on the civil penalty specified in subsection 187 (1). The court, after a hearing, shall make a determination as 188 to whether an infraction has been committed. If the commission 189 of an infraction has been proven, the court may impose a civil 190 penalty not to exceed $500 or a higher amount as specified in 191 subsection (1). 192 Section 5. For the purpose of incorporating the amendment 193 made by this act to section 327.73, Florida Statutes, in a 194 reference thereto, section 327.72, Florida Statutes, is 195 reenacted and amended to read: 196 327.72 Penalties.—Any person failing to comply with the 197 provisions of this chapter or chapter 328 not specified in s. 198 327.73 or not paying the civil penalty specified in s. 327.73 199said sectionwithin 30 days, except as otherwise provided in 200 this chapter or chapter 328, commits a misdemeanor of the second 201 degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083. 202 Section 6. For the purpose of incorporating the amendment 203 made by this act to section 327.73, Florida Statutes, in a 204 reference thereto, subsection (1) of section 327.731, Florida 205 Statutes, is reenacted to read: 206 327.731 Mandatory education for violators.— 207 (1) Every person convicted of a criminal violation of this 208 chapter, every person convicted of a noncriminal infraction 209 under this chapter if the infraction resulted in a reportable 210 boating accident, and every person convicted of two noncriminal 211 infractions as defined in s. 327.73(1)(h)-(k), (m), (o), (p), 212 and (s)-(x), said infractions occurring within a 12-month 213 period, must: 214 (a) Enroll in, attend, and successfully complete, at his or 215 her own expense, a boating safety course that meets minimum 216 standards established by the commission by rule; however, the 217 commission may provide by rule pursuant to chapter 120 for 218 waivers of the attendance requirement for violators residing in 219 areas where classroom presentation of the course is not 220 available; 221 (b) File with the commission within 90 days proof of 222 successful completion of the course; 223 (c) Refrain from operating a vessel until he or she has 224 filed the proof of successful completion of the course with the 225 commission. 226 227 Any person who has successfully completed an approved boating 228 course shall be exempt from these provisions upon showing proof 229 to the commission as specified in paragraph (b). 230 Section 7. This act shall take effect October 1, 2011.