SB 0159

II. Creates a water access permit fee for 4 ½ years to fund programs relative to milfoil and other exotic aquatic weeds.

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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

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

1 Registration Fees Reduced; Uses Changed. Amend RSA 270-E:5, I to read as follows:

I. The registration fees for commercial, private, and pleasure vessels, including rentals and airboats shall be as follows:

2 Vessel Registration Fees; Fees Removed. RSA 270-E:5, II is repealed and reenacted to read as follows:

II. In addition to the fees required by paragraph I, there shall be the following registration fees:

(a) $1.50 for each registration processed by an authorized agent of the department who is not an employee of the department. The fees collected under this subparagraph shall be collected and retained by the authorized agent as compensation for processing the registration.

(b) $6 for each registration for tidal or coastal waters. $2 of the surcharge collected under this subparagraph shall be paid into the harbor dredging and pier maintenance fund established under RSA 12-G:46. The remaining $4 of the surcharge collected under this subparagraph shall be paid into the navigation safety fund established under RSA 270-E:6-a.

3 Vessel Registration Fees; Lake Restoration Fee Added; Fish and Game Search and Rescue Fund Fee Added. RSA 270-E:5, II is repealed and reenacted to read as follows:

II. In addition to the fees required by paragraph I there shall be the following registration fees:

(a) $2 for each registration specified in paragraph I. The fees collected under this subparagraph shall be paid into the lake restoration and preservation fund established under RSA 487:25.

(b) $1 for each registration required by this section. The fees collected under this subparagraph shall be paid into the fish and game search and rescue fund established under RSA 206:42.

(c) $1.50 for each registration processed by an authorized agent of the department who is not an employee of the department. The fees collected under this subparagraph shall be collected and retained by the authorized agent as compensation for processing the registration.

(d) $5 for each registration specified in paragraph I. The surcharge collected under this subparagraph shall be paid into the statewide public boat access fund established under RSA 233-A:13.

(e) $2 for each registration for tidal or coastal waters. The surcharge collected under this subparagraph shall be paid into the harbor dredging and pier maintenance fund established under RSA 12-G:46.

4 New Chapter; Water Access Permit. Amend RSA by inserting after chapter 270-E the following new chapter:

270-F:1 Statement of Purpose. It is the intent of the general court in this chapter to establish a water access permit system for all boats using the inland public waters of the state of New Hampshire. This chapter specifies which boats are subject to the permit fee, how these revenues are to be allocated and used, and how the water access permit decals are displayed.

IV. "Tender" means any small motorized vessel with less than a 5 horsepower engine and less than 9 feet in length, which is used primarily for transportation to and from a primary vessel to which it is registered.

V. "Vessel" means every description of watercraft, other than seaplanes, used or capable of being used as a means of transportation on water.

I. No person shall operate a vessel on any inland waters of the state unless the vessel displays a water access permit decal as required in this chapter or is exempt as provided in RSA 270-F:4.

II. The department shall furnish a water access permit decal to any person who meets the requirements. The decal shall be displayed on the vessel at all times. A person operating a vessel on any waters of the state without a water access permit shall be guilty of a violation.

III. Application for a water access permit shall be in such form and contain such information as the commissioner shall determine. The fees required by RSA 270-F:5 shall accompany the application.

IV. All water access permits issued under this chapter shall expire on December 31 next following the date of issuance unless sooner terminated by the department.

V. All records of the department made or kept pursuant to this chapter shall be public records.

VI. The department shall issue decals indicating the expiration of the permit. The water access permit decal shall be the same color as the annual registration decal.

VII. The commissioner may authorize any person to act as an agent of the department for the purpose of processing water access permit applications.

VIII. The department shall furnish joint water access permit decals to any person registering a primary vessel and a tender vessel.

270-F:4 Exemptions From Water Access Permit. The following vessels shall be exempt from water access permit requirements in this state:

I. Sailboats under 12 feet in length, rowboats and canoes powered by sail, oars, paddles, or other human power. Any vessel which has an inboard or outboard motor shall not be exempt from permit requirements except as provided in paragraph II.

270-F:5 Water Access Permit Fees. The permit fees for commercial, private, and pleasure vessels, including rentals and airboats shall be as follows:

I. $5 for each permit required by this section. The fees collected under this subparagraph shall be paid into the lake restoration and preservation fund established under RSA 487:25.

II. $1 for each permit required by this section. The fees collected under this subparagraph shall be paid into the fish and game search and rescue fund established under RSA 206:42.

III. $2 for each permit processed by an authorized agent of the department who is not an employee of the department. The fees collected under this subparagraph shall be collected and retained by the authorized agent as compensation for processing the permit.

IV. $5 for each permit required by this section. The surcharge collected under this subparagraph shall be paid into the statewide public boat access fund established under RSA 233-A:13.

