Conference vicki::boats

Third Draft

An Act Relative to Boat Registration.

Chapter 270-D  VESSEL REGISTRATION & NUMBERING

Definitions.

I. "Airboat" means any shallow-draft vessel propelled by an airplane propeller
and steered by an airplane rudder or any vessel, including a hovercraft, which
is designed to travel on a cushion of air on or within 2 feet of the water, not
including any mechanical device which also functions as an airplane.

II. "Commercial vessel" means:

	a) Any vessel used as a common carrier of passengers or property
	operating on a regular schedule; or
	
	b) Any vessel propelled by electric or mechanical power carrying
	passengers for hire; or
  
        c) Any such vessel or outboard motor when rented either separately or
	in connection with camps, cottages, or other real estate; provided,
	however, any applicant applying for a commercial vessel registration
	pursuant to this subparagraph shall certify that said application is
	bona fide and that the applicant does in fact rent the vessel or
	outboard motor on a regular commercial basis either separately or in
	connection with the camp, cottage or other real estate under penalty of
	perjury. The commissioner shall be the sole judge of whether or not the
	applicant qualifies for a commercial vessel registration pursuant to
	this subparagraph; or

	d) Any such vessel or outboard motor used by the proprietor of any
	school or camp in which minors are received for compensation, or any
	officer, agent or employee of such proprietor for the transportation of
	minors. 

III. "Commissioner" means the commissioner of the department of safety.

IV.  " Common Carrier" means any person who undertakes, directly, or by his
agent or under a lease or any other arrangement, to transport passengers or
property on the public waters of the state operating on a regular schedule, for
compensation.

V. "Department" means the department of safety.

VI. "Documented vessel or motorboat" means a vessel or motorboat for which a
certification of documentation has been issued by the US Coast Guard.	

VII. "Manufacturer or dealer" means any person engaged in the business of
manufacturing or dealing in vessels of outboard motors.

VII. "Motorboat" means a watercraft of any size equipped with propelling
machinery, whether or not the machinery is the principal source of propulsion.

IX. "Numbers and numbering" means the appropriate number and the process of
issuing identification numbers and a number certificate for a vessel or
motorboat.

X. "Private Vessel" means any vessel, not a commercial vessel, propelled by
electric, human or mechanical power used exclusively for pleasure purposes by
its owner, or others with the owners permission.

XI. "State of principal use" means the state on whose waters a vessel is used,
or to be used, the most during the calendar year.

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

270-D:2 Registration Required. 

I. No person shall operate a vessel on any waters of the state, including tidal
and coastal waters and all inland waters, unless the vessel is registered as
required in this chapter or is exempt as provided in RSA 270-D:3.

II. The department shall furnish a registration certificate or temporary
registration certificate and a vessel number to any person who meets the
registration requirements. The certificate shall be kept upon the vessel at all
times it is being operated and the certificate shall be open to examination by
any duly authorized representative of the department, peace officer, fish &
game officer, member of the coast guard auxiliary or representative of the
port authority upon request. A person who refuses to produce the certificate
upon request or who fails to keep the certificate on the vessel shall be guilty
of a violation.

III. Application for registration shall be in such form and contain such
information as the commissioner shall determine and the fees required by RSA
270-D:4, shall accompany the following question and statement: "If the boat
with temporary or permanent sleeping and toilet facilities (houseboat) and it
will be moored at one location in New Hampshire, state where it will be moored?
Otherwise, notification of places of mooring of houseboat to NH division of
water supply and pollution control is required in accordance with the
provisions of RSA 270-A."

IV. Every application for the registration of a vessel subject to the boat fee
imposed by RSA 72-A:2 shall be accompanied by a receipt showing the payment of
the fee or the fee required by RSA 72-A:2.

V. All registrations issued under this chapter shall expire on December 31st
next following the date of issuance unless sooner terminated by the department.

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

VII. The department shall issue decals consistent with the federal vessel
numbering system indicating the expiration of the registration.

VIII. The commissioner may authorize any person to act as an agent of the
department for the purpose of processing registration applications.

270-D:3 Exemptions for Registration. 

The following vessels shall be exempt from registration in this state:

I. Sailboats under 12 feet in length, and any vessel that is only powered by
sail, oars, or paddles. Any vessel which had an inboard or outboard motor shall
not be exempt form registration except as provided in paragraph II.

