CS/HB 261 2023
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to boating safety; amending s. 2
327.395, F.S.; revising the requirement for persons 3
born before a specified date to have certain 4
identification and boating safety documentation in 5
their possession while operating a vessel; amending s. 6
327.54, F.S.; conforming a cross -reference; requiring 7
liveries to provide hands -on instruction that meets 8
specified requirements; providing an exemption from 9
certain safety requirements if renters or lessees hire 10
a professional captain; deleting the requirement that 11
a livery obtain and carry insurance that also insures 12
renters and lessees; conforming a provision to changes 13
made by the act; providing an effective date. 14
15
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 16
17
Section 1. Subsection (1) of section 327.395, Florida 18
Statutes, is amended to read: 19
327.395 Boating safety education. — 20
(1) A person born on or after January 1, 1960 1988, may 21
not operate a vessel powered by a motor of 10 horsepower or 22
greater unless such person has in his or her possession aboard 23
the vessel the documents required by subsection (2). 24
Section 2. Subsections (4) through (12) of section 327.54, 25
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
Florida Statutes, are ren umbered as subsections (5) through 26
(13), respectively, subsection (2), paragraph (e) of subsection 27
(3), present subsections (7) and (8) are amended, and a new 28
subsection (4) is added to that section, to read: 29
327.54 Liveries; safety regulations; penalty. — 30
(2) A livery may not offer a vessel for lease or rent 31
without first being issued a no -cost livery permit by the 32
commission. The permit must be renewed annually. To qualify for 33
issuance or renewal of a livery permit, an applicant must 34
provide the commission with a list of all vessels offered by the 35
livery for lease or rent by another, have valid insurance 36
pursuant to subsection (8) (7), have an amount of United States 37
Coast Guard-approved lawful personal floatation devices on site 38
sufficient to accommoda te the capacity of all vessels offered by 39
the livery for rent or lease by another, have on site all safety 40
equipment required by s. 327.50 and the Code of Federal 41
Regulations sufficient to equip all vessels offered by the 42
livery for rent or lease by anothe r, and display the information 43
required by paragraph (3)(f). If, before the annual renewal of 44
the permit, the information required by this subsection changes, 45
the livery must provide the commission with the updated 46
information within 10 days after the chan ge. 47
(a) The commission may adopt rules to implement this 48
subsection. 49
(b) A person who violates this subsection commits a 50
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as provided in s. 51
775.082 or s. 775.083. 52
(3) A livery may not knowingly lease or rent a vessel to 53
any person: 54
(e) Unless the livery provides hands-on pre-rental or pre-55
ride instruction in compliance with rules established by the 56
commission. 57
1. The instruction must include, but need not be limited 58
to: 59
a. Operational characteristics of the vessel to be rented. 60
b. Safe vessel operation and vessel right -of-way. 61
c. The responsibility of the vessel operator for the safe 62
and proper operation of the vessel. 63
d. Local characteristics of the waterway where the vessel 64
will be operated, such as navigational hazards, the presence of 65
boating-restricted areas, and water depths, and education on any 66
safety, regulatory, information, or navigation markers in the 67
geographic vicinity. 68
e. Emergency procedures, such as appropriate responses to 69
capsizing, falls overboard, taking on water, and vessel 70
accidents. 71
f. Proper use of personal floatation devices. 72
g. A notice of the prohibition against boating under the 73
influence pursuant to s. 327.35. 74
2. Any person receiving instruction in the safe handl ing 75
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
of livery vessels pursuant to this paragraph must provide the 76
livery with a written statement attesting to each component of 77
the instruction. 78
a. The commission shall establish by rule the content of 79
the statement form. 80
b. The statement form must be signed by the individual 81
providing the instruction. 82
c. The livery shall maintain the statement form for no 83
less than 90 days and, upon request, make the form available for 84
inspection by law enforcement. 85
(4) If a renter or lessee retains a professional captain 86
who holds an active license issued by the United States Coast 87
Guard to command the vessel as required by an agreement between 88
the livery and the renter or lessee, and the livery confirms 89
that a professional captain has been retained, the renter or 90
lessee and the livery are not subject to paragraph (3)(e). 91
(8)(7) A livery may not lease or rent or offer to lease or 92
rent any livery vessel unless the livery first obtains and 93
carries in full force and effect a policy from a licensed 94
insurance carrier in this state which insures the livery and the 95
renter against any accident, loss, injury, property damage, or 96
other casualty caused by or resulting from the operation of the 97
livery vessel. The insurance policy must provide coverage of at 98
least $500,000 per person and $1 million per event. The livery 99
shall have proof of such insurance available for inspection at 100
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
the location where livery vessels are being leased or rented, or 101
offered for lease or rent, and shall provide to each renter the 102
insurance carrier's name and address and the insurance policy 103
number. This subsection does not apply to human -powered vessels. 104
(9)(8) Notwithstanding the person's age or any exemptions 105
provided in s. 327.395, any person delivering instruction 106
regarding the safe operation o f vessels or hands-on pre-rental 107
or pre-ride instruction in accordance with subsection (3) must 108
have successfully completed a boating safety education course 109
approved by the National Association of State Boating Law 110
Administrators and this state. 111
Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023. 112