V. $4 for each permit required by this section shall be paid into the navigation safety fund established under RSA 270-E:6-a.

270-F:6 Exemption From Permit Fees. Although required to acquire a permit under RSA 270-F:3, vessels owned or operated by the state or any subdivision thereof shall be exempt from permit fees.

270-F:7 Disposition of Revenues. All fines collected under this chapter and the amount of fees generated by RSA 270-F:5, V shall be deposited in the navigation safety fund established under RSA 270-E:6-a.

I. Every vessel requiring a water access permit in this state shall display the water access decal issued to the vessel permit process, unless the vessel is exempt under the provisions of RSA 270-F:9.

II. The owner shall attach the water access permit decal to each side of the forward half of the vessel above the waterline approximately three inches behind the registration decal.

III. This section shall be enforced only as a secondary action when the operator of a motorized vessel has been cited or charged with another violation.

IV. Any person who violates this section shall be issued a warning for a first offense and a violation for a second offense.

270-F:9 Exemptions From Displaying Decals. A vessel shall not be required to display a decal under this chapter if it is:

I. A vessel owned, or demise chartered, and operated by the United States government, except a recreational-type public vessel; or a vessel whose owner is a state or subdivision thereof, which is used primarily for governmental purposes, and which is clearly identifiable as such.

III. A vessel which is documented by the United States Coast Guard or its federal agency successor.

270-F:10 Rulemaking. The commissioner shall adopt rules pursuant to RSA 541-A relative to:

IV. All matters necessary for the issuance and revocation of authority to act as a boat agent for the department.

5 Lake Restoration and Preservation Fund; Funding from Water Access Permit Fee. Amend RSA 487:25, I to read as follows:

I. The fee of $5 collected under the provisions of [~~RSA 270-E:5, II(a)~~] RSA 270-F:5, I for each water access permit shall be paid to the director of the division of motor vehicles. The director of the division of motor vehicles shall pay over said fee to the state treasurer who shall keep the fee in a special fund to be expended by the department of environmental services. The department shall use $.50 of the fee for lake restoration and preservation measures, exclusive of exotic aquatic weed control, $1.50 of the fee for the control of exotic aquatic weeds, and $3 of the fee for the milfoil and other exotic aquatic plants prevention program. The department shall deposit the $3 into a special account within the lake restoration and preservation fund which shall be used to administer the milfoil and other exotic aquatic plants prevention program. The special fund shall be nonlapsing. All funds received under this section are continually appropriated to the department for the purposes of this subdivision.

6 Lake Restoration and Preservation Fund; Addition to Boat Fee. RSA 487:25, I is repealed and reenacted to read as follows:

I. The fee of $2 collected under the provisions of RSA 270-E:5, II(a) shall be paid to the director of the division of motor vehicles. The director of the division of motor vehicles shall pay over said fee to the state treasurer who shall keep the fee in a special fund to be expended by the department of environmental services. The department shall use $.50 of the fee for lake restoration and preservation measures, exclusive of exotic aquatic weed control, and $1.50 of the fee for the control of exotic aquatic weeds. The special fund shall be nonlapsing. All funds received under this section are continually appropriated to the department for the purposes of this subdivision.

7 Fish and Game Search and Rescue Fund; Water Access Permit Funding. Amend RSA 206:42 to read as follows:

206:42 Fish and Game Search and Rescue Fund. The additional fee of $1 collected under the provisions of [~~RSA 270-E:5, II(b)~~] RSA 270-F:5, II for each [~~private boat registered~~] water access permit and under RSA 215-A:23, X for each OHRV registered shall be paid over to the state treasurer who shall keep such fees in a special fund to be expended by the fish and game department for use in search and rescue operations. The special fund shall be nonlapsing. All funds received under this subdivision are continually appropriated to the fish and game department for the purposes of this subdivision. The fish and game department shall report to the fiscal committee on a quarterly basis beginning on October 1, 1989, on the expenditures made from the fund.

8 Fish and Game Search and Rescue Fund; Addition to Vessel Registration Fee. Amend RSA 206:42 to read as follows:

206:42 Fish and Game Search and Rescue Fund. The additional fee of $1 collected under the provisions of [~~RSA 270-F:5, II~~] RSA 270-E:5, II(b) for each [~~water access permit~~] private boat registered and under RSA 215-A:23, X for each OHRV registered shall be paid over to the state treasurer who shall keep such fees in a special fund to be expended by the fish and game department for use in search and rescue operations. The special fund shall be nonlapsing. All funds received under this subdivision are continually appropriated to the fish and game department for the purposes of this subdivision. The fish and game department shall report to the fiscal committee on a quarterly basis beginning on October 1, 1989, on the expenditures made from the fund.

