House of Representatives Staff Analysis: PCS for HB 271 Boating Safety Education (2021)
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- 2021 3103 Tourism Infrastructure Energy Subcommittee Proposed Committee Bill Analyses Fn P
Summary
A House of Representatives staff analysis of PCS for HB 271, Boating Safety Education, sponsored by the Tourism, Infrastructure & Energy Subcommittee and dated March 30, 2021. It describes current Florida law, under which operators born on or after January 1, 1988 must obtain a boating safety identification card for vessels with engines of 10 horsepower or more, and a federal engine cut-off switch requirement effective April 1, 2021. The bill would require approved boating safety courses and temporary certificate examinations to include components on the risks of a passenger placing an appendage over the edge of a moving vessel and on proper use of an engine cutoff switch. The analysis states the bill amends s. 327.395, F.S., has no fiscal impact on state or local governments, and takes effect July 1, 2021.
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Cite this document
“House of Representatives Staff Analysis: PCS for HB 271 Boating Safety Education (2021).”
Original at www.flhouse.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/2021-3103-tourism-infrastructure-energy-subcommittee-proposed-committee-bill-analyses-fn-pcs0271-tie/
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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES STAFF ANALYSIS
BILL #: PCS for HB 271 Boating Safety Education
SPONSOR(S): Tourism, Infrastructure & Energy Subcommittee
TIED BILLS: IDEN./SIM. BILLS: SB 1658, SB 1562
REFERENCE ACTION ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR or
BUDGET/POLICY CHIEF
Orig. Comm.: Tourism, Infrastructure & Energy Willson Keating
Subcommittee
SUMMARY ANALYSIS
The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) Division of Law Enforcement manages the state’s
waterways to ensure boating safety for residents of and visitors to the state. This includes enforcing boating
rules and regulations, coordinating boating safety campaigns and education, managing public waters and
access to the waters, and conducting boating accident investigations.
An operator of a vessel in Florida must operate the vessel in a reasonable and prudent manner, having regard
for other waterborne traffic, posted speed and wake restrictions, and all other attendant circumstances so as
not to endanger the life, limb, or property of another person outside the vessel or due to vessel overloading or
excessive speed.
Florida law requires that boat operators born on or after January 1, 1988, must obtain a Florida boating safety
identification card if the vessel is powered by an engine of 10 horsepower or more. To obtain a card, a person
must complete an approved boating safety course.
Federal law requires boaters to use the installed engine cut-off switch on any motorized boat with 3 or more
horsepower that is less than 26 feet in length.
The bill requires that an FWC-approved boating safety education course or temporary certificate examination
developed or approved by the commission must include a component regarding:
The risks associated with a passenger placing any portion of an appendage over the outside edge of
the vessel while the vessel is underway.
The proper use of an engine cutoff switch, as appropriate for certain vessels.
The bill does not have a fiscal impact on state or local governments.
The bill provides an effective date of July 1, 2021.
This document does not reflect the intent or official position of the bill sponsor or House of Representatives .
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DATE: 3/30/2021
FULL ANALYSIS
I. SUBSTANTIVE ANALYSIS
A. EFFECT OF PROPOSED CHANGES:
Current Situation
Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is responsible for regulating, managing,
protecting, and conserving the state’s fish and wildlife resources.1 Chapter 327, F.S., concerning vessel
safety, is enforced by FWC’s Division of Law Enforcement and its officers, county sheriffs and deputies,
municipal police officers, and any other law enforcement officer.2 The Division of Law Enforcement
manages the state’s waterways to ensure boating safety for residents of and visitors to the state.3 This
includes enforcing boating rules and regulations, coordinating boating safety campaigns and education,
managing public waters and access to the waters, and conducting boating accident investigations.4
Boater Safety Education
A person born on or after January 1, 1988, who will be operating a boat in Florida waters with an
engine of 10 horsepower or more, must obtain a Florida boating safety identification card.5 To obtain a
card, a person must complete an approved boating safety course.6 There are several courses available
at various price points ranging from free up to $50.7 The course must meet the 8-hour instruction
requirement established by the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators and must
include a component regarding diving vessels.8 The card is valid for life, unless it was obtained by
passing a temporary certificate examination, in which case it is valid for 90 days after the date of
issuance.9
Current law requires that any boating safety education course or temporary certificate examination
developed or approved by FWC must include a component regarding diving vessels, awareness of
divers in the water, divers-down warning devices, and other diver-related requirements provided in
current law.10
Certain persons are exempt from the requirement to obtain a boating safety identification card. A
person is exempt if he or she:
Is licensed by the United States Coast Guard (Coast Guard) to serve as master of a vessel.
