ENROLLED
ACT No. 698
2018 Regular Session
HOUSE BILL NO. 784
BY REPRESENTATIVES MCFARLAND, BISHOP, AND REYNOLDS
1 AN ACT
2 To amend and reenact R.S. 34:851.20(A)(1) and 851.32 and R.S. 56:10.1(C), relative to
3 motorboats and sailboats; to provide for boat registration and numbering; to provide
4 for fees; to provide for the dedication of revenue; to provide for the Aquatic Plant
5 Control Fund; and to provide for related matters.
6 Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
7 Section 1. R.S. 34:851.20(A)(1) and 851.32 are hereby amended and reenacted to
8 read as follows:
9 §851.20. Identification number
10 A.(1) The owner of each motorboat or sailboat requiring numbering by this
11 state shall file an application for number with the Department of Wildlife and
12 Fisheries on forms approved by it. The application shall be signed by the owner of
13 the motorboat or sailboat and shall be accompanied by a the appropriate fee as
14 follows:
15 (a) For a boat which that is fourteen feet or less in length, the fee shall be
16 twenty dollars.
17 (b) For a boat which that is more than fourteen feet and less than eighteen
18 feet in length, the fee shall be twenty-five dollars.
19 (c) For a boat which that is eighteen feet in length or greater, the fee shall be
20 thirty dollars plus an additional two dollars for each foot or portion of a foot in
21 length greater than eighteen feet.
22 (d) Beginning January 1, 2019, through December 31, 2023, inclusive of
23 both dates, in addition to the fee otherwise required by this Paragraph, a fee of nine
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1 dollars shall accompany any application or renewal for numbering a motorboat or
2 sailboat.
3 * * *
4 §851.32. Disposition of funds
5 A.(1) Funds accruing to the state of Louisiana from registration fees paid by
6 owners of motorboats and sailboats shall be paid into the state treasury and shall be
7 credited to the Bond Security and Redemption Fund. Out of the funds remaining in
8 the Bond Security and Redemption Fund, after a sufficient amount is allocated from
9 that fund to pay all obligations secured by the full faith and credit of the state which
10 become due and payable within any fiscal year, the treasurer shall, prior to placing
11 such remaining funds in the State General Fund, pay into the Conservation Fund of
12 the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission an amount equal to the total
13 amount, less the amounts provided in Paragraph (2) of this Subsection, of the sums
14 recovered as registration fees in R.S. 34:851.20 and R.S. 34:851.23 of this Part for
15 the purpose of administering and enforcing the provisions of this Part or for such
16 other purposes as may be determined by said commission.
17 (2) The treasurer shall pay an amount equal to nine dollars of every fee
18 collected for registering a motorboat and sailboat pursuant to R.S.
19 34:851.20(A)(1)(d) into the Aquatic Plant Control Fund created by R.S. 56:10.1.
20 B. The revenues derived from the registration fees paid into the Conservation
21 Fund shall be made available for the purpose of providing the necessary additional
22 funds for the administration and enforcement of the provisions of this Part or for
23 such other purposes as may be determined by the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries
24 Commission.
25 Section 2. R.S. 56:10.1(C) is hereby amended and reenacted to read as follows:
26 §10.1. Aquatic Plant Control Fund; creation; uses
27 * * *
28 C. Subject to an annual appropriation by the legislature, the monies in the
29 Aquatic Plant Control Fund shall be used solely by the office of fisheries,
30 Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, to fund the aquatic plant control program and
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1 to fund cooperative research and public education efforts by the Department of
2 Wildlife and Fisheries and the Louisiana State University Agricultural Center
3 relative to aquatic weed control and eradication and aquatic invasive species control
4 and eradication. An amount not to exceed fifteen percent of the annual appropriation
5 shall be used to fund research and public education efforts relative to aquatic weed
6 control and eradication by the Louisiana State University Agricultural Center. The
7 funds appropriated pursuant to the provisions of this Section shall be in addition to
8 any other amounts appropriated by the legislature.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF LOUISIANA
APPROVED:
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CODING: Words in struck through type are deletions from existing law; words underscored
are additions.