9 Statewide Public Boat Access; Funded by Water Access Permit. Amend RSA 233-A:13 to read as follows:

233-A:13 Statewide Public Boat Access Fund Established. There is hereby established a nonlapsing statewide public boat access fund. The $5 [~~boat registration surcharge~~] water access permit collected pursuant to [~~RSA 270-E:5, II(d)~~] RSA 270-F:5, IV and any other public access funds donated to the state shall be placed in this fund. All funds received under this section are continually appropriated to the fish and game department for the purposes of the statewide public boat access program established under this chapter.

10 Statewide Public Boat Access; Funded by Vessel Registration Fee. Amend RSA 233-A:13 to read as follows:

233-A:13 Statewide Public Boat Access Fund Established. There is hereby established a nonlapsing statewide public boat access fund. The $5 [~~water access permit~~] boat registration surcharge collected pursuant to [~~RSA 270-F:5, IV~~] RSA 270-E:5, II(d) and any other public access funds donated to the state shall be placed in this fund. All funds received under this section are continually appropriated to the fish and game department for the purposes of the statewide public boat access program established under this chapter.

11 Public Boat Access Fee Source Change. Amend RSA 6:12, I (xx) to read as follows:

(xx) Moneys received under RSA 233-A:13 and [~~RSA 270-E:5, II(d)~~] RSA 270-F:5, IV which shall be credited to the statewide public boat access fund established in RSA 233-A:13.

12 Public Boat Access Fee Source Restored to Vessel Registrations. Amend RSA 6:12, I(xx) to read as follows:

(xx) Moneys received under RSA 233-A:13 and [~~RSA 270-F:5, IV~~] RSA 270-E:5, II(d) which shall be credited to the statewide public boat access fund established in RSA 233-A:13.

I. Except as provided in paragraph II, all fines collected under this chapter and the amount of fees generated by RSA 270-E:5, I and III and $4 of each fee generated by RSA 270-E:5, II(b) shall be deposited in the navigation safety fund established under RSA 270-E:6-a.

II. All fees collected under RSA 270-E:5, I and III and $4 of each fee generated by RSA 270-E:5, II(b) for vessels registered for tidal and coastal waters shall be made available to the Pease development authority, division of ports and harbors for the purposes of safety, navigation, training, and administration. Such sums shall be nonlapsing and shall be continually appropriated to the Pease development authority, division of ports and harbors.

I. Except as provided in paragraph II, all fines collected under this chapter and the amount of fees generated by RSA 270-E:5, I and III shall be deposited in the navigation safety fund established under RSA 270-E:6-a.

II. All fees collected under RSA 270-E:5, I and III for vessels registered for tidal and coastal waters shall be made available to the Pease development authority, division of ports and harbors for the purposes of safety, navigation, training, and administration. Such sums shall be nonlapsing and shall be continually appropriated to the Pease development authority, division of ports and harbors.

I. Sections 3, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, and 15 of this act shall take effect January 1, 2008.

The Department of Safety states this bill creates a water access permit fee to fund programs relative to milfoil and other exotic weeds. The access permit fee will be created from splitting what is now the boat registration fee into a new boat registration fee and the new boat access fee. The new boat registration fee will be only the portion of the old registration fee that went to the navigation safety fund, less $4 per vessel. This registration will still be distributed to the navigation safety fund. The new boat access fee will be the remainder of the old registration fee and will be distributed to the individual funds in the same proportion as the present fee, plus the above $4 reduction that will be distributed to the navigation safety fund. Any increase in state revenue will be from vessels that are registered from out-of-state and are used on the inland waters of New Hampshire. The Department has no statistics on the number of boats in this category, and therefore, cannot estimate the increase in revenue that these additional access fees will generate. Also, assuming that the cost of producing and processing each access permit is $1 per boat, the navigation safety fund expenditures will increase by $1 times the total number of permits issued. The Department believes while the amount cannot be determined, the amount has the potential to be significant. In addition to the above expenditure increase, the navigation safety fund revenue will increase by $4 per coastal or tidal vessel, times 4,375, or $17,500.

The Fish & Game Department states that search and rescue/public boat access money would be generated from the water access permits for the next 4 1/2 years and then from the boat registration fees. The Department assumes residents and nonresidents will be required to obtain the water access permit, but the additional revenue will come from the nonresident purchasers.

The Department of Environmental Services (DES) states that based on Lake Host Survey results, the estimated number of out-of-state boats using New Hampshire water is 18,000 per year. Since the amount of funding derived from the permit fee to be transferred to DES lake restoration and preservation is $5, there is a potential $90,000 increase from this fee. The Department further states that all revenues will supplement existing programs for exotic plant education, prevention grants, exotic plant management contracts and personnel.

The Pease Development Authority (PDA) states this bill will have no fiscal impact on the PDA-Division of Ports and Harbors.