Bill Text: FL H0451 | 2011 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Commercial Parasailing

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 2-1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2011-05-07 - Indefinitely postponed and withdrawn from consideration [H0451 Detail]

Download: Florida-2011-H0451-Introduced.html

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HB 451

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to commercial parasailing; amending s.
3	327.02, F.S.; providing definitions; creating s. 327.375,
4	F.S.; providing a short title; requiring the owner of a
5	vessel engaged in commercial parasailing to obtain and
6	carry an insurance policy; providing minimum coverage for
7	the insurance policy; providing requirements for proof of
8	insurance; specifying the insurance information that must
9	be provided to each rider; providing for the launch and
10	recovery of riders from a towing vessel; requiring a
11	person engaged in operating a vessel for commercial
12	parasailing to have certain licenses; requiring certain
13	equipment; prohibiting commercial parasailing in certain
14	areas, under certain weather conditions, and during
15	certain hours; requiring a safety briefing for passengers
16	and parasail riders; providing penalties; amending ss.
17	320.08, 327.391, 328.17, 342.07, 713.78, and 715.07, F.S.;
18	conforming cross-references to changes made by the act;
19	providing an effective date.
20
21	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
22
23	Section 1.  Section 327.02, Florida Statutes, is amended to
24	read:
25	327.02  Definitions of terms used in this chapter and in
26	chapter 328.-As used in this chapter and in chapter 328, unless
27	the context clearly requires a different meaning, the term:
28	(1)  "Airboat" means a vessel that is primarily designed
29	for use in shallow waters and powered by an internal combustion
30	engine with an airplane-type propeller mounted above the stern
31	and used to push air across a set of rudders.
32	(2)  "Alien" means a person who is not a citizen of the
33	United States.
34	(3)  "Boating accident" means a collision, accident, or
35	casualty involving a vessel in or upon, or entering into or
36	exiting from, the water, including capsizing, collision with
37	another vessel or object, sinking, personal injury, death,
38	disappearance of any person from on board under circumstances
39	that which indicate the possibility of death or injury, or
40	property damage to any vessel or dock.
41	(4)  "Canoe" means a light, narrow vessel with curved sides
42	and with both ends pointed. A canoe-like vessel with a transom
43	may not be excluded from the definition of a canoe if the width
44	of its transom is less than 45 percent of the width of its beam
45	or it has been designated as a canoe by the United States Coast
46	Guard.
47	(5)  "Commercial parasailing" means providing or offering
48	to provide, for consideration, any activity involving the towing
49	of a person by a motorboat when:
50	(a)  One or more persons are tethered to the towing vessel;
51	(b)  The person or persons ascend above the water; and
52	(c)  The person or persons remain suspended above the water
53	while the vessel is underway.
54	(6)(5)  "Commercial vessel" means:
55	(a)  Any vessel primarily engaged in the taking or landing
56	of saltwater fish or saltwater products or freshwater fish or
57	freshwater products, or any vessel licensed pursuant to s.
58	379.361 from which commercial quantities of saltwater products
59	are harvested, from within and without the waters of this state
60	for sale either to the consumer, retail dealer, or wholesale
61	dealer.
62	(b)  Any other vessel, except a recreational vessel as
63	defined in this section.
64	(7)(6)  "Commission" means the Fish and Wildlife
65	Conservation Commission.
66	(8)(7)  "Dealer" means any person authorized by the
67	Department of Revenue to buy, sell, resell, or otherwise
68	distribute vessels. Such person shall have a valid sales tax
69	certificate of registration issued by the Department of Revenue
70	and a valid commercial or occupational license required by any
71	county, municipality, or political subdivision of the state in
72	which the person operates.