II. Vessels registered in another state or county temporarily using the waters
of this state for not more than 60 collective days.

270-D:4 Registration Fees. 

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

	1) Up to and including 16 feet	$12
	2) 16.1 feet to 21 feet		$17
	3) 21.1 feet to 30 feet		$26
	4) 30.1 feet to 45 feet		$36
	5) 45.1 feet and over		$46

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

	a) $0.50 for each registration specified in paragraph I. The fees
	collected under this subparagraph shall be paid into the exotic weed 
	control fund established under RSA 149-F:5.

	b) $1 for each registration required by this section. The fees
	collected under this subparagraph shall be paid into the fish & 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 as compensation for
	processing the registration.

III. A vessel manufacturer or dealer, or person engaged in vessel repair
maintenance shall pay $5 to the department for an initial registration
certificate, and $3 for each additional registration certificate.

270-D:5 Exception from registration Fees. Although required to register under
RSA 270-D:2, vessels owned or operated by the federal government or the state
or any subdivision thereof shall be exempt from registration fees.

270-D:6 Disposition of Revenues.

I. Except as provided in paragraph II, all fines collected under this chapter,
all sums received from the state treasurer on account of the unrefunded motor
vehicle road tolls, and the amount of fees generated by the prior fee schedule
under RSA 270-D:4 shall be made available to the department of safety, division
of safety services for the promotion of the safety of navigation and the
administration and enforcement of this chapter.

II. The balance of the registration fees received, including the increased
amount generated by the fee schedule under RSA 270-D:4 shall be deposited in
the general fund.

270-D:7 Display of Numbers Required. 

I. Every vessel required to be registered in this state shall display the
vessel numbers issued to the vessel as part of the registration process unless
the vessel is exempt under the provisions of RSA 270-D:8

II. The owner shall paint on, attach or otherwise display to each side of the
forward half of the vessel the numbers assigned by the department not less that
3 inches in height, with block letters of contrasting color, and they shall be
clearly readable when the vessel is being operated. The numbers shall be
maintained in legible condition. No numbers other than the numbers validly
assigned to a vessel shall be painted, attached or otherwise displayed on wither
side of the forward half of such vessel.

III. Any person who operated a vessel on the inland or tidal and coastal waters
of this state without the vessel numbers, and the decal required by this
chapter in the manner required by this chapter, unless exempt under the
provisions of RSA 270-D:8, shall be guilty of a violation for a first offense
and a misdemeanor for a second offense.

270-D:8 Exemption from Numbering Provisions.

I. A vessel shall not be required or display a number under this chapter if it
is:
	a) Covered by a certificate of numbers in full force and effect which
	has been issued to it pursuant to federal law or a federally approved 
	numbering systems of another state.

 	b) A foreign vessel temporarily using waters subject to US jurisdiction.

	c) A vessel owned, or demise chartered, and operated by the US
	government, except a recreational-type public vessel; or a vessel whose
	owner is a state or subdivision thereof, which is clearly identifiable
	as such.

	d) A vessel's lifeboat.

	e) A vessel which is documented by the US Coast Guard or its federal
	agency successor.

        f) A vessel which is being operated under a temporary certificate.

	g) A non-documented vessel used exclusively for racing events.

	h) A sailboat under 20 feet in length, or any vessel that is only
	powered by oars or paddles. Any vessel which had an inboard or outboard
	motor shall be exempt form displaying a number except as other wise
        provided in this section.

II. A vessel which is exempt for displaying a number but which is otherwise
required to be registered in this state shall display a decal by the state.

270-D:9 Notice of Transfer, Destruction or Abandonment. The owner shall
furnish the department written notice of the transfer of all or any part of
his interest, other than the creation of a security interest, in a vessel
registered in this state pursuant to this chapter or the destruction or
abandonment of such vessel within 15 days of its transfer, destruction or
abandonment. Such transfer, destruction or abandonment shall terminate the
certificate of numbers for such vessel, except that in the case of a transfer of
a part interest which does no affect the owner's rights to operate such vessel
the transfer shall not terminate the certificate of numbers. If a vessel is
transferred, the original number shall be retained by the new owner. A person
who transfers the ownership of a vessel, upon filing a new application, may
have another boat registration in his name for the remainder of the period for
which the vessel is registered for $3.

