2003 SESSION

03-0099

03/10

SENATE BILL 106

COMMITTEE: Wildlife and Recreation

ANALYSIS

This bill:

I. Includes personal watercraft, as defined in the bill, in the laws which generally regulate the operation of ski craft.

II. Makes applicable within 150 feet of shore on a lake or pond those restrictions on the operation of ski craft that currently apply within 300 feet of shore.

III. Establishes an exemption from restrictions and prohibitions on the operation of ski craft and personal watercraft for emergency personnel.

IV. Establishes a personal watercraft and ski craft appeals board.

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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.

Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]

Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

03-0099

03/10

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Three

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

1 Supervision of Navigation; Ski Craft; Personal Watercraft Added. Amend the subdivision heading preceding RSA 270:73 to read as follows:

Ski Craft and Personal Watercraft

2 Supervision of Navigation: Ski Craft; Personal Watercraft Added. Amend RSA 270:73-74-b to read as follows:

270:73 Definitions. In this subdivision:

I. "Bureau" means the department of safety, bureau of hearings, established pursuant to RSA 21-P:13.

II. "Department" means the department of safety.

II-a. "Emergency personnel" means members of local police departments, the state police, marine patrol, the sheriff's department, fire companies and departments, and emergency medical services units.

III. "Operator" means a person who operates or who has charge of the navigation or use of a ski craft or personal watercraft.

III-a. "Personal watercraft" means a vessel 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 or persons sitting, standing, or kneeling on the vessel, rather than the conventional manner of sitting or standing inside the vessel. "Personal watercraft" shall include ski craft as defined in RSA 270:73, V.

IV. "Private boat" means a boat as defined in RSA 270:2, V, including a ski craft or personal watercraft.

V. "Ski craft" means any motorized watercraft or private boat which is less than 13 feet in length as manufactured, is capable of exceeding a speed of 20 miles per hour, and has the capacity to carry not more than the operator and one other person while in operation. The term includes a jet ski, surf ski, fun ski, or other similar device.

VI. "Watercraft" means a motorized ski craft or personal watercraft, capable of being used as a means of transportation on or in the water, except a seaplane.

270:74 Operation of Ski Craft or Personal Watercraft.

I. No person shall operate a ski craft on any lake, pond, or river unless the person is 16 years of age or older.

II. No person shall operate a ski craft or personal watercraft on any lake, pond, or river between the hours of sunset and sunrise.

III. No person shall operate a ski craft or personal watercraft unless [he] the person is wearing a personal floatation device which is Coast Guard approved type 1, 2, or 3.

IV. No person shall operate a ski craft on a lake, pond, or river, or area thereof, on which the operation of ski craft is prohibited by law.

IV-a. No person shall operate a personal watercraft on a lake, pond, or river, or area thereof, on which the operation of personal watercraft is prohibited by law.

V. No person shall operate a ski craft on a lake, pond, or river, or area thereof, on which the operation of ski craft is prohibited as a result of a hearing pursuant to RSA 270:74-a.

V-a. No person shall operate a personal watercraft on a lake, pond, or river, or area thereof, on which the operation of personal watercraft is prohibited as a result of a hearing pursuant to RSA 270:74-a.

VI. No person shall operate a ski craft or personal watercraft on a lake, pond, or river, or area thereof, in violation of a restriction imposed pursuant to RSA 270:74-a.

VII. No person shall operate a ski craft or personal watercraft within 150 feet of another ski craft or personal watercraft, or of a boat, raft, float, or swimmer unless the speed of the ski craft or personal watercraft is reduced to headway speed. No person shall operate a ski craft or personal watercraft in a cove, as designated by the commissioner, within 300 feet of shore on a river, or within [300] 150 feet of shore on a lake or pond, except as provided in [paragraph] paragraphs VIII and VIII-a [or pursuant to RSA 270:74-a, V]. For the purpose of this paragraph "cove" is defined as a bay or inlet which at its widest point does not exceed 1,000 linear feet.

VIII. A person may operate a ski craft from the shore to any area where the operation of ski craft is allowed, provided that the ski craft shall not be operated at a speed exceeding headway speed within [300] 150 feet from shore on a lake or pond or within 300 feet from shore on a river, or in a cove as defined in RSA 270:74, VII, and provided that the ski craft shall be operated in a direct line between the shore and the area where operation is allowed.

VIII-a. A person may operate a personal watercraft from the shore to any area where the operation of personal watercraft is allowed, provided that the personal watercraft shall not be operated at a speed exceeding headway speed within 150 feet from shore on a lake or pond or within 300 feet from shore on a river, or in a cove as defined in RSA 270:74, VII, and provided that the personal watercraft shall be operated in a direct line between the shore and the area where operation is allowed.

IX. A person may operate a ski craft or personal watercraft on the lakes, ponds, and rivers of the state except in areas which are prohibited by the department and those lakes, ponds, and rivers specifically prohibited by RSA 270:75-[109]130 and other legislative acts.

X. A person who violates any of the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a violation.

XI. Emergency personnel who operate a ski craft or personal watercraft when responding to an emergency call or in pursuit of an actual or suspected violator of the law shall be exempt from restrictions or prohibitions imposed pursuant to RSA 270:74-a, RSA 270:75-130, or any other law.

