HB 1045  - AS INTRODUCED

 

 

2024 SESSION

24-2509

11/05

 

HOUSE BILL 1045

 

AN ACT relative to requiring a powerboat operator to wear an engine cut-off switch (ECOS) while operating certain powerboats traveling over headway speed.

 

SPONSORS: Rep. J. MacDonald, Carr. 6; Rep. Crawford, Carr. 3; Rep. R. Brown, Carr. 3; Rep. Rung, Hills. 12

 

COMMITTEE: Resources, Recreation and Development

 

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ANALYSIS

 

This bill requires a powerboat operator to wear an engine cut-off switch (ECOS) while operating certain powerboats traveling over headway speed.

 

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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

24-2509

11/05

 

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

 

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty Four

 

AN ACT relative to requiring a powerboat operator to wear an engine cut-off switch (ECOS) while operating certain powerboats traveling over headway speed.

 

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

 

1  New Section; Powerboat Engine Cut-Off Switch.  Amend RSA 270 by inserting after section 30-c the following new section:

270:30-d  Powerboat Engine Cut-Off Switch.

I.(a)  "Engine cut-off switch (ECOS)" means a system of lanyards, electronic switches, fobs, or similar devices manufactured specifically for the purpose of disabling propulsion or a vessel engine when the operator is unexpectedly displaced from the vessel's helm.

(b)  "Headway speed" means the slowest speed that a boat can be operated and maintain steerage way.

(c)  "Enclosed cabin" means a space on board a vessel that is surrounded by bulkheads and covered by a roof.

II.  No person shall operate a powerboat less than 26 feet long, or outboard engine with greater than 115 pounds of thrust or 3 horsepower, at greater than headway speed unless the person is wearing an ECOS.

III.  Paragraph II shall not apply if:

(a)  The main helm of the vessel is installed within an enclosed cabin.

(b)  The vessel or outboard engine was manufactured prior to 2020 and was not equipped with an ECOS.

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