Florida Senate - 2023 CS for SB 728 By the Committee on Commerce and Tourism; and Senator Garcia 577-03156-23 2023728c1 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; providing an effective date. 9 10 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 11 12 Section 1.Section 327.54, Florida Statutes, is amended to 13 read: 14 327.54Liveries; safety regulations; penalty. 15 (1)As used in this section, the term: 16 (a)Advertise means to describe or draw attention to a 17 vessel and its availability for lease or rental in any medium 18 for the purpose of promoting the lease or rental of the vessel. 19 (b)Conviction means any judicial disposition other than 20 acquittal or dismissal. 21 (c)Livery means a person who advertises and offers a 22 livery vessel for use by another in exchange for any type of 23 consideration when such person does not also provide the lessee 24 or renter with a captain, a crew, or any type of staff or 25 personnel to operate, oversee, maintain, or manage the vessel. 26 The owner of a vessel who does not advertise his or her vessel 27 for use by another for consideration and who loans or offers his 28 or her vessel for use to another known to him or her either for 29 consideration or without consideration is not a livery. A public 30 or private school or postsecondary institution located within 31 this state is not a livery. A vessel rented or leased by a 32 livery is a livery vessel as defined in s. 327.02. 33 (d)Seaworthy means the vessel and all of its parts and 34 equipment, including, but not limited to, engines, bilge pumps, 35 and kill switches, are functional and reasonably fit for their 36 intended purpose. 37 (2)A livery may not offer a vessel for lease or rent 38 without first being issued a no-cost livery permit by the 39 commission. The permit must be renewed annually. To qualify for 40 issuance or renewal of a livery permit, an applicant must 41 provide the commission with a list of all vessels offered by the 42 livery for lease or rent by another, have valid insurance 43 pursuant to subsection (8) (7), have an amount of United States 44 Coast Guard-approved lawful personal floatation devices on site 45 sufficient to accommodate the capacity of all vessels offered by 46 the livery for rent or lease by another, have on site all safety 47 equipment required by s. 327.50 and the Code of Federal 48 Regulations sufficient to equip all vessels offered by the 49 livery for rent or lease by another, and display the information 50 required by paragraph (3)(f). If, before the annual renewal of 51 the permit, the information required by this subsection changes, 52 the livery must provide the commission with the updated 53 information within 10 days after the change. 54 (a)The commission may adopt rules to implement this 55 subsection. 56 (b)A person who violates this subsection commits a 57 misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as provided in s. 58 775.082 or s. 775.083. 59 (3)A livery may not knowingly lease or rent a vessel to 60 any person: 61 (a)When the number of persons intending to use the vessel 62 exceeds the number considered to constitute a maximum safety 63 load for the vessel as specified on the authorized persons 64 capacity plate of the vessel. 65 (b)When the horsepower of the motor exceeds the capacity 66 of the vessel. 67 (c)When the vessel does not contain the safety equipment 68 required under s. 327.50. 69 (d)When the vessel is not seaworthy, is a derelict vessel 70 as defined in s. 823.11, or is at risk of becoming derelict as 71 provided in s. 327.4107. 72 (e)Unless the livery provides pre-rental or pre-ride 73 instruction, which shall include hands-on instruction, in 74 compliance with rules established by the commission. 75 1.The instruction must include, but need not be limited 76 to: 77 a.Operational characteristics of the vessel to be rented. 78 b.Safe vessel operation and vessel right-of-way. 79 c.The responsibility of the vessel operator for the safe 80 and proper operation of the vessel. 81 d.Local characteristics of the waterway where the vessel 82 will be operated, such as navigational hazards, the presence of 83 boating-restricted areas, and water depths, and education on any 84 safety, regulatory, informational, or navigation markers in the 85 geographic vicinity. 86 e.Emergency procedures, such as appropriate responses to 87 capsizing, falls overboard, taking on water, and vessel 88 accidents. 89 f.A notice of the prohibition against boating under the 90 influence pursuant to s. 327.35. 91 2.Any person receiving instruction in the safe handling of 92 livery vessels pursuant to this paragraph must provide the 93 livery with a written statement attesting to each component of 94 the instruction. 95 a.The commission shall establish by rule the content of 96 the statement form. 97 b.The statement form must be signed by the individual 98 providing the instruction. 99 c.The livery shall maintain the statement form for no less 100 than 90 days and, upon request, make the form available for 101 inspection by law enforcement. 