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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.; requiring the Fish and Wildlife 3
Conservation Commission to develop and publish an 4
educational pamphlet relating to boating safety 5
education; providing requirements for the pamphlet; 6
amending s. 327.4108, F.S.; providing an exemption 7
from specified anchoring limitations for residential 8
docking facilities, marinas, and existing mooring 9
fields; revising anchoring limitation areas in certain 10
sections of Biscayne Bay in Miami -Dade County; 11
amending s. 327.54, F.S.; conforming a cross -12
reference; requiring liveries to provide hands -on 13
instruction that meets specified requirements; 14
providing an exemption from certain safety 15
requirements if renters or lessees hire a professional 16
captain; requiring a livery to either obtain and carry 17
insurance that also insures renters or offer renters 18
the opportunity to purchase specified liability 19
coverage; requiring a livery to obtain a specified 20
acknowledgement from renters upon refusal of such 21
coverage; conforming a prov ision to changes made by 22
the act; amending s. 327.731, F.S.; requiring a person 23
convicted of certain noncriminal boating infractions 24
to complete a boating safety course ; providing an 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
effective date. 26
27
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Flo rida: 28
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Section 1. Subsection (12) is added to section 327.395, 30
Florida Statutes, to read: 31
327.395 Boating safety education. — 32
(12) The commission shall develop and publish on its 33
website an educational pamphlet that relates to the importance 34
of boating safety education and promotes voluntary enrollment in 35
a boating safety educational course. At a minimum, the pamphlet 36
must include: 37
(a) An overview of the importance of boating safety 38
education and navigational rules. 39
(b) An overview of boating saf ety and the proper use of 40
safety equipment. 41
(c) An overview of the dangers of careless operation of a 42
vessel or operating overloaded vessels. 43
(d) An overview of the proper use and lifesaving benefits 44
of an engine cutoff switch for motorboats and person al 45
watercrafts. 46
(e) The importance of not operating vessels while under 47
the influence of alcoholic beverages, chemical substances, or 48
controlled substances. 49
Section 2. Subsection (1) of section 327.4108, Florida 50
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Statutes, is amended to read: 51
327.4108 Anchoring of vessels in anchoring limitation 52
areas.— 53
(1) The following densely populated urban areas, which 54
have narrow state waterways, residential docking facilities, and 55
significant recreational boating traffic, are designated as and 56
shall be considered to be grandfathered -in anchoring limitation 57
areas, within which a person may not anchor a vessel at any time 58
during the period between one -half hour after sunset and one -59
half hour before sunrise, except within residential docking 60
facilities, marinas, or existing mooring fields and as provided 61
in subsections (4) and (5): 62
(a) The section of Middle River lying between Northeast 63
21st Court and the Intracoastal Waterway in Broward County. 64
(b) Sunset Lake in Miami -Dade County. 65
(c) The sections of Biscayne Bay in Miami -Dade County 66
lying between or within 200 yards of the following : 67
1. Rivo Alto Island and Di Lido Island. 68
2. San Marino Island and San Marco Island. 69
3. San Marco Island and Biscayne Island. 70
4. Di Lido Island and San Marino Island. 71
5. State Road 913 and State Road 826. 72
Section 3. Subsections (4) through (12) of section 327.54, 73
Florida Statutes, are renumbered as subsections (5) through 74
(13), respectively, subsection (2), paragraph (e) of subsection 75
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(3), and present subsections (7) and (8) are amended, and a new 76
subsection (4) is added to that section, to read: 77
327.54 Liveries; safety regulations; penalty. — 78
(2) A livery may not offer a vessel for lease or rent 79
without first being issued a no -cost livery permit by the 80
commission. The permit must be renewed annually. To qualify for 81
issuance or renewal of a livery permit, an applicant must 82
provide the commission with a list of all vessels offered by the 83
livery for lease or rent by another, have valid insur ance 84
pursuant to subsection (8) (7), have an amount of United States 85
Coast Guard-approved lawful personal floatation devices on site 86
sufficient to accommodate the capacity of all vessels offered by 87
the livery for rent or lease by another, have on site all safety 88
equipment required by s. 327.50 and the Code of Federal 89
Regulations sufficient to equip all vessels offered by the 90
livery for rent or lease by another, and display the information 91
required by paragraph (3)(f). If, before the annual renewal of 92
the permit, the information required by this subsection changes, 93
the livery must provide the commission with the updated 94
information within 10 days after the change. 95
(a) The commission may adopt rules to implement this 96
subsection. 97
(b) A person who violates t his subsection commits a 98
misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as provided in s. 99
775.082 or s. 775.083. 100
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(3) A livery may not knowingly lease or rent a vessel to 101
any person: 102
(e) Unless the livery provides hands-on pre-rental or pre-103
ride instruction in compliance with rules established by the 104
commission. 105
1. The instruction must include, but need not be limited 106
to: 107
a. Operational characteristics of the vessel to be rented. 108
b. Safe vessel operation and vessel right -of-way. 109
c. The responsibilit y of the vessel operator for the safe 110
and proper operation of the vessel. 111
d. Local characteristics of the waterway where the vessel 112
will be operated, such as navigational hazards, the presence of 113
boating-restricted areas, and water depths, and education on any 114
safety, regulatory, information, or navigation markers in the 115
geographic vicinity. 116
e. Emergency procedures, such as appropriate responses to 117
capsizing, falls overboard, taking on water, and vessel 118
accidents. 119
f. Proper use of personal floatation devices. 120