270-D:10 Change of Address. Any person who had a vessel registered in this
state shall notify the department in writing within 15 days if his address no
longer conforms to the address appearing on the certificate and shall, as a
part of the notification, furnish the department with the new address.

270-D:13 Temporary Registration. A person desiring to register a vessel shall
apply for registration and pay the required boat fee and registration fee to
the department or an agent of the department. Upon receipt of such application
and fees, the department or agent of the department shall issue to the
purchaser a receipt for such payment and a decal. The decal issued shall be
attached to the vessel. The decal shall be evidence that application has been
made for registration and such vessel or motor may be operated for a period
of not more than 30 consecutive days thereafter. Permanent numbers when
received shall be attached immediately by the applicant.

270-D:16 Revocation of registration. In addition to any other authority
provided by law, the commissioner is hereby authorized to revoke or suspend any
registration issued pursuant to this chapter upon a showing that:

I. The owner has violated any provision of this chapter, RSA 270, RSA 270-A,
RSA 270-B, or any rules adopted under these chapters, or had allowed another
person to violate any of these laws or rules.

II. The owner had failed to pay a property tax on the vessel.

III. The owner is physically or mentally an improper or incompetent person to
operate a vessel or is operating improperly or so as to endanger the public.

IV. The owner had defaulted in a court summons arising form a violation of
boating laws or rules.

270-D:22  License Fees. There shall be paid to the commissioner for every
general certificate of captain, master, pilot or engineer, $4; and for every
limited certificate of captain, master, pilot or engineer, $2. A general
certificate shall entitle the holder thereof to act in the capacity names on
any vessel of the class described in the certificate; a limited certificate
shall entitle him to act in such a capacity only on a particular vessel names
on the certificate. Only one certificate shall be required to entitle the holder
thereof to act in any or all of the above capacities on any motorized vessel
permitted to carry a maximum of 25 persons.

2. Boat Fee; Exemptions RSA 72-A:2 is repealed and reenacted to read as
follows:

72-A:2 Boat Fee. A boat fee is hereby imposed on all boats, including all
commercial boats and all privately owned pleasure boats, except boats in the
following exempt categories:
	
	I. All boats under 10 feet in length, including ski craft as defined
	under 10 feet in length.

	II. Canoes, kayaks, towboats, sailboats under 20 feet in length,
	sailboards and sailing canoes.

3. Boat Fees. RSA 72-A:3 is repealed and reenacted to read as follows:

	I. The boat fee shall be as indicated in the following chart:

length		motor	new	1 year	 2 year	 3 year	 4 year or older

a) Cruisers:
up to 24	single	112.80	75.20	56.40	37.60	18.80
up to 24        twin	139.20	92.80	69.60	46.40	23.20
<remainder omitted>


b) Inboard Runabouts:

10 - 16			49.44	32.96	24.72	16.48	10.00
17.1 - 20		75.84	50.56	37.92	25.28	12.64
20.1 - 24	       119.04	79.36	59.52	39.68	19.84
24.1 - 28	       188.64  125.76	94.32	62.88	31.44
28.1 - 32	       320.16  213.44  160.08  106.72	53.56
<remainder omitted>

c) Outboard w/motor

12.1 - 16 /10.1 - 50hp	19.44	12.96	10.00	10.00	10.00
12.1 - 16 /50.1 over	45.36	30.24	22.68	15.12	10.00
16.1 - 18 /10.1 - 50	23.76	15.84	11.88	10.00	10.00
16.1 - 18 /50.1 - 100	34.08	22.72	17.04	11.36	10.00
16.1 - 18 /100.1 over	60.00	40.00	30.00	20.00	10.00
18.1 - 22 /up to 100	78.24	52.16	39.12	26.08	13.04
18.1 - 22 /100.1 - 175	88.80	59.20	44.40	29.60	14.80
18.1 - 22 /175.1 over  107.84	71.84	53.88	35.92	17.96
22.1 - 26 /up to 175   128.64	85.76	64.32	42.88	21.44
22.1 - 26 /175.1 - 300 147.84	98.56	73.92	49.28	24.64
22.1 - 26 /300.1 over  182.40  121.60	91.20	60.80	30.40
<remainder omitted>

d) Pontoon & Houseboats <omitted>
e) Sailboats <omitted>		

II. The minimum boat fee shall be $10.

III. The year of manufacture shall be the base year in determining the age 
of a boat pursuant to this section.

IV. Where reference is made in this section to horsepower (HP), it shall be
considered to be shaft horsepower.

V. The designation I/B shall stand for inboard motor, O/B for outboard motor
and I/O for inboard/outboard as used in this section.

