ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, February 20, 1997 TAG: 9702200054
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-3 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: Outdoors
SOURCE: BILL COCHRAN
The Virginia General Assembly has handled 13 pieces of boating legislation this session, choosing to torpedo most of it, which is fortunate for boaters.
Among the dead:
* A bill that called for mandatory training for operators of personal watercraft.
* House and Senate bills that would have set minimum ages for boat operators.
* A bill that would require boaters under age 12 to wear a life jacket.
``Boating seems to be a growing issue; a growing concern,'' said Larry Hart, the assistant director of the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries in charge of boating.
The best thing legislators have done for boaters this session is pass a joint resolution that calls for a study of mandatory boating education. Should Virginia require boaters to complete a safety course before operating a craft, as is the case in at least 18 other states? Or should boating education continue to be emphasized through voluntary involvement in courses sponsored by concerned citizens?
With the resolution, legislators have asked the game and fish department to come up with the answer in time for the 1998 session, Hart said.
At first, that task was given to a joint legislative subcommittee, then it was switched to the game and fish department, where it belongs. The department is the state agency charged with boating regulations, safety and enforcement, yet there are legislators and organizations who insist on bypassing the experts by taking matters directly to the General Assembly.
Hart expects his agency to give either a ``Yes'' or ``No'' to the mandatory education question. It also likely will address some of the other boating issues that were discussed but discarded this session.
Mandatory training or licensing of boaters likely will be a hot issue next session - as it was during this one - no matter what kind of endorsement the game and fish department gives it. The Virginia B.A.S.S. Federation is on record in favor of licensing.
When mandatory training was being debated at Smith Mountain Lake last year, the Virginia B.A.S.S. Federation stated, ``We support the concept of boat operating licensing with the mandatory education.'' The organization opposed what it saw as an attempt by the Smith Mountain Lake Association to force the issue on boaters across the state without consulting the game and fish department.
Still alive in the General Assembly:
* A bill that would allow localities to establish ``No Wake'' zones where they deem necessary to address safety or erosion problems. The task now falls under the direction of the game and fish department.
* A bill that establishes guidelines on how dealers and manufacturers deal with boat warranties.
* A bill that would let localities establish speed limits for personal watercraft.
* A bill that would eliminate the need to purchase a permit from the game and fish department in order to hold a fishing tournament or boat regatta.
* A bill that would extend the 2 percent boat titling tax to motorboats under 15 feet and powered by less than 25 horsepower. Purchasers of such craft now pay a 4.5 percent sales tax rather than a titling tax. The bill would channel the 2 percent tax into boating programs.
LENGTH: Medium: 66 lines KEYWORDS: GENERAL ASSEMBLY 1997by CNB