Florida Senate - 2023 SB 728 By Senator Garcia 36-00399B-23 2023728__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to liveries; amending s. 327.54, F.S.; 3 revising safety requirements for liveries and 4 requiring hands-on instruction that meets specified 5 requirements; providing an exemption from certain 6 safety requirements when a renter hires a professional 7 captain; revising insurance requirements for liveries 8 and renters; authorizing the Fish and Wildlife 9 Conservation Commission to enter into agreements with 10 qualified contractors to perform compliance 11 inspections of liveries; providing requirements for 12 such contracted inspections; requiring liveries to 13 make facilities and records available for inspection 14 by the qualified contractors within a specified 15 timeframe; providing an effective date. 16 17 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 18 19 Section 1.Section 327.54, Florida Statutes, is amended to 20 read: 21 327.54Liveries; safety regulations; penalty. 22 (1)As used in this section, the term: 23 (a)Advertise means to describe or draw attention to a 24 vessel and its availability for lease or rental in any medium 25 for the purpose of promoting the lease or rental of the vessel. 26 (b)Conviction means any judicial disposition other than 27 acquittal or dismissal. 28 (c)Livery means a person who advertises and offers a 29 livery vessel for use by another in exchange for any type of 30 consideration when such person does not also provide the lessee 31 or renter with a captain, a crew, or any type of staff or 32 personnel to operate, oversee, maintain, or manage the vessel. 33 The owner of a vessel who does not advertise his or her vessel 34 for use by another for consideration and who loans or offers his 35 or her vessel for use to another known to him or her either for 36 consideration or without consideration is not a livery. A public 37 or private school or postsecondary institution located within 38 this state is not a livery. A vessel rented or leased by a 39 livery is a livery vessel as defined in s. 327.02. 40 (d)Seaworthy means the vessel and all of its parts and 41 equipment, including, but not limited to, engines, bilge pumps, 42 and kill switches, are functional and reasonably fit for their 43 intended purpose. 44 (2)A livery may not offer a vessel for lease or rent 45 without first being issued a no-cost livery permit by the 46 commission. The permit must be renewed annually. To qualify for 47 issuance or renewal of a livery permit, an applicant must 48 provide the commission with a list of all vessels offered by the 49 livery for lease or rent by another, have valid insurance 50 pursuant to subsection (8) (7), have an amount of United States 51 Coast Guard-approved lawful personal floatation devices on site 52 sufficient to accommodate the capacity of all vessels offered by 53 the livery for rent or lease by another, have on site all safety 54 equipment required by s. 327.50 and the Code of Federal 55 Regulations sufficient to equip all vessels offered by the 56 livery for rent or lease by another, and display the information 57 required by paragraph (3)(f). If, before the annual renewal of 58 the permit, the information required by this subsection changes, 59 the livery must provide the commission with the updated 60 information within 10 days after the change. 61 (a)The commission may adopt rules to implement this 62 subsection. 63 (b)A person who violates this subsection commits a 64 misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as provided in s. 65 775.082 or s. 775.083. 66 (3)A livery may not knowingly lease or rent a vessel to 67 any person: 68 (a)When the number of persons intending to use the vessel 69 exceeds the number considered to constitute a maximum safety 70 load for the vessel as specified on the authorized persons 71 capacity plate of the vessel. 72 (b)When the horsepower of the motor exceeds the capacity 73 of the vessel. 74 (c)When the vessel does not contain the safety equipment 75 required under s. 327.50. 76 (d)When the vessel is not seaworthy, is a derelict vessel 77 as defined in s. 823.11, or is at risk of becoming derelict as 78 provided in s. 327.4107. 79 (e)Unless the livery provides hands-on pre-rental or pre 80 ride instruction in compliance with rules established by the 81 commission. 82 1.The instruction must include, but need not be limited 83 to: 84 a.Operational characteristics of the vessel to be rented. 85 b.Safe vessel operation and vessel right-of-way. 86 c.The responsibility of the vessel operator for the safe 87 and proper operation of the vessel. 88 d.Local characteristics of the waterway where the vessel 89 will be operated, such as navigational hazards, the presence of 90 boating-restricted areas, and water depths, and education on any 91 safety, regulatory, informational, or navigation markers in the 92 geographic vicinity. 93 e.Emergency procedures, such as appropriate responses to 94 capsizing, falls overboard, taking on water, and vessel 95 accidents. 96 f.A notice of the prohibition against boating under the 97 influence pursuant to s. 327.35. 98 2.Any person receiving instruction in the safe handling of 99 livery vessels pursuant to this paragraph must provide the 100 livery with a written statement attesting to each component of 101 the instruction. 102 a.The commission shall establish by rule the content of 103 the statement form. 104 b.The statement form must be signed by the individual 105 providing the instruction. 106 c.The livery shall maintain the statement form for no less 107 than 90 days and, upon request, make the form available for 108 inspection by law enforcement or an authorized agent of the 109 commission pursuant to subsection (10). 110 (f)Unless the livery displays boating safety information 111 in a place visible to the renting public. The commission shall 112 prescribe by rule, pursuant to chapter 120, the contents and 113 size of the boating safety information to be displayed. 