g. A notice of the prohibition against boating under the 121
influence pursuant to s. 327.35. 122
2. Any person receiving instruction in the safe handling 123
of livery vessels pursuant to this paragraph must provide the 124
livery with a written statement at testing to each component of 125
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the instruction. 126
a. The commission shall establish by rule the content of 127
the statement form. 128
b. The statement form must be signed by the individual 129
providing the instruction. 130
c. The livery shall maintain the statement form for no 131
less than 90 days and, upon request, make the form available for 132
inspection by law enforcement. 133
(4) If a renter or lessee retains a professional captain 134
who holds an active license issued by the United States Coast 135
Guard to command the vessel as required by an agreement between 136
the livery and the renter or lessee, and the livery confirms 137
that a professional captain has been retained, the renter or 138
lessee and the livery are not subject to paragraph (3)(e). 139
(8)(7) A livery may not lease or ren t or offer to lease or 140
rent any livery vessel unless the livery : first 141
(a) Obtains and carries in full force and effect a policy 142
from a licensed insurance carrier in this state which insures 143
the livery and the renter against any accident, loss, injury, 144
property damage, or other casualty caused by or resulting from 145
the operation of the livery vessel. The insurance policy must 146
provide coverage of at least $500,000 per person and $1 million 147
per event. The livery shall have proof of such insurance 148
available for inspection at the location where livery vessels 149
are being leased or rented, or offered for lease or rent, and 150
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shall provide to each renter the insurance carrier's name and 151
address and the insurance policy number ; and 152
(b) Either: 153
1. Obtains and carri es in full force and effect a policy 154
from a licensed insurance carrier in this state which insures 155
the renter in the same manner and amounts of the policy obtained 156
by the livery under paragraph (a) and provides to each renter 157
the insurance carrier's name a nd address and the insurance 158
policy number; or 159
2. Presents the renter with the opportunity to purchase 160
coverage which insures the renter against any accident, loss, 161
injury, property damage, or other casualty caused by or 162
resulting from the operation of the livery vessel of at least 163
$500,000 per person and $1 million per event. If a renter 164
chooses not to purchase the coverage, the livery must obtain a 165
signed acknowledgement from the renter which includes the 166
following statement: 167
168
I understand that I am re fusing to purchase a vessel 169
rental insurance policy for coverage of at least 170
$500,000 per person and $1 million per event for any 171
damage or injuries caused directly or indirectly by my 172
operation of the vessel. 173
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The vessel rental insurance policy coverage i s being 175
offered to me at the following price: [INSERT BINDABLE 176
PRICE HERE OF INSURANCE BEING DECLINED]. 177
178
I understand that I may not have other insurance to 179
cover any damage or injuries caused directly or 180
indirectly by my operation of the vessel and that I 181
may be personally liable for any such damage or 182
injuries during the rental period . 183
184
This subsection does not apply to human -powered vessels. 185
(9)(8) Notwithstanding the person's age or any exemptions 186
provided in s. 327.395, any person delivering instruct ion 187
regarding the safe operation of vessels or hands-on pre-rental 188
or pre-ride instruction in accordance with subsection (3) must 189
have successfully completed a boating safety education course 190
approved by the National Association of State Boating Law 191
Administrators and this state. 192
Section 4. Subsections (2), (3), and (4) of section 193
327.731, Florida Statutes, are renumbered as subsections (3), 194
(4), and (5), respectively, subsection (1) and present 195
subsection (3) are amended, and a new subsection (2) is ad ded to 196
that section, to read: 197
327.731 Mandatory education for violators. — 198
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(1) A person convicted of a criminal violation under this 199
chapter, convicted of a noncriminal infraction under this 200
chapter if the infraction resulted in a reportable boating 201
accident, or convicted of a two noncriminal infraction 202
infractions as specified in s. 327.73(1)(h) -(k), (m), (o), (p), 203
and (s)-(y), the infractions occurring within a 12 -month period, 204
must: 205
(a) Enroll in, attend, and successfully complete, at his 206
or her own expense, a classroom or online boating safety course 207
that is approved by and meets the minimum standards established 208
by commission rule; 209
(b) File with the commission within 90 days proof of 210
successful completion of the course; and 211
(c) Refrain from ope rating a vessel until he or she has 212
filed proof of successful completion of the course with the 213
commission.; and 214
(2)(d) A person convicted of a criminal violation under 215
this chapter, convicted of a noncriminal infraction under this 216
chapter if the infract ion resulted in a reportable boating 217
accident, or convicted of two noncriminal infractions as 218
specified in s. 327.73(1)(h) -(k), (m), (o), (p), and (s) -(y), 219
the infractions occurring within a 12 -month period, must pay a 220
fine of $500. The clerk of the court shall remit all fines 221
assessed and collected under this subsection paragraph to the 222
Department of Revenue to be deposited into the Marine Resources 223
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Conservation Trust Fund to support law enforcement activities. 224
(4)(3) The commission shall print on the re verse side of 225
the defendant's copy of the boating citation a notice of the 226
provisions of this section. Upon conviction, the clerk of the 227
court shall notify the defendant that it is unlawful for him or 228
her to operate any vessel until he or she has complied with this 229
section, but failure of the clerk of the court to provide such a 230
notice shall not be a defense to a charge of unlawful operation 231
of a vessel under subsection (3)(2). 232
Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023. 233