Brief⁽¹⁾

S.B. 236 relates to boating safety education and to Kansas River issues.

Boating Safety Education

The bill would:

• require that on and after January 1, 1999, a person born on or after January 1, 1987, possess a certificate of completion of an approved boater safety education course before the person could operate any motorboat or sailboat on the public waters of the state;



• prohibit a person in possession of any motorboat or sailboat from permitting another person born on or after January 1, 1987 from operating the motorboat or sailboat unless the person to be operating the motorboat or sailboat has a certification of completion of an approved boater safety education course;



• require the Secretary of Wildlife and Parks to prescribe an approved boater safety education course of instruction of not less than eight hours and recognized by the United States Coast Guard;



• give the Secretary the authority to allow the completion of the course of instruction through a correspondence course;

• authorize the Secretary to charge a fee to cover the costs of services, material, and supplies from any person enrolling in an approved boater safety education course;



• authorize the Secretary to recognize similar certificates issued outside of Kansas under certain conditions;



• exempt nonresidents who have been in Kansas for less than 30 consecutive days and persons who have been residents of Kansas for less than 60 days from the requirement of possessing a certificate of completion;



• authorize the Committee on Surety Bonds and Insurance, within the limitations of appropriations, to purchase liability insurance for the protection of persons engaged in conducting an approved boater safety education course; and



• define "sailboat" to mean any vessel, other than a sailboard, that is designed to be propelled by wind action upon a sail for navigation on the water.

Kansas River Issues

These provisions would:

• designate certain reaches of the Kansas River as recreational reaches and certain parts as multi-use reaches;



• provide that the reaches would be designated by river mile marker, with 0 being where the Kansas River empties into the Missouri River and 170.4 being where the Kansas River begins near Junction City;



• designate river mile 0 (Kansas City) to river mile 51.8 (Lawrence) and river mile 72 (near Perry) to river mile 125 (near Wamego) as multi-use reaches;



• designate River mile 51.8 (Lawrence) to river mile 72 (near Perry) and river mile 125 (near Wamego) to river mile 170.4 (Junction City) as recreational use reaches;

• define multi-use reach to mean a reach of the Kansas River where any use authorized or not prohibited by law is allowed;



• define "recreational use reach" to mean a reach of the Kansas River where commercial and industrial activities that require a permit pursuant to K.S.A. 82a-301 et seq. (these statutes require a stream obstruction permit from the Division of Water Resources of the Kansas Department of Agriculture) are prohibited except for public water supplies, wastewater and stormwater outfalls, electric utilities, flood control and drainage works, bridges, or buried transmission lines and pipelines;



• reaffirm that persons who commit any of the following along the Kansas River would be subject to prosecution under the appropriate statutes: criminal trespass; littering; injury to a domestic animal; criminal hunting; obstructing, injuring, damaging, or destroying property; or any other violation of law; and



• require that before any public access, boating facilities, ramps, or docks are built on the Kansas River, within or adjacent to an existing drainage district, that the Secretary obtain written approval of the proposed project from the drainage district or from the owner of the property affected by the location of the public access, boating facilities, ramps, or docks.

Background

The provisions relating to boating safety education were introduced during the 1997 Legislative Session. Hearings were held during the 1997 Session.

There was one conferee on the bill during the 1997 Session who was a spokesperson from the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks. A spokesperson from the Department reviewed the bill for the members of the Committee during the 1998 Legislative Session and responded to questions from Committee members.

The fiscal note on this bill was written in 1997. The note states that the Department of Wildlife and Parks was unable to determine the fiscal impact of the bill. The note also states that the Department has not defined the specific way a boater's safety education course would be administered.

The Senate Committee of the Whole amendments were technical.

The House Committee incorporates the provisions of H.B. 2925 into S.B. 236.

1. *Supplemental notes are prepared by the Legislative Research Department and do not express legislative intent. The supplemental note and fiscal note for this bill may be accessed on the Internet at http://www.ink.org/public/legislative/fulltext-bill.html.