73	(9)(8)  "Division" means the Division of Law Enforcement of
74	the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
75	(10)(9)  "Documented vessel" means a vessel for which a
76	valid certificate of documentation is outstanding pursuant to 46
77	C.F.R. part 67.
78	(11)(10)  "Floating structure" means a floating entity,
79	with or without accommodations built thereon, which is not
80	primarily used as a means of transportation on water but which
81	serves purposes or provides services typically associated with a
82	structure or other improvement to real property. The term
83	"floating structure" includes, but is not limited to, each
84	entity used as a residence, place of business or office with
85	public access, hotel or motel, restaurant or lounge, clubhouse,
86	meeting facility, storage or parking facility, mining platform,
87	dredge, dragline, or similar facility or entity represented as
88	such. Floating structures are expressly excluded from the
89	definition of the term "vessel" provided in this section.
90	Incidental movement upon water or resting partially or entirely
91	on the bottom shall not, in and of itself, preclude an entity
92	from classification as a floating structure.
93	(12)(11)  "Florida Intracoastal Waterway" means the
94	Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, the Georgia state line north of
95	Fernandina to Miami; the Port Canaveral lock and canal to the
96	Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway; the Atlantic Intracoastal
97	Waterway, Miami to Key West; the Okeechobee Waterway, Stuart to
98	Fort Myers; the St. Johns River, Jacksonville to Sanford; the
99	Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, Anclote to Fort Myers; the Gulf
100	Intracoastal Waterway, Carrabelle to Tampa Bay; Carrabelle to
101	Anclote open bay section (using Gulf of Mexico); the Gulf
102	Intracoastal Waterway, Carrabelle to the Alabama state line west
103	of Pensacola; and the Apalachicola, Chattahoochee, and Flint
104	Rivers in Florida.
105	(13)(12)  "Homemade vessel" means any vessel built after
106	October 31, 1972, for which a federal hull identification number
107	is not required to be assigned by the manufacturer pursuant to
108	federal law, or any vessel constructed or assembled prior to
109	November 1, 1972, by other than a licensed manufacturer for his
110	or her own use or the use of a specific person. A vessel
111	assembled from a manufacturer's kit or constructed from an
112	unfinished manufactured hull shall be considered to be a
113	homemade vessel if such a vessel is not required to have a hull
114	identification number assigned by the United States Coast Guard.
115	A rebuilt or reconstructed vessel shall in no event be construed
116	to be a homemade vessel.
117	(14)(13)  "Houseboat" means any vessel that which is used
118	primarily as a residence for a minimum of 21 days during any 30-
119	day period, in a county of this state, and this residential use
120	of the vessel is to the preclusion of the use of the vessel as a
121	means of transportation.
122	(15)(14)  "Length" means the measurement from end to end
123	over the deck parallel to the centerline excluding sheer.
124	(16)(15)  "Lien" means a security interest that which is
125	reserved or created by a written agreement recorded with the
126	Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles pursuant to s.
127	328.15 which secures payment or performance of an obligation and
128	is generally valid against third parties.
129	(17)(16)  "Lienholder" means a person holding a security
130	interest in a vessel, which interest is recorded with the
131	Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles pursuant to s.
132	328.15.
133	(18)(17)  "Live-aboard vessel" means:
134	(a)  Any vessel used solely as a residence and not for
135	navigation;
136	(b)  Any vessel represented as a place of business or a
137	professional or other commercial enterprise; or
138	(c)  Any vessel for which a declaration of domicile has
139	been filed pursuant to s. 222.17.
140
141	A commercial fishing boat is expressly excluded from the term
142	"live-aboard vessel."
143	(19)(18)  "Livery vessel" means any vessel leased, rented,
144	or chartered to another for consideration.
145	(20)(19)  "Manufactured vessel" means any vessel built
146	after October 31, 1972, for which a federal hull identification
147	number is required pursuant to federal law, or any vessel
148	constructed or assembled prior to November 1, 1972, by a duly
149	licensed manufacturer.
150	(21)(20)  "Marina" means a licensed commercial facility
151	that which provides secured public moorings or dry storage for
152	vessels on a leased basis. A commercial establishment authorized
153	by a licensed vessel manufacturer as a dealership shall be
154	considered a marina for nonjudicial sale purposes.
