H. B. 2911
(By Delegates Yeager, Ashley, Stemple,
Williams, Boggs and Marshall)
[Introduced March 19, 2001; referred to the
Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources then the
Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend and reenact section sixteen, article seven, chapter
twenty of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred
thirty-one, as amended, relating to motorboats; requiring boat
rental facilities to provide safety orientation and boating
rules to operators.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section sixteen, article seven, chapter twenty of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 7. LAW ENFORCEMENT, MOTORBOATING, LITTER.
§20-7-16. Boat liveries.
(a) The owner or operator of a boat livery or rental facility
shall cause to be kept a record of the name and address of the
person or persons hiring any vessel including personal watercraft
which is designed or permitted by him or her to be operated as a motorboat, identification number thereof, and the departure date
and time, and the expected time of return. The record shall be
preserved for at least six months.
(b) Neither the owner or operator of a boat livery or rental
facility, nor his or her agent or employee, shall permit any
motorboat or personal watercraft or any vessel designed or
permitted by him or her to be operated as a motorboat or personal
watercraft to depart from his or her premises unless it shall have
been provided, either by the owner or renter, with the equipment
required pursuant to section thirteen of this article and any rules
and regulations made pursuant thereto.
(c) The owner or operator of a boat livery or rental facility,
or his or her agent or employee, shall provide boating safety
orientation for all persons that rent any vessel, including
personal watercraft, unless that person holds a certificate as
required by section twelve-b, article seven of this code. Further,
the owner of a boat livery or rental facility, or his or her agent
or employee, shall conduct a practical examination of his or her
ability to operate and control a personal watercraft.
(d) The owner or operator of a boat livery or rental facility,
or his or her agent or employee, may not lease, hire or rent a
personal watercraft to any person under eighteen years of age.
(e) The owner or operator of a boat livery or rental facility,
or his or her agent or employee shall provide to the operator(s) of rental vessels, boats or personal watercraft all pertinent boating
rules including, but not limited to, those rules that may be
peculiar to the area of the rental such as no-wake zones,
restricted areas, channel makers, water hazard markers and swimming
zones.
(f) The owner or operator of a boat livery or rental facility
shall possess the license and surety bond as required by section
twenty-three-d, article two, chapter twenty of this code.
NOTE:
The purpose of this bill is to
require boat rental
facilities to provide safety orientation and boating rules to
operators.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.
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