270:74-a Hearings.

I. The commissioner shall adopt rules pursuant to RSA 541-A establishing procedures for the public hearing process contained in this section. For the purposes of adopting the initial set of rules required by this section the commissioner shall be authorized to adopt emergency rules as provided in RSA 541-A:18.

II. Any group of [10] 25 or more residents or property owners of a town in which a lake, pond, or river is located may petition the commissioner to prohibit or restrict the use of ski craft or personal watercraft on the lake, pond, or river, or a portion thereof. Once ski craft or personal watercraft have been prohibited or restricted on a lake, pond, or river, or portion thereof, pursuant to this section, [for at least one year such] a group of residents or property owners may not petition to allow the use of ski craft or personal watercraft on the lake, pond, or river, or a portion thereof until at least one year after the effective date of the prohibition or restriction.

III. The commissioner shall hold a public hearing to determine whether to grant or deny a petition submitted pursuant to paragraph II. In determining whether to grant the petition, the commissioner shall take into consideration the following factors:

(a) The impact of ski craft or personal watercraft on the environment, the shoreline, and wildlife.

(b) The surface area of the lake, pond, or river being considered.

(c) The use or uses which have been established on the lake, pond, or river.

(d) The depth of the water.

(e) The amount of water-borne traffic.

(f) The necessity of ensuring access to and use of the lake, pond, or river for all individuals and the right of those individuals to appropriate use of the public waters.

(g) Whether a determination is necessary to ensure the safety of persons and property.

IV. The commissioner shall hear all petitions as soon as possible after they are submitted. [The commissioner shall give priority to hearing first the petitions submitted on behalf of lakes, ponds, or rivers itemized in section 3 of this act and lakes, ponds, or rivers which are generally considered to have problems with the operation of ski craft as evidenced by the number of complaints submitted.] The commissioner may grant, grant with modification, or deny the petition. A decision shall be rendered within 30 days after the hearing. If a body of water is closed in its entirety as a result of a hearing pursuant to this paragraph, the effective date of such closing shall be no sooner than October 1, of the year in which the order is issued.

V. [In response to a petition submitted concerning a lake, pond, or river, or portion thereof, the shoreline of which is uninhabited, the commissioner may allow the operation of ski craft as close as 150 feet from the shore.

VI.] Any person aggrieved by a decision of the commissioner pursuant to this section may appeal to the [commissioner] personal watercraft and ski craft appeals board for a review of the record and may appeal from such decision pursuant to RSA 541.

[VII.] VI. Any prohibition or restriction on the use of ski craft or personal watercraft on a lake, pond, or river, or portion thereof, imposed pursuant to this section shall have the full force and effect as if enacted as law.

[VIII.] VII. The commissioner shall post any lake, pond, or river, or portion thereof, from which ski craft or personal watercraft are prohibited or restricted pursuant to this section.

270:74-b Reckless Operation of Ski Craft or Personal Watercraft; Modification of Muffler or Engine Prohibited.

I. In addition to the provisions of RSA 270:29-a, no person shall operate a ski craft or personal watercraft in a careless or negligent manner, or in a manner which unreasonably or unnecessarily endangers life, limb, or property, including but not limited to, weaving through congested watercraft traffic and swerving at the last moment to avoid collision. Any person who violates this paragraph shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.

II. In addition to the provisions of RSA 270:40, no person shall modify or alter the muffler system or engine of ski craft or personal watercraft so as to exceed the noise levels prescribed in RSA 270:37. Any person who violates the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a violation.

270:74-c Personal Watercraft and Ski Craft Appeals Board.

I. There is hereby established a personal watercraft and ski craft appeals board which shall hear and decide appeals of any decisions made under RSA 270:74-a. The personal watercraft and ski craft appeals board shall conduct its hearings according to provisions of RSA 541-A for adjudicative proceedings. The personal watercraft and ski craft appeals board shall consist of 3 persons to be appointed by the governor and council for terms of 3 years each. The initial appointments to the board shall be in staggered terms as determined by the governor and council. The board shall be composed of one member of the New Hampshire Marine Trades Association at the time of appointment, and one member of the New Hampshire Lakes Association at the time of appointment, and one member of the public nominated jointly by the New Hampshire Marine Trades Association and the New Hampshire Lakes Association.

II. Upon hearing the appeal, the burden of proof shall be upon the party seeking to set aside any order or decision of the commissioner to show that the same is unjust or unreasonable, and all findings of the commissioner upon all questions of fact properly before the commission shall be deemed to be prima facie lawful and reasonable; and the order or decision appealed from shall not be set aside or vacated unless the appeals board is satisfied, by a clear preponderance of the evidence before it, that such order is unjust or unreasonable.

III. The provisions of this section shall not preclude parties an appeal under RSA 541.

3 Applicability. Any restriction or prohibition on the operation of ski craft established by statute or administrative rule in effect on the effective date of this act shall remain in effect until such statute is repealed or amended or such rule is superceded or expired, and shall apply only to the use of ski craft, as defined in RSA 270:73, V, and not to any other type of personal watercraft defined in RSA 270:73, III-a, on the waters of this state.

4 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.