155	(22)(21)  "Marine sanitation device" means any equipment
156	other than a toilet, for installation on board a vessel, which
157	is designed to receive, retain, treat, or discharge sewage, and
158	any process to treat such sewage. Marine sanitation device Types
159	I, II, and III shall be defined as provided in 33 C.F.R. part
160	159.
161	(23)(22)  "Marker" means any channel mark or other aid to
162	navigation, information or regulatory mark, isolated danger
163	mark, safe water mark, special mark, inland waters obstruction
164	mark, or mooring buoy in, on, or over the waters of the state or
165	the shores thereof, and includes, but is not limited to, a sign,
166	beacon, buoy, or light.
167	(24)(23)  "Motorboat" means any vessel equipped with
168	machinery for propulsion, irrespective of whether the propulsion
169	machinery is in actual operation.
170	(25)(24)  "Muffler" means an automotive-style sound-
171	suppression device or system designed to effectively abate the
172	sound of exhaust gases emitted from an internal combustion
173	engine and prevent excessive sound when installed on such an
174	engine.
175	(26)(25)  "Navigation rules" means the International
176	Navigational Rules Act of 1977, 33 U.S.C. appendix following s.
177	1602, as amended, including the annexes thereto, for vessels on
178	waters outside of established navigational lines of demarcation
179	as specified in 33 C.F.R. part 80 or the Inland Navigational
180	Rules Act of 1980, 33 U.S.C. ss. 2001 et seq., as amended,
181	including the annexes thereto, for vessels on all waters not
182	outside of such lines of demarcation.
183	(27)(26)  "Nonresident" means a citizen of the United
184	States who has not established residence in this state and has
185	not continuously resided in this state for 1 year and in one
186	county for the 6 months immediately preceding the initiation of
187	a vessel titling or registration action.
188	(28)(27)  "Operate" means to be in charge of or in command
189	of or in actual physical control of a vessel upon the waters of
190	this state, or to exercise control over or to have
191	responsibility for a vessel's navigation or safety while the
192	vessel is underway upon the waters of this state, or to control
193	or steer a vessel being towed by another vessel upon the waters
194	of the state.
195	(29)(28)  "Owner" means a person, other than a lienholder,
196	having the property in or title to a vessel. The term includes a
197	person entitled to the use or possession of a vessel subject to
198	an interest in another person, reserved or created by agreement
199	and securing payment of performance of an obligation, but the
200	term excludes a lessee under a lease not intended as security.
201	(30)(29)  "Person" means an individual, partnership, firm,
202	corporation, association, or other entity.
203	(31)(30)  "Personal watercraft" means a vessel less than 16
204	feet in length which uses an inboard motor powering a water jet
205	pump, as its primary source of motive power and which is
206	designed to be operated by a person sitting, standing, or
207	kneeling on the vessel, rather than in the conventional manner
208	of sitting or standing inside the vessel.
209	(32)(31)  "Portable toilet" means a device consisting of a
210	lid, seat, containment vessel, and support structure which that
211	is specifically designed to receive, retain, and discharge human
212	waste and which that is capable of being removed from a vessel
213	by hand.
214	(33)(32)  "Prohibited activity" means such activity as will
215	impede or disturb navigation or creates a safety hazard on
216	waterways of this state.
217	(34)  "Quick release" means a device that enables the
218	tethered or connected person to quickly release or remove
219	himself or herself from his or her support system.
220	(35)(33)  "Racing shell," "rowing scull," or "racing kayak"
221	means a manually propelled vessel that which is recognized by
222	national or international racing associations for use in
223	competitive racing and in which all occupants, with the
224	exception of a coxswain, if one is provided, row, scull, or
225	paddle, and that which is not designed to carry and does not
226	carry any equipment not solely for competitive racing.
227	(36)(34)  "Recreational vessel" means any vessel:
228	(a)  Manufactured and used primarily for noncommercial
229	purposes; or
230	(b)  Leased, rented, or chartered to a person for the
231	person's noncommercial use.