102 (f)Unless the livery displays boating safety information 103 in a place visible to the renting public. The commission shall 104 prescribe by rule, pursuant to chapter 120, the contents and 105 size of the boating safety information to be displayed. 106 (g)Unless the livery has a written agreement with the 107 renter or lessee. The written agreement must include the name, 108 address, and date of birth for the renter and the number of 109 people aboard the vessel, as well as the time the vessel is 110 required to be returned to the livery or another specified 111 location and an emergency contact name, address, and telephone 112 number. The livery shall maintain each agreement for no less 113 than 1 year and, upon request, make each agreement available for 114 inspection by law enforcement. 115 (4)If a renter or lessee retains a professional captain 116 who holds an active license issued by the United States Coast 117 Guard to command the vessel as required by the agreement between 118 the livery and the renter or lessee, the livery is not subject 119 to paragraph (3)(e). 120 (5)A livery may not knowingly lease or rent a vessel to a 121 person who is required to comply with s. 327.395 unless such 122 person presents to the livery the documentation required by s. 123 327.395(2) for the operation of a vessel or meets the exemption 124 provided under s. 327.395(6)(f). 125 (6)(5)If a vessel rented or leased by a livery is 126 unnecessarily overdue more than 4 hours after the contracted 127 vessel rental time has expired, the livery must notify law 128 enforcement. 129 (7)(6)A livery may not knowingly lease or rent a livery 130 vessel, other than a human-powered vessel, to any person who is 131 under 18 years of age. 132 (8)(7)A livery may not lease or rent or offer to lease or 133 rent any livery vessel unless the livery first obtains and 134 carries in full force and effect a policy from a licensed 135 insurance carrier in this state which insures the livery and the 136 renter against any accident, loss, injury, property damage, or 137 other casualty caused by or resulting from the operation of the 138 livery vessel. The insurance policy must provide coverage of at 139 least $500,000 per person and $1 million per event. The livery 140 shall have proof of such insurance available for inspection at 141 the location where livery vessels are being leased or rented, or 142 offered for lease or rent, and shall provide to each renter the 143 insurance carriers name and address and the insurance policy 144 number. A livery may choose to limit insurance covering the 145 renter if the renter or lessee meets one of the following 146 requirements: 147 (a)Has a Florida boating safety identification card issued 148 by the commission, a temporary certificate, or another form of 149 boating certification authorized pursuant to s. 327.395. 150 (b)Hires a professional captain who holds an active 151 license issued by the United States Coast Guard. 152 153 This subsection does not apply to human-powered vessels. 154 (9)(8)Notwithstanding the persons age or any exemptions 155 provided in s. 327.395, any person delivering instruction 156 regarding the safe operation of vessels or hands-on pre-rental 157 or pre-ride instruction in accordance with subsection (3) must 158 have successfully completed a boating safety education course 159 approved by the National Association of State Boating Law 160 Administrators and this state. 161 (10)(9)If a vessel rented or leased by a livery is 162 involved in an accident, the livery must report the accident to 163 the division. 164 (11)(10)A livery shall make its facilities and records 165 available for inspection upon request by law enforcement no 166 later than 24 hours after receiving notice from law enforcement. 167 (12)(a)(11)(a)Any person convicted of violating this 168 section, other than subsection (2), who has not been convicted 169 of a violation of this section within the past 3 years commits a 170 misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 171 775.082 or s. 775.083. 172 (b)Unless the stricter penalties in paragraph (c) apply, a 173 person who violates this section, other than subsection (2), 174 within 3 years after a previous conviction of a violation of 175 this section commits a misdemeanor of the first degree, 176 punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083, with a 177 minimum mandatory fine of $500. 178 (c)A person who violates this section, other than 179 subsection (2), within 5 years after two previous convictions 180 for a violation of this section commits a misdemeanor of the 181 first degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 182 775.083, with a minimum mandatory fine of $1,000. 183 (13)(12)A person who commits more than one violation of 184 this section, other than subsection (2), within a 3-year period 185 may not act as a livery during a 90-day period immediately after 186 being charged with that violation. The commission may revoke or 187 refuse to issue a permit under subsection (2) based on repeated 188 violations of this section. 189 Section 2.This act shall take effect July 1, 2023.