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hey john,
When are you going to move up here? Here is the text whether you wanted it or not.
Dennis
Here is the text of the law:
BILL NUMBER: AB 2222 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 565
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE SEPTEMBER 17, 2004
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR SEPTEMBER 17, 2004
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 25, 2004
PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 23, 2004
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 17, 2004
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 15, 2004
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 20, 2004
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 26, 2004
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 12, 2004
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Koretz
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Lieber and Negrete McLeod)
(Coauthor: Senator Soto)
FEBRUARY 18, 2004
An act to add Article 1.5 (commencing with Section 680) to Chapter
5 of Division 3 of the Harbors and Navigation Code, relating to
boating safety.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2222, Koretz. Boating safety.
The Department of Boating and Waterways regulates the operation of
vessels on inland and coastal waters of California. Existing law
makes all money in the Harbors and Watercraft Revolving Fund
available, to pay appropriations for, among other things, boating
safety.
This bill would enact the Anthony Farr and Stacy Beckett Boating
Safety Act of 2004. The act would make it unlawful to operate a
motorized vessel, or have the engine of a motorized vessel run idle,
while someone is teak surfing, platform dragging, or bodysurfing
behind the motorized vessel, or while someone is occupying or holding
onto the swim platform, swim deck, swim step, or swim ladder of the
motorized vessel, as specified. By making a violation of these
provisions an infraction, this bill would create a state-mandated
local program.
The act would specify certain requirements for state-sponsored
boating safety courses, require any new or used motorized vessel,
when sold, to bear warning stickers as to the danger of carbon
monoxide poisoning and boats, and require that certain informational
materials distributed by the Department of Motor Vehicles with
respect to renewals for boat registrations contain similar
information about the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning and boats.
The bill would make these latter 2 requirements regarding warning
stickers and informational materials operative on May 1, 2005.
The bill would permit the Department of Boating and Waterways to
use funds in the Harbors and Watercraft Revolving Fund appropriated
to the department to administer this act and to reimburse the
Department of Motor Vehicles for its costs to administer this act.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) Carbon monoxide (CO) is a potentially deadly gas that is
odorless, colorless, and tasteless and is found as a byproduct of
internal combustion engines. CO enters the bloodstream through the
lungs and displaces the oxygen needed by the body with a resulting
hypoxia (suffocating) of body tissues. Symptoms of CO poisoning
include rapid onset of headache, fatigue, nausea, dizziness,
confusion, convulsions, and death.
(b) Marine engines are not subject to the same federal and
state-mandated emission controls as automobiles and therefore have
been able to emit dangerously high CO concentrations into the
atmosphere, increasing the chance of exposure to potentially lethal
amounts of CO.
(c) Federal officials have found that CO can gather in deadly
concentrations behind ski boats, cabin cruisers, and even personal
watercraft due to their propulsion engines.
(d) Dangerous levels of CO are often around swim decks and areas
where occupants frequently sit or swim at the stern of the boat
because the exhaust ports for both propulsion engines and generators
are located nearby.
(e) The new trends of "teak surfing," "platform dragging," or
"bodysurfing" seem to have increased the number of these poisonings.
Victims can be overcome by carbon monoxide in a matter of minutes,
even when monitored by other boat occupants.
(f) The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
(NIOSH) within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),
the United States Department of the Interior, and the United States
Coast Guard have studied this issue extensively and have reported
that these poisonings have reached "epidemic proportions."
(g) These agencies have tracked 101 deaths and 402 poisonings
through October 2003, with 34 poisonings in California alone. These
numbers likely underreport the actual number of incidents because
many deaths may be misdiagnosed simply as a drowning.
(h) There is a lack of awareness and knowledge among recreational
boaters of the dangers of CO poisoning, which has resulted in many
deaths and injuries.
(i) Three California families have recently suffered a devastating
loss due to CO poisoning around boats. In May of 2003, 11-year old
Anthony Farr of El Dorado Hills died at Folsom Lake after being
overcome by carbon monoxide while bodysurfing behind a family friend'
s boat. In September of 2001, 62-year old Bruce Allen (Skip) Bauer
died while swimming near his boat at Lake Shasta. In July of 2000,
15-year old Stacy Beckett of Ontario died while platform dragging
behind a boat in Mexico. Many others have lost their lives or have
been poisoned in the same way around the country just in the last
three years.
SEC. 2. It is the intent of the Legislature to do all of the
following:
(a) Educate Californians and raise awareness about the dangers of
carbon monoxide poisoning while boating.
(b) Make it a crime to operate a motorized vessel, or have the
engine of a motorized vessel run idle, when someone is teak surfing,
bodysurfing, or platform dragging behind the motorized vessel, or
when someone is occupying or holding onto the swim platform, swim
deck, swim step, or swim ladder.