232	(37)(35)  "Registration" means a state operating license on
233	a vessel which is issued with an identifying number, an annual
234	certificate of registration, and a decal designating the year
235	for which a registration fee is paid.
236	(38)(36)  "Resident" means a citizen of the United States
237	who has established residence in this state and has continuously
238	resided in this state for 1 year and in one county for the 6
239	months immediately preceding the initiation of a vessel titling
240	or registration action.
241	(39)(37)  "Sailboat" means any vessel whose sole source of
242	propulsion is the wind.
243	(40)  "Support system" means a device used to tether,
244	connect, or otherwise suspend a person under the canopy.
245	(41)  "Sustained wind speed" means a wind speed determined
246	by averaging the observed wind speed rounded to the nearest
247	whole knot over a 2-minute period.
248	(42)(38)  "Unclaimed vessel" means any undocumented vessel,
249	including its machinery, rigging, and accessories, which is in
250	the physical possession of any marina, garage, or repair shop
251	for repairs, improvements, or other work with the knowledge of
252	the vessel owner and for which the costs of such services have
253	been unpaid for a period in excess of 90 days from the date
254	written notice of the completed work is given by the marina,
255	garage, or repair shop to the vessel owner.
256	(43)(39)  "Vessel" is synonymous with boat as referenced in
257	s. 1(b), Art. VII of the State Constitution and includes every
258	description of watercraft, barge, and airboat, other than a
259	seaplane on the water, used or capable of being used as a means
260	of transportation on water.
261	(44)(40)  "Waters of this state" means any navigable waters
262	of the United States within the territorial limits of this
263	state, and the marginal sea adjacent to this state and the high
264	seas when navigated as a part of a journey or ride to or from
265	the shore of this state, and all the inland lakes, rivers, and
266	canals under the jurisdiction of this state.
267	Section 2.  Section 327.375, Florida Statutes, is created
268	to read:
269	327.375  Commercial parasailing.-
270	(1)  This section may be cited as the "Alejandra White
271	Act."
272	(2)  The owner of a vessel engaged in commercial
273	parasailing may not offer or provide for consideration any
274	parasailing activity unless the owner first obtains and carries
275	in full force and effect an insurance policy, from an insurance
276	carrier licensed in this state, insuring against any accident,
277	loss, injury, property damage, death, or other casualty caused
278	by or resulting from any commercial parasailing activity. The
279	insurance policy must provide coverage of at least $1 million
280	per person, per event. Proof of insurance must be available for
281	inspection at the location where commercial parasailing is
282	offered or provided for consideration and each customer who
283	requests it shall be provided with the insurance carrier's name
284	and address and the insurance policy number.
285	(3)  A person engaged in commercial parasailing must meet
286	the following requirements:
287	(a)  Commercial parasail operators shall launch riders only
288	from and recover riders only to the vessel.
289	(b)  A person may not operate a vessel engaged in
290	commercial parasailing on the waters of this state unless the
291	person has a current and valid license issued by the United
292	States Coast Guard authorizing that person to engage in carrying
293	passengers for hire. The license must be appropriate for the
294	number of passengers carried and the displacement of the vessel.
295	The license must be carried on the vessel and be available for
296	inspection while commercial parasailing activities are
297	conducted.
298	(c)  A person may not operate a vessel for commercial
299	parasailing unless an observer 18 years of age or older is
300	present in the vessel at all times to monitor the progress of
301	any tethered parasail rider and parasail equipment. The observer
302	may not be a customer, must be attentive to the parasail rider
303	or riders and equipment, and may not have any other duties while
304	the rider or riders are in the water or suspended above the
305	water.
306	(d)  A person may not operate any vessel engaged in
307	commercial parasailing unless:
308	1.  All riders wear an appropriate floatation device
309	approved by the United States Coast Guard, other than an
310	inflatable device, which is in serviceable condition and of the
311	proper size;
312	2.  All riders are equipped with a support system that
313	includes a harness that has a quick release or is a "gondola
314	style" system that allows the rider to quickly self evacuate
315	during an emergency.