I've omitted the details of the following chapters as they do not pertain to 
pleasure boaters.

270-D:11 Commissioner's rulemaking jurisdiction
270-D:12 Dealer's Registration
270-D:14 Suspension of Dealer's Registration
270-D:15 Repair Numbers
270-D:17-20 Common Carriers
270-D:21 Commercial Vessels, penalties

    The effective date for this act is January 1, 1991.

    
    
    
    
                         LIVE FREE OR DIE?
    
    
    This new reciprocal lic. is going to eliminate a lot of boaters from
    N.H. I wonder how all the businesses who profit from tourists/boaters
    are going to react to it?
    
    If I did not misread the last part? It imposes a yearly usage tax on
    ALL boats in N.H. state (inland/coastal) waters. This means that they
    can tax a person cruising from MA to Me. along the coast and people who 
    go interstate on lakes,rivers,ponds. ie: Monomomack, Long Pond,
    Merrimack Ri. ect....
    
    Not-A-Lot of Happy Campers with this one!
    
                                       Walt
    

    I dunno Walt - I read .3 that says I'm exempt from all registration
    IF I am registered in another state (I am) and IF I don't use NH
    water more that 60 collective days.
    
    Now my question is; How long do they "collect" the 60 days? Per year,
    or over life? How are the gonna keep track that in 1991 I did 1 weekend
    in Winni, 1 weekend at Newfound and 1 weekend in Rumney, (that's ~10
    days a year) and then repeated this for 6 years, so that in Spring
    of 1997 I not exempt anymore? 
    
    Do I read .3 correctly? I don't have to register as of 1/91?

    re collective days
    
270-D:2 
    V. All registrations issued under this chapter shall expire on December 31st
       next following the date of issuance unless sooner terminated by the 
       department.
    
    If all registrations expire at the end of the year, couldn't we assume
    that the qulification for exemption (the collective days) would also 
    expire at the end of the year? 
    
    Gail

    

>>    This new reciprocal lic. is going to eliminate a lot of boaters from
>>    N.H. I wonder how all the businesses who profit from tourists/boaters
>>    are going to react to it?
    
    Walt, becoming reciprocal will not eliminate any boaters at all.  It
    will do just the opposite - it will allow out-of-state boats to come to
    NH without having to pay an additional fee.   The only buisnesses that
    should "suffer" will be the marinas who sell the current secondary use
    stickers - they will not be selling these and therefore not getting a
    cut of the action.    
    
    For out-of-staters this will allow them to come to NH without paying an
    additional fee.  For NHerites it will allow us to take out boats to
    other states.  Currently there is NO legal way for a NH resident who
    registers their boat primarily in NH to take their boat in Mass inland 
    waters.  
    
    donmac

    donmac,
    
    >                Currently there is NO legal way for a NH resident who
    > registers their boat primarily in NH to take their boat in Mass inland 
    > waters.  
    
    Except for you to register in Mass. as a Mass. Boat? This is the
    converse of what we Mass boaters have to do to boat NH inland waters.
    So until NH is reciprocal with Mass, why should Mass reciprocate
    with NH?
    
    Bill
    

    >>    Except for you to register in Mass. as a Mass. Boat? 
    
    True, it's possible to register our boats in another state and
    then get a secondary use sticker for NH.   
    
    But, the folks at the statehouse tell us that the boat has to be 
    registered in the state of primary use.  So if your a NH resident who 
    primarily uses your boat in NH, you are "supposed" to register your boat 
    in NH and therefore there is no "legal" way to take your boat to Mass.....
    
    However, that's not stopping folks from doing that.  If I hadn't
    already had NH coast guard numbers on my boat this year, I probably 
    would have done the same.
    
