| 1 | 1 | | 85R6590 AAF-D |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Klick H.B. No. 2117 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 6 | 6 | | AN ACT |
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| 7 | 7 | | relating to requiring certain persons to wear a personal flotation |
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| 8 | 8 | | device while a passenger on motorboats. |
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| 9 | 9 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 10 | 10 | | SECTION 1. Sections 31.066(b), (d), and (e), Parks and |
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| 11 | 11 | | Wildlife Code, are amended to read as follows: |
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| 12 | 12 | | (b) The operator of a motorboat less than 26 feet in length, |
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| 13 | 13 | | while underway, shall require every passenger born on or after |
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| 14 | 14 | | September 1, 2003, [under 13 years of age] to wear a wearable |
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| 15 | 15 | | personal flotation device of the sort prescribed by the regulations |
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| 16 | 16 | | of the commandant of the Coast Guard. A life belt or ring buoy does |
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| 17 | 17 | | not satisfy this requirement. |
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| 18 | 18 | | (d) A person born on or after September 1, 2003, who is |
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| 19 | 19 | | [under 13 years of age] on board a vessel described by Section |
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| 20 | 20 | | 31.073(a) or (b) must wear a wearable personal flotation device of |
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| 21 | 21 | | the sort prescribed by the commandant of the Coast Guard while the |
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| 22 | 22 | | vessel is under way. |
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| 23 | 23 | | (e) An adult operator of a vessel described by Section |
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| 24 | 24 | | 31.073 may not permit a person born on or after September 1, 2003, |
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| 25 | 25 | | [under 13 years of age] to be on board the vessel while the vessel is |
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| 26 | 26 | | under way if the person born on or after September 1, 2003, [under |
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| 27 | 27 | | 13 years of age] is not wearing a wearable personal flotation device |
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| 28 | 28 | | required by Subsection (d). |
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| 29 | 29 | | SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only |
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| 30 | 30 | | to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. |
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| 31 | 31 | | An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is |
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| 32 | 32 | | governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed, |
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| 33 | 33 | | and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For |
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| 34 | 34 | | purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the |
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| 35 | 35 | | effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred |
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| 36 | 36 | | before that date. |
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| 37 | 37 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017. |
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