FIRST REGULAR SESSION

HOUSE BILL NO. 78

90TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVE WILLIAMS (121).

Pre-filed December 3, 1998, and 1000 copies ordered printed.

ANNE C. WALKER, Chief Clerk

L0109.01I

AN ACT

To amend chapter 306, RSMo, relating to watercraft regulation by adding thereto two new sections relating to the same subject, with penalty provisions.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:

Section A. Chapter 306, RSMo, is amended by adding thereto two new sections, to be known as sections 306.123 and 306.128, to read as follows:

306.123. 1. No person twenty-one years of age or less shall operate a motorboat powered by an engine of twenty or more horsepower without possessing, on the motorboat, a boating safety identification card issued by the department of revenue which shows that he or she has:

(1) Successfully completed a boating safety course approved by the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators and certified by the Missouri state water patrol. The boating safety course may include a course sponsored by the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary, United States Power Squadron, American Red Cross or a state, county or municipality. The department of revenue shall maintain a list of approved courses prepared by the Missouri state water patrol;

(2) Successfully passed an equivalency examination prepared by the Missouri state water patrol and administered by the Missouri state highway patrol driver examiners at the time, dates and locations designated for testing for motor vehicle driver examinations pursuant to section 302.173, RSMo. The equivalency examination shall have a degree of difficulty equal to, or greater than, that of the examinations given at the conclusion of an approved boating safety course; or

(3) A valid master's, mate's or operator's license issued by the United States Coast Guard.

2. The department of revenue shall issue a permanent boating safety identification card to each person who complies with the requirements of this section which is valid for life unless invalidated pursuant to law.

3. The department of revenue may charge a fee for such card that does not substantially exceed the costs of administrating this section.

4. The provisions of this section shall not apply to any person who:

(1) Is licensed by the United States Coast Guard to serve as master of a vessel;

(2) Operates a motorboat only on a private lake or pond;

(3) Is accompanied in the motorboat by a person over twenty-one years of age who is attendant to the operation of the motorboat and responsible for any violation that occurs during the operation;

(4) Is a nonresident who is visiting the state for sixty days or less in a motorboat that is numbered in another state;

(5) Is participating in an approved regatta; or

(6) Is exempted by rule of the water patrol.

5. Any person who violates the provisions of this section is guilty of an infraction.

6. No rule or portion of a rule promulgated pursuant to the authority of this section shall become effective unless it has been promulgated pursuant to the provisions of chapter 536, RSMo.

306.128. 1. Any person convicted of an offense pursuant to this chapter shall:

(1) Enroll in and successfully complete, at his or her own expense, a boating safety education course that meets minimum standards established by the water patrol by rule;

(2) File with the court proof of successful completion of such course; and

(3) Not operate a vessel until such filing.

2. No rule or portion of a rule promulgated pursuant to the authority of this section shall become effective unless it has been promulgated pursuant to the provisions of chapter 536, RSMo.

Missouri House of Representatives