114 (g)Unless the livery has a written agreement with the 115 renter or lessee. The written agreement must include the name, 116 address, and date of birth for the renter and the number of 117 people aboard the vessel, as well as the time the vessel is 118 required to be returned to the livery or another specified 119 location and an emergency contact name, address, and telephone 120 number. The livery shall maintain each agreement for no less 121 than 1 year and, upon request, make each agreement available for 122 inspection by law enforcement or an authorized agent of the 123 commission pursuant to subsection (10). 124 (4)If a renter or lessee retains a professional captain 125 who holds an active license issued by the United States Coast 126 Guard to command the vessel as required by an agreement between 127 the livery and the renter or lessee, and the livery confirms 128 that a professional captain has been retained, the renter or 129 lessee and the livery are not subject to paragraph (3)(e). 130 (5)A livery may not knowingly lease or rent a vessel to a 131 person who is required to comply with s. 327.395 unless such 132 person presents to the livery the documentation required by s. 133 327.395(2) for the operation of a vessel or meets the exemption 134 provided under s. 327.395(6)(f). 135 (6)(5)If a vessel rented or leased by a livery is 136 unnecessarily overdue more than 4 hours after the contracted 137 vessel rental time has expired, the livery must notify law 138 enforcement. 139 (7)(6)A livery may not knowingly lease or rent a livery 140 vessel, other than a human-powered vessel, to any person who is 141 under 18 years of age. 142 (8)(7)A livery may not lease or rent or offer to lease or 143 rent any livery vessel unless the livery first obtains and 144 carries in full force and effect a policy from a licensed 145 insurance carrier in this state which insures the livery and the 146 renter against any accident, loss, injury, property damage, or 147 other casualty caused by or resulting from the operation of the 148 livery vessel. The insurance policy must provide coverage of at 149 least $500,000 per person and $1 million per event. The livery 150 shall have proof of such insurance available for inspection at 151 the location where livery vessels are being leased or rented, or 152 offered for lease or rent, and shall provide to each renter the 153 insurance carriers name and address and the insurance policy 154 number. A livery may choose to limit insurance covering the 155 renter if the renter or lessee meets one of the following 156 requirements: 157 (a)Has a Florida boating safety identification card issued 158 by the commission, a temporary certificate, or another form of 159 boating certification authorized pursuant to s. 327.395. 160 (b)Hires a professional captain who holds an active 161 license issued by the United States Coast Guard. 162 163 This subsection does not apply to human-powered vessels. 164 (9)(8)Notwithstanding the persons age or any exemptions 165 provided in s. 327.395, any person delivering instruction 166 regarding the safe operation of vessels or hands-on pre-rental 167 or pre-ride instruction in accordance with subsection (3) must 168 have successfully completed a boating safety education course 169 approved by the National Association of State Boating Law 170 Administrators and this state. 171 (10)To enhance enforcement efforts, the commission may 172 enter into agreements with qualified contractors to perform 173 inspections of liveries to ensure compliance with this section. 174 Inspections may be performed by an authorized agent working 175 under the supervision of a qualified contractor. The qualified 176 contractor shall provide a copy of a written, signed inspection 177 report to the livery upon completion of the inspection and to 178 the commission within 30 days after the inspection. The 179 commission may develop the contents of the inspection report. 180 (11)(9)If a vessel rented or leased by a livery is 181 involved in an accident, the livery must report the accident to 182 the division. 183 (12)(10)A livery shall make its facilities and records 184 available for inspection upon request by law enforcement or an 185 authorized agent of the commission pursuant to subsection (10) 186 no later than 24 hours after receiving notice from law 187 enforcement or an authorized agent of the commission. 188 (13)(a)(11)(a)Any person convicted of violating this 189 section, other than subsection (2), who has not been convicted 190 of a violation of this section within the past 3 years commits a 191 misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 192 775.082 or s. 775.083. 193 (b)Unless the stricter penalties in paragraph (c) apply, a 194 person who violates this section, other than subsection (2), 195 within 3 years after a previous conviction of a violation of 196 this section commits a misdemeanor of the first degree, 197 punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083, with a 198 minimum mandatory fine of $500. 199 (c)A person who violates this section, other than 200 subsection (2), within 5 years after two previous convictions 201 for a violation of this section commits a misdemeanor of the 202 first degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 203 775.083, with a minimum mandatory fine of $1,000. 204 (14)(12)A person who commits more than one violation of 205 this section, other than subsection (2), within a 3-year period 206 may not act as a livery during a 90-day period immediately after 207 being charged with that violation. The commission may revoke or 208 refuse to issue a permit under subsection (2) based on repeated 209 violations of this section. 210 Section 2.This act shall take effect July 1, 2023.