Operates a vessel only on a private lake or pond.
Is accompanied in the vessel by a person who is exempt from this section or who holds an
identification card in compliance with this section, is 18 years of age or older, and is attendant to
the operation of the vessel and responsible for the safe operation of the vessel and for any
violation that occurs during the operation of the vessel.
Is a nonresident who has in his or her possession proof that he or she has completed a boater
education course or equivalency examination in another state which meets or exceeds the
requirements in Florida.
Is operating a vessel within 90 days after the purchase of that vessel and has available for
inspection aboard that vessel a bill of sale.
1 FLA. CONST. art. IV, s. 9.
2 Section 327.70(1), F.S.
3 Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), Boating, https://myfwc.com/boating/ (last visited Mar. 25, 2021).
4 FWC, Law Enforcement, https://myfwc.com/about/inside-fwc/le/ (last visited Feb. 15, 2021). See s. 327.70(1) and (4), F.S.
5 S. 327.395(1), F.S.
6 FWC, Boater Education Identification Card, https://myfwc.com/boating/safety-education/id/ (last visited Mar. 25, 2021). This card is not a boating
license, it is a certification that the person named on the card has successfully completed the required boating safety course.
7 FWC, Boating Safety Courses, https://myfwc.com/boating/safety-education/courses/ (last visited Mar. 25, 2021).
8 S. 327.395(1), F.S.
9 S. 327.395(5), F.S.
10 See s. 327.331, F.S.
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Is operating a vessel within 90 days after completing the boater education course and has a
photographic identification card and a boater education certificate available for inspection as
proof of having completed a boater education course. The boater education certificate must
provide, at a minimum, the student’s first and last name, the student’s date of birth, and the date
that he or she passed the course examination.
Is exempted by FWC rule.11
A person who operates a vessel without the required boating safety identification card can be charged
with a noncriminal infraction and is subject to a uniform boating citation and a $50 civil penalty. 12
A livery may not knowingly lease, hire, or rent vessels under certain conditions meant to ensure boater
safety.13 Additionally, a livery may not knowingly lease, hire, or rent any vessel powered by a motor of
10 horsepower or greater to any person who is required to comply with boater safety education
requirements, unless the person presents photographic identification and a valid boater safety
identification card to the livery or meets one of the listed exemptions.14
Boating Safety Regulations
An operator of a vessel in Florida must operate the vessel in a reasonable and prudent manner, having
regard for other waterborne traffic, posted speed and wake restrictions, and all other attendant
circumstances so as not to endanger the life, limb, or property of another person outside the vessel or
due to vessel overloading or excessive speed.15 Operating a vessel in excess of a posted speed limit is
a civil infraction, for which the penalty is $50.16
Vessel owners and operators must carry, store, maintain, and use safety equipment in accordance with
current Coast Guard safety equipment requirements, unless expressly exempted.17 Vessel owners and
operators are also subject to additional safety requirements relating to appropriate equipment and the
use of personal flotation devices.18
Engine Cut-off Switch
Effective April 1, 2021, federal law19 requires boaters to use the engine cut-off switch (ECOS), if such a
device is installed, on any motorized boat with 3 or more horsepower that is less than 26 feet in length.