316	3.  The vessel is in full compliance with all requirements
317	of the United States Coast Guard governing crewing and equipment
318	carriage for passenger-carrying vessels as specified in the Code
319	of Federal Regulations or as otherwise specified by the United
320	States Coast Guard in the vessel's certificate of inspection;
321	and
322	4.  The vessel is equipped with a functional VHF marine
323	transceiver that can monitor National Weather Service forecasts
324	and send and receive and monitor channel 16.
325	(e)  No more than two persons may be tethered to the towing
326	vessel and ascend above the water at any time.
327	(f)  A person may not operate a vessel towing a commercial
328	parasailing rider on any waters of the state less than 1,800
329	feet from the shore. This restriction applies to the entire
330	commercial parasailing apparatus, including the vessel, towline,
331	and rider.
332	(g)  A person may not operate a vessel towing a commercial
333	parasailing rider so that the vessel, towline, or rider comes
334	within 400 feet of:
335	1.  An anchored vessel;
336	2.  A person in the water; or
337	3.  A structure, bridge, power line, wharf, pier, dock,
338	platform, piling, marker, or other similar object.
339	(h)  A person may not operate any vessel towing a parasail
340	or engage in parasailing within 100 feet of the marked channel
341	of the Florida Intracoastal Waterway.
342	(i)  Commercial parasailing is prohibited when the current
343	conditions or those forecasted by the National Weather Service
344	include a sustained wind speed of 20 knots or higher in the area
345	of operation, rain or heavy fog that results in reduced
346	visibility of less than 0.5 miles, or a known lightning storm
347	within 7 miles of the parasailing area.
348	(j)  The vessel captain shall use all available means to
349	determine prevailing and forecasted weather conditions and
350	record this information in a weather log each time passengers
351	are to be taken out on the water. The weather log must be
352	available for inspection at all times at the place of business.
353	(k)  Towlines used for commercial parasailing must be rated
354	for a tensile strength that exceeds 4,800 pounds, must be double
355	braided, low-stretch type, and may not exceed 800 feet in
356	length.
357	(l)  Each passenger and parasail rider must be given a
358	safety briefing before embarking or before the parasail activity
359	commences. This briefing must include a description of the
360	equipment, the parasail activity, inherent risks, and
361	instruction on how to safely evacuate from the passenger support
362	during a water landing.
363	(m)  A person operating a vessel for commercial parasailing
364	may not engage in parasailing, or any similar activity at any
365	time between the hours of one-half hour after sunset to one-half
366	hour before sunrise.
367	(4)  A person or operator who violates this section commits
368	a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as provided in s.
369	775.082 or s. 775.083.
370	Section 3.  Paragraph (d) of subsection (5) of section
371	320.08, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
372	320.08  License taxes.-Except as otherwise provided herein,
373	there are hereby levied and imposed annual license taxes for the
374	operation of motor vehicles, mopeds, motorized bicycles as
375	defined in s. 316.003(2), tri-vehicles as defined in s. 316.003,
376	and mobile homes, as defined in s. 320.01, which shall be paid
377	to and collected by the department or its agent upon the
378	registration or renewal of registration of the following:
379	(5)  SEMITRAILERS, FEES ACCORDING TO GROSS VEHICLE WEIGHT;
380	SCHOOL BUSES; SPECIAL PURPOSE VEHICLES.-
381	(d)  A wrecker, as defined in s. 320.01(40), which is used
382	to tow a vessel as defined in s. 327.02(43) s. 327.02(39), a
383	disabled, abandoned, stolen-recovered, or impounded motor
384	vehicle as defined in s. 320.01(38), or a replacement motor
385	vehicle as defined in s. 320.01(39): $41 flat, of which $11
386	shall be deposited into the General Revenue Fund.