(c) Urge manufacturers of motorboats to invest in research and
development to do both of the following:
(1) Reduce the carbon monoxide emissions from their engines as
soon as possible.
(2) Design a motorboat that would better protect boaters from all
CO emissions.
SEC. 3. Article 1.5 (commencing with Section 680) is added to
Chapter 5 of Division 3 of the Harbors and Navigation Code, to read:
Article 1.5. Anthony Farr and Stacy Beckett Boating Safety Act
of 2004
680. This act shall be known as the Anthony Farr and Stacy
Beckett Boating Safety Act of 2004, and may be cited as Anthony and
Stacy's Law.
681. (a) It is unlawful to operate a motorized vessel or have the
engine of a motorized vessel run idle while an individual is teak
surfing, platform dragging, or bodysurfing behind the motorized
vessel.
(b) It is unlawful to operate a motorized vessel or have the
engine of a motorized vessel run idle while an individual is
occupying or holding onto the swim platform, swim deck, swim step, or
swim ladder of the vessel.
(c) Subdivision (b) does not apply when an individual is occupying
the swim platform, swim deck, swim step, or swim ladder for a very
brief period of time while assisting with the docking or departure of
the vessel, while exiting or entering the vessel, or while the
vessel is engaged in law enforcement or emergency rescue activity.
(d) "Teak surfing" or "platform dragging" means holding onto the
swim platform, swim deck, swim step, swim ladder, or any portion of
the exterior of the transom of a motorized vessel for any amount of
time while the motorized vessel is underway at any speed.
(e) "Bodysurfing" means swimming or floating on one's stomach or
on one's back on or in the wake directly behind a motorized vessel
that is underway.
(f) "Vessel" has the same meaning as set forth in subdivision (e)
of Section 775.5.
(g) A violation of this section is an infraction punishable by a
fine of up to one hundred dollars ($100). Nothing in this
subdivision shall be considered in relation to a suspension,
restriction, or delay of driving privileges, or in the determination
of a violation point count as provided in Section 12810 of the
Vehicle Code.
682. All state-sponsored boating safety courses and all boating
safety courses that require state approval by the Department of
Boating and Waterways shall incorporate information about the dangers
of being overcome by carbon monoxide poisoning at the stern of a
motorized vessel and how to prevent that poisoning.
683. (a) When a new or used motorized vessel is sold in
California, the two carbon monoxide poisoning warning stickers
developed by the Department of Boating and Waterways shall be placed
on the motorized vessel. The smaller sticker shall be placed in the
interior of the motorized vessel where it is immediately visible to
the person operating the motorized vessel the larger sticker shall be
placed facing out on the exterior of the stern or transom of the
motorized vessel, unless the motorized vessel is inflatable and the
sticker would not adhere to the surface of the stern.
(b) For a motorized vessel sold by a dealer, the dealer shall
ensure that both warning stickers have been affixed prior to the
completion of the transaction.
(c) For a motorized vessel sold by an individual, both stickers
shall be included by the Department of Motor Vehicles in the new
registration material provided to the new owner, and the new owner of
the motorized vessel shall be notified that he or she is required to
affix the smaller sticker in the interior of the motorized vessel
where it is immediately visible to the operator of the motorized
vessel and the larger sticker facing out on the exterior of the stern
or transom of the motorized vessel, unless the motorized vessel is
inflatable and the sticker would not adhere to the surface of the
stern.
(d) A warning sticker already developed by the boating
manufacturer may satisfy the requirements of this section if it has
been approved in advance by the Department of Boating and Waterways.
(e) This section shall become operative on May 1, 2005.
684. (a) The Department of Motor Vehicles shall insert the
Department of Boating and Waterways' informational brochure and
warning stickers about the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning and
boats into the registration renewal materials mailed by the
Department of Motor Vehicles to vessel owners for two consecutive
two-year registration cycles and, thereafter, upon the recommendation
of the Director of Boating and Waterways. These materials shall
instruct vessel owners to place the two stickers in the motorized
vessel so that the smaller sticker is visible to the person operating
the motorized vessel and the larger sticker is facing out on the
exterior of the stern or transom of the motorized vessel, unless the
motorized vessel is inflatable and the sticker would not adhere to
the surface of the stern.
(b) This section shall become operative on May 1, 2005.
685. The Department of Boating and Waterways pursuant to
subdivision (a) of Section 85.2 may use funds in the Harbors and
Watercraft Revolving Fund, created pursuant to Section 85, to
administer this chapter and to reimburse the Department of Motor
Vehicles for its costs to administer this chapter.
SEC. 4. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the
Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the
meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.
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