CS/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
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Section 1. Subsection (1) of section 327.395, Florida 18
Statutes, is amended to read: 19
327.395 Boating safety education. — 20
(1) Effective July 1, 2028, a person born on or after 21
January 1, 1978 1988, may not operate a vessel powered by a 22
motor of 10 horsepower or greater unless such person has in his 23
or her possession aboard the vessel the documents required by 24
subsection (2). 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
Section 2. Subsections (4) through (12) of section 327.54, 26
Florida Statutes, are renumbered as subsections (5) through 27
(13), respectively, subsection (2), paragraph (e) of subsection 28
(3), present subsections (7) and (8) are amended, and a new 29
subsection (4) is added to that section, to read: 30
327.54 Liveries; safe ty regulations; penalty. — 31
(2) A livery may not offer a vessel for lease or rent 32
without first being issued a no -cost livery permit by the 33
commission. The permit must be renewed annually. To qualify for 34
issuance or renewal of a livery permit, an applicant must 35
provide the commission with a list of all vessels offered by the 36
livery for lease or rent by another, have valid insurance 37
pursuant to subsection (8) (7), have an amount of United States 38
Coast Guard-approved lawful personal floatation devices on site 39
sufficient to accommodate the capacity of all vessels offered by 40
the livery for rent or lease by another, have on site all safety 41
equipment required by s. 327.50 and the Code of Federal 42
Regulations sufficient to equip all vessels offered by the 43
livery for rent or lease by another, and display the information 44
required by paragraph (3)(f). If, before the annual renewal of 45
the permit, the information required by this subsection changes, 46
the livery must provide the commission with the updated 47
information within 10 days after the change. 48
(a) The commission may adopt rules to implement this 49
subsection. 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
(b) A person who violates this subsection commits a 51
misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as provided in s. 52
775.082 or s. 775.083. 53
(3) A livery may not knowingly lease or rent a vessel to 54
any person: 55
(e) Unless the livery provides hands-on pre-rental or pre-56
ride instruction in compliance with rules established by the 57
commission. 58
1. The instruction must include, but need not be limited 59
to: 60
a. Operational characteristics of the vessel to be rented. 61
b. Safe vessel operation and vessel right -of-way. 62
c. The responsibility of the vessel operator for the safe 63
and proper operation of the vessel. 64
d. Local characteristics of the waterway where the vessel 65
will be operated, such as navigational hazards, the presence of 66
boating-restricted areas, and water depths, and education on any 67
safety, regulatory, information, or navigation markers in the 68
geographic vicinity. 69
e. Emergency procedures, such as appropriate responses to 70
capsizing, falls overboard, taking on water, and vessel 71
accidents. 72
f. Proper use of personal floatation devices. 73
g. A notice of the prohibition against boating under the 74
influence pursuant to s. 327.35. 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
2. Any person receiving instruction in the safe handling 76
of livery vessels pursuant to this paragraph must provide the 77
livery with a written statement attesting to each component of 78
the instruction. 79
a. The commission shall est ablish by rule the content of 80
the statement form. 81
b. The statement form must be signed by the individual 82
providing the instruction. 83
c. The livery shall maintain the statement form for no 84
less than 90 days and, upon request, make the form available for 85
inspection by law enforcement. 86
(4) If a renter or lessee retains a professional captain 87
who holds an active license issued by the United States Coast 88
Guard to command the vessel as required by an agreement between 89
the livery and the renter or lessee, and the livery confirms 90
that a professional captain has been retained, the renter or 91
lessee and the livery are not subject to paragraph (3)(e). 92
(8)(7) A livery may not lease or rent or offer to lease or 93
rent any livery vessel unless the livery first obtains and 94
carries in full force and effect a policy from a licensed 95
insurance carrier in this state which insures the livery and the 96
renter against any accident, loss, injury, property damage, or 97
other casualty caused by or resulting from the operation of the 98
livery vessel. The insurance policy must provide coverage of at 99
least $500,000 per person and $1 million per event. The livery 100
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shall have proof of such insurance available for inspection at 101
the location where livery vessels are being leased or rented, or 102
offered for lease or rent, and shall provide to each renter the 103
insurance carrier's name and address and the insurance policy 104
number. This subsection does not apply to human -powered vessels. 105
(9)(8) Notwithstanding the person's age or any exemptions 106
provided in s. 327.395, any person delivering instruction 107
regarding the safe operation of vessels or hands-on pre-rental 108
or pre-ride instruction in accordance with subsection (3) must 109
have successfully completed a boating safety education course 110
approved by the National Association of State Boating Law 111
Administrators and this state. 112
Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023. 113