387	Section 4.  Subsection (1) of section 327.391, Florida
388	Statutes, is amended to read:
389	327.391  Airboats regulated.-
390	(1)  The exhaust of every internal combustion engine used
391	on any airboat operated on the waters of this state shall be
392	provided with an automotive-style factory muffler, underwater
393	exhaust, or other manufactured device capable of adequately
394	muffling the sound of the exhaust of the engine as described in
395	s. 327.02(25) s. 327.02(24). The use of cutouts or flex pipe as
396	the sole source of muffling is prohibited, except as provided in
397	subsection (4). Any person who violates this subsection commits
398	a noncriminal infraction punishable as provided in s. 327.73(1).
399	Section 5.  Subsection (4) of section 328.17, Florida
400	Statutes, is amended to read:
401	328.17  Nonjudicial sale of vessels.-
402	(4)  A marina, as defined in s. 327.02(21) s. 327.02(20),
403	shall have:
404	(a)  A possessory lien upon any vessel for storage fees,
405	dockage fees, repairs, improvements, or other work-related
406	storage charges, and for expenses necessary for preservation of
407	the vessel or expenses reasonably incurred in the sale or other
408	disposition of the vessel. The possessory lien shall attach as
409	of the date the vessel is brought to the marina or as of the
410	date the vessel first occupies rental space at the marina
411	facility.
412	(b)  A possessory lien upon any vessel in a wrecked,
413	junked, or substantially dismantled condition, which has been
414	left abandoned at a marina, for expenses reasonably incurred in
415	the removal and disposal of the vessel. The possessory lien
416	shall attach as of the date the vessel arrives at the marina or
417	as of the date the vessel first occupies rental space at the
418	marina facility. If the funds recovered from the sale of the
419	vessel, or from the scrap or salvage value of the vessel, are
420	insufficient to cover the expenses reasonably incurred by the
421	marina in removing and disposing of the vessel, all costs in
422	excess of recovery shall be recoverable against the owner of the
423	vessel. For a vessel damaged as a result of a named storm, the
424	provisions of this paragraph shall be suspended for 60 days
425	following the date the vessel is damaged in the named storm. The
426	operation of the provisions specified in this paragraph run
427	concurrently with, and do not extend, the 60-day notice periods
428	provided in subsections (5) and (7).
429	Section 6.  Subsection (2) of section 342.07, Florida
430	Statutes, is amended to read:
431	342.07  Recreational and commercial working waterfronts;
432	legislative findings; definitions.-
433	(2)  As used in this section, the term "recreational and
434	commercial working waterfront" means a parcel or parcels of real
435	property which that provide access for water-dependent
436	commercial activities, including hotels and motels as defined in
437	s. 509.242(1), or provide access for the public to the navigable
438	waters of the state. Recreational and commercial working
439	waterfronts require direct access to or a location on, over, or
440	adjacent to a navigable body of water. The term includes water-
441	dependent facilities that are open to the public and offer
442	public access by vessels to the waters of the state or that are
443	support facilities for recreational, commercial, research, or
444	governmental vessels. These facilities include public lodging
445	establishments, docks, wharfs, lifts, wet and dry marinas, boat
446	ramps, boat hauling and repair facilities, commercial fishing
447	facilities, boat construction facilities, and other support
448	structures over the water. As used in this section, the term
449	"vessel" has the same meaning as in s. 327.02(43) s. 327.02(39).
450	Seaports are excluded from the definition.
451	Section 7.  Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section
452	713.78, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
453	713.78  Liens for recovering, towing, or storing vehicles
454	and vessels.-
455	(1)  For the purposes of this section, the term:
456	(b)  "Vessel" means every description of watercraft, barge,
457	and airboat used or capable of being used as a means of
458	transportation on water, other than a seaplane or a "documented
459	vessel" as defined in s. 327.02(10) s. 327.02(9).
460	Section 8.  Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section
461	715.07, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
462	715.07  Vehicles or vessels parked on private property;
463	towing.-
464	(1)  As used in this section, the term:
465	(b)  "Vessel" means every description of watercraft, barge,
466	and airboat used or capable of being used as a means of
467	transportation on water, other than a seaplane or a "documented
468	vessel" as defined in s. 327.02(10) s. 327.02(9).
469	Section 9.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2011.

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.