   
    >>So until NH is reciprocal with Mass, why should Mass reciprocate
    >>with NH?
    
    I don't blame Mass at all for not letting us in.  In my opinion, we
    (NH) are the state that has the messed up laws (in this particular
    case). 
    
    Hopefully the new legislation will correct this.
    
    donmac

    donmac,
    
    It seems I am the one who is confused... are you saying that if
    you reg your boat in NH there is no legal way to boat in Mass?
    
    I thought you could come to Mass from any non-reciprocal state (such
    as NH) and get a temp reg for use in Mass inland waters.

    Maybe I'm confused    

    Bill,

    NH went to a bow numbering system just like 48 other states.

    The law states:

      1  One bow number only.

      2  You must register the boat in the state of primary use.

      3  To use the boat on inland NH waters you must either

                a  -  Have NH registration/numbers.

                b  -  Have a SECONDARY USE STICKER. (which NH will gladly
                      sell you for the same price as a primary NH
                      registration.)

    MA rightly says that NH doesn't honor their registrations so they won't
    honor NH registrations.  MA also will not sell SECONDARY USE STICKERS.

    As a NH resident that uses his boat in NH primarily you cant legaly use
    it in MA. (Sure am glad I use my boat primaraly in MA and only
    ocasionaly use it here in NH ;-) )

    keith

    
    
    Hmm.  I thought that Mass DID honor NH's inland registrations as of this
    past summer.  It had something to do with the federal reciprocity act.
    From what I was told, NH complied with the letter, if not the spirit,
    of the act by accept out-of-state registrations + a user's fee.  The
    federal reciprocity act apparently does not prevent s state from
    charging a fee.
    
    The Mass Environmental Police office that patrols the lake I live on
    told one of my neighbors in July that NH registrations were being
    accepted, although the state (Mass) didn't like it.
    
    Is this incorrect, or did the status change since July?
    
    Kevin

    Wow, your right!  I just called the Commonwealth Marine & Recreational 
    Vehicles Registration office and they confirmed it.  I asked if this
    was a "new" policy just to make sure the person know what they were
    talking about and they said yes it was - as long as the boat has
    numbers on the bow it's ok.  
    
    Earlier this year I spent a fair amount of time talking to these folks 
    and they had no intentions of doing this.  I haven't talked to the folks 
    in the NH office in awhile but the last time I did, they were not aware of 
    Mass changing their position.
    
    Anyway, that's great news!  
    
    Thanks for the info. don mac
    

    
    That's great!  I can't believe Mass has decided to honor NH's
    non-reciprocal registrations, but I certainly won't complain 
    about it.    
    
    Rick 
    Who_thought_he_was_operating_illegally_at_Webster_a_few_weeks_ago!

    Just a reminder for those of us that live on the seacoast, there's
    a meeting on the proposal tonight in Portsmouth. I'm not sure of
    the time or place, but I believe its in here somewhere.
    It should be quite a show, a lot of the commercial  people are very
    upset with the plan.

    OK you guys, did anybody get to this meeting? We need a report...

I was at the meeting last Wed. night. There were between 40-50 people, 
mostly fishermen, they were the most vocal.

Some question/concerns:

The term "commercial vessel" doesn't include fishermen.
ans. They may add one.

Why do boats with valid CG documentation have to be registered?
ans. To generate money for the general fund. The CG said that a state 
can't require the registration of a documented boat. They need to call 
it something different.

Will this bill allow the dept of safety to patrol and do safety checks on tidal
waters.
ans. Yes, but don't have the money to do it. CG is doing a good job.

Why tax the fishermen at the same rate as pleasure boats?
ans. Its not a tax, its a fee. The fishermen haven't been paying into the 
states funds, its their turn.
The fishermen tried to point out that it isn't fair for the to pay a tax on
a "tool" needed to perform a trade, fishing. Carpenters aren't taxed on hammers,
saws, etc. All other New England states have no tax, to a high of � the pleasure
rate.

There was more, but I think you get the idea, it was pretty heated at times.

The commission said to send letter to one of them, before next week. 
I'm going to send a letter to Ernie Conners, Port Authority, Portsmouth NH.
They expect the bill to be heard some time in Jan. 90.