Typically, the ECOS link is a coiled bungee cord lanyard clipped onto the operator's person, personal
floatation device, or clothing, with the other end attached to the cut-off switch. However many variations
exist, including electronic wireless devices. When an operator is wearing a link while underway, the
engine will cut-off if the operator is separated from the operating area, which can happen if the operator
is ejected from the vessel or falls within the vessel.20
According to the Coast Guard’s Boating Safety Division, an ECOS is an important tool to prevent
unnecessary accidents, injuries, and deaths caused by a recreational vessel operator being
unexpectedly displaced from the helm, including situations where the operator is ejected from the
vessel, which typically leads to a runaway vessel. In these scenarios anyone in the water is a potential
propeller-strike victim, all other vessels on the water face a collision hazard, and maritime law
11 S. 327.395(6), F.S.
12 S. 327.73(1)(s), F.S.
13 S. 327.54(1), F.S. For example, vessels must have proper safety equipment and be seaworthy, and the number of vessel occupants may not exceed
the maximum safety load of the vessel.
14 S. 327.54(2), F.S.
15 S. 327.33, F.S.
16 S. 327.73(h), F.S.
17 S. 327.50, F.S.
18 Id.
19 46 U.S.C. § 4312
20 United States Coast Guard, Engine Cut-Off Switches, https://uscgboating.org/recreational-boaters/engine-cut-off-devices.php (last visited Mar. 25,
2021).
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enforcement officers face additional risk in trying to bring the runaway vessel to a stop. Additionally, the
use of an ECOS may aid the operator in safely returning to the drifting vessel.21
In 2018, Congress required vessel manufactures to install an ECOS. However, most U.S. boat
manufacturers have voluntarily installed an ECOS on their boats for decades.22
Florida law requires that operators of personal watercraft23 equipped by the manufacturer with a
lanyard type engine cutoff switch must attach the lanyard to his or her person, clothing, or personal
flotation device, as appropriate for the specific vessel.24
Effect of the Bill
The bill requires that an FWC-approved boating safety education course or temporary certificate
examination developed or approved by the commission must include a component regarding:
The risks associated with a passenger placing any portion of an appendage over the outside
edge of the vessel while the vessel is underway.
The proper use of an engine cutoff switch, as appropriate for certain vessels.
B. SECTION DIRECTORY:
Section 1 Amends s. 327.395, F.S.; relating to boating safety education.
Section 2 Provides an effective date.
II. FISCAL ANALYSIS & ECONOMIC IMPACT STATEMENT
A. FISCAL IMPACT ON STATE GOVERNMENT:
1. Revenues:
None.
2. Expenditures:
None.
B. FISCAL IMPACT ON LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
1. Revenues:
None.
2. Expenditures:
None.
C. DIRECT ECONOMIC IMPACT ON PRIVATE SECTOR:
None.
D. FISCAL COMMENTS:
21 United States Coast Guard, Engine/Propulsion Cut-Off Devices FAQ, https://uscgboating.org/recreational-boaters/engine-cut-off-switch-faq.php
(last visited Mar. 25, 2021).
22 USCG, Engine Cut-Off Switches, supra.
23 Section 327.02(36), F.S. defines “Personal watercraft” as “a vessel less than 16 feet in length which uses an inboard motor powering a water jet
pump as its primary source of motive power and which is designed to be operated by a person sitting, standing, or kneeling on the vessel, rather than
in the conventional manner of sitting or standing inside the vessel.”
24 S. 327.39(2), F.S.
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None.
III. COMMENTS
A. CONSTITUTIONAL ISSUES:
1. Applicability of Municipality/County Mandates Provision:
Not Applicable. The bill does not appear to require counties or municipalities to spend funds or take
action requiring the expenditures of funds; reduce the authority that counties or municipalities have
to raise revenues in the aggregate; or reduce the percentage of state tax shared with counties or
municipalities.
2. Other:
None.
B. RULE-MAKING AUTHORITY:
None.
C. DRAFTING ISSUES OR OTHER COMMENTS:
None.
IV. AMENDMENTS/ COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE CHANGES
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DATE: 3/30/2021
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