HB 5331 — Relating to boating safety education certificate

WEST VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION IntroducedCommittee Substitute for House Bill 5331 By Delegates Foster, Summers, Dillon, Brooks, Cannon, Barnhart, E.

Pritt, Longanacre, Ridenour, Kimble, and Mazzocchi [Introduced[Originating Januaryin 29,the 2024;Committee on Technology and Infrastructure;

ReferredReported to the Committee on TechnologyFebruary and26, Infrastructure]2024] IntrCS for HB 2024R33185331 A BILL to amend and reenact §20-7-12b of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to boatboating safety;

and requirement of valid driver's license insteador of certificate of boating safety education.education for boating.

BoatingRequirements safetyfor educationboat certificate;operation;

boating safety education certificate;

(a) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (c) of this section, beginning on January 1, 2001, no person born on or after December 31, 1986, may operate a motorboat or personal watercraft on any waters of this state without first having obtainedobtained: a valid driver's license as defined in §17A-1-1 of this code.

certificate(1) ofa boatingvalid safetydriver's educationlicense fromas thisdefined orin any§17B-2-1 otherof state,this whichcode, certificate(2) wasa obtainedvalid bydriver’s satisfactorilylicense completingfrom aanother coursejurisdiction of instruction in boating safety education administered by the United StatesStates; coast guard auxiliary;

or (3) a certificate of boating safety education from this or any other state, which certificate was obtained by satisfactorily completing a course of instruction in boating safety education administered by the United States coast guard auxiliary;

or any person authorized to teach the course prescribed by the national association of state boating law administrators in this or any other statestate. (b) Any person who is subject to subdivision (a) of this section shall possess the driver's license certificate of boating safety education when operating a motorboat or personal watercraft on the waters of this state and shall show the certificate valid license on demand of any West Virginia natural resources police officers or other law-enforcement officer authorized to enforce the provisions of this chapter.

(b) Any person who is subject to subdivision (a) of this section shall possess the driver's license or certificate of boating safety education when operating a motorboat or personal watercraft on the waters of this state and shall show the certificate or valid license on demand of any West Virginia natural resources police officers or other law-enforcement officer authorized to enforce the provisions of this chapter.

1 CS for HB 5331 (1) A person who is a nonresident of this state and who is visiting the state for 60 days or less in a motorboat or personal watercraft from another state if that person:

and Intr HB 2024R3318 (B) Has been issued a boating safety education certificate by his or her state of residence in accordance with the criteria recommended by the national association of state boating law administration.

Upon request, the division shall provide, without charge, boating safety education materials to persons who plan to take the boating safety equivalency examinationexamination. (e) (d) No person who owns a motorboat or personal watercraft or who has charge over a motorboat or personal watercraft may authorize or knowingly permit it to be operated in violation of subsection (a) of this section.

(f)(e) (e)TheNo provisionsperson ofwho subsectionowns (a) of this section may only be enforced as a secondarymotorboat actionor whenpersonal thewatercraft officeror detainswho anhas operatorcharge ofover a motorboat or personal watercraft uponmay probableauthorize causeor ofknowingly apermit violationit ofto anotherbe provisionoperated ofin thisviolation codeof orsubsection rules(a) adoptedof inthis accordancesection. with the code.

A(f) personThe provisions of subsection (a) of this section may notonly be takenenforced immediatelyas toa secondary action when the officer detains an operator of a courtmotorboat or detentionpersonal facilitywatercraft solelyupon forprobable cause of a violation of subsectionanother (a)provision of this section.code or rules adopted in accordance with the code.

Intr2 CS for HB 2024R33185331 NOTE:A person may not be taken immediately to a court or detention facility solely for a violation of subsection (a) of this section.

NOTE: