Bill Text: FL S0064 | 2013 | Regular Session | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

---

Bill Title: Commercial Parasailing

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-1)

Status: (Failed) 2013-05-03 - Died in Commerce and Tourism [S0064 Detail]

Download: Florida-2013-S0064-Introduced.html

---

       Florida Senate - 2013                                      SB 64
       
       
       
       By Senator Sachs
       
       
       
       
       34-00053-13                                             201364__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to commercial parasailing; providing a
    3         short title; amending s. 327.02, F.S.; defining terms;
    4         creating s. 327.375, F.S.; requiring the owner of a
    5         vessel engaged in commercial parasailing to obtain and
    6         carry an insurance policy; providing minimum coverage
    7         requirements for the insurance policy; providing
    8         requirements for proof of insurance; specifying the
    9         insurance information that must be provided to each
   10         rider; prohibiting commercial parasailing unless
   11         certain conditions are met; providing for the launch
   12         from and recovery of riders to a towing vessel;
   13         authorizing up to three persons to be tethered to the
   14         towing vessel; prohibiting commercial parasailing in
   15         certain areas, during certain hours, and under certain
   16         weather conditions; requiring that a weather log be
   17         maintained and made available for inspection;
   18         requiring a safety briefing for passengers and
   19         parasail riders; providing a penalty; amending ss.
   20         320.08, 327.391, 328.17, 342.07, 713.78, and 715.07,
   21         F.S.; conforming cross-references to changes made by
   22         the act; providing an effective date.
   23  
   24  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   25  
   26         Section 1. This act may be cited as the “White-Miskell
   27  Act.”
   28         Section 2. Section 327.02, Florida Statutes, is amended to
   29  read:
   30         327.02 Definitions of terms used in this chapter and in
   31  chapter 328.—As used in this chapter and in chapter 328, unless
   32  the context clearly requires a different meaning, the term:
   33         (1) “Airboat” means a vessel that is primarily designed for
   34  use in shallow waters and powered by an internal combustion
   35  engine with an airplane-type propeller mounted above the stern
   36  and used to push air across a set of rudders.
   37         (2) “Alien” means a person who is not a citizen of the
   38  United States.
   39         (3) “Boating accident” means a collision, accident, or
   40  casualty involving a vessel in or upon, or entering into or
   41  exiting from, the water, including capsizing, collision with
   42  another vessel or object, sinking, personal injury, death,
   43  disappearance of any person from on board under circumstances
   44  that which indicate the possibility of death or injury, or
   45  property damage to any vessel or dock.
   46         (4) “Canoe” means a light, narrow vessel with curved sides
   47  and with both ends pointed. A canoe-like vessel with a transom
   48  may not be excluded from the definition of a canoe if the width
   49  of its transom is less than 45 percent of the width of its beam
   50  or it has been designated as a canoe by the United States Coast
   51  Guard.
   52         (5)(a) “Commercial parasailing” means providing or offering
   53  to provide, for consideration, any activity involving the towing
   54  of a person by a motorboat when:
   55         1. One or more persons are tethered to the towing vessel;
   56         2. The person or persons ascend above the water; and
   57         3. The person or persons remain suspended under a canopy
   58  above the water while the vessel is underway.
   59         (b) The term does not include ultralight glider towing
   60  conducted under rules of the Federal Aviation Administration
   61  governing ultralight air vehicles as defined in 14 C.F.R. part
   62  103.
   63         (6)(5) “Commercial vessel” means:
   64         (a) Any vessel primarily engaged in the taking or landing
   65  of saltwater fish or saltwater products or freshwater fish or
   66  freshwater products, or any vessel licensed pursuant to s.
   67  379.361 from which commercial quantities of saltwater products
   68  are harvested, from within and without the waters of this state
   69  for sale either to the consumer, retail dealer, or wholesale
   70  dealer.
   71         (b) Any other vessel, except a recreational vessel as
   72  defined in this section.
   73         (7)(6) “Commission” means the Fish and Wildlife
   74  Conservation Commission.
   75         (8)(7) “Dealer” means any person authorized by the
   76  Department of Revenue to buy, sell, resell, or otherwise
   77  distribute vessels. Such person shall have a valid sales tax
   78  certificate of registration issued by the Department of Revenue
   79  and a valid commercial or occupational license required by any
   80  county, municipality, or political subdivision of the state in
   81  which the person operates.
   82         (9)(8) “Division” means the Division of Law Enforcement of
   83  the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
   84         (10)(9) “Documented vessel” means a vessel for which a
   85  valid certificate of documentation is outstanding pursuant to 46
   86  C.F.R. part 67.
   87         (11)(10) “Floating structure” means a floating entity, with
   88  or without accommodations built thereon, which is not primarily
   89  used as a means of transportation on water but which serves
   90  purposes or provides services typically associated with a
   91  structure or other improvement to real property. The term
   92  “floating structure” includes, but is not limited to, each
   93  entity used as a residence, place of business or office with
   94  public access, hotel or motel, restaurant or lounge, clubhouse,
   95  meeting facility, storage or parking facility, mining platform,
   96  dredge, dragline, or similar facility or entity represented as
   97  such. Floating structures are expressly excluded from the
   98  definition of the term “vessel” provided in this section.
   99  Incidental movement upon water or resting partially or entirely
  100  on the bottom does shall not, in and of itself, preclude an
  101  entity from classification as a floating structure.
  102         (12)(11) “Florida Intracoastal Waterway” means the Atlantic
  103  Intracoastal Waterway, the Georgia state line north of
  104  Fernandina to Miami; the Port Canaveral lock and canal to the
  105  Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway; the Atlantic Intracoastal
  106  Waterway, Miami to Key West; the Okeechobee Waterway, Stuart to
  107  Fort Myers; the St. Johns River, Jacksonville to Sanford; the
  108  Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, Anclote to Fort Myers; the Gulf
  109  Intracoastal Waterway, Carrabelle to Tampa Bay; Carrabelle to
  110  Anclote open bay section (using Gulf of Mexico); the Gulf
  111  Intracoastal Waterway, Carrabelle to the Alabama state line west
  112  of Pensacola; and the Apalachicola, Chattahoochee, and Flint
  113  Rivers in Florida.
  114         (13)(12) “Homemade vessel” means any vessel built after
  115  October 31, 1972, for which a federal hull identification number
  116  is not required to be assigned by the manufacturer pursuant to
  117  federal law, or any vessel constructed or assembled prior to
  118  November 1, 1972, by other than a licensed manufacturer for his
  119  or her own use or the use of a specific person. A vessel
  120  assembled from a manufacturer’s kit or constructed from an
  121  unfinished manufactured hull shall be considered to be a
  122  homemade vessel if such a vessel is not required to have a hull
  123  identification number assigned by the United States Coast Guard.
  124  A rebuilt or reconstructed vessel shall in no event be construed
  125  to be a homemade vessel.
  126         (14)(13) “Houseboat” means any vessel that which is used
  127  primarily as a residence for a minimum of 21 days during any 30
  128  day period, in a county of this state, and this residential use
  129  of the vessel is to the preclusion of the use of the vessel as a
  130  means of transportation.
  131         (15)(14) “Length” means the measurement from end to end
  132  over the deck parallel to the centerline excluding sheer.
  133         (16)(15) “Lien” means a security interest that which is
  134  reserved or created by a written agreement recorded with the
  135  Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles pursuant to s.
  136  328.15 and that which secures payment or performance of an
  137  obligation and is generally valid against third parties.
  138         (17)(16) “Lienholder” means a person holding a security
  139  interest in a vessel, which interest is recorded with the
  140  Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles pursuant to s.
  141  328.15.
  142         (18)(17) “Live-aboard vessel” means:
  143         (a) Any vessel used solely as a residence and not for
  144  navigation;
  145         (b) Any vessel represented as a place of business or a
  146  professional or other commercial enterprise; or
  147         (c) Any vessel for which a declaration of domicile has been
  148  filed pursuant to s. 222.17.
  149  
  150  A commercial fishing boat is expressly excluded from the term
  151  “live-aboard vessel.”
  152         (19)(18) “Livery vessel” means any vessel leased, rented,
  153  or chartered to another for consideration.
  154         (20)(19) “Manufactured vessel” means any vessel built after
  155  October 31, 1972, for which a federal hull identification number
  156  is required pursuant to federal law, or any vessel constructed
  157  or assembled prior to November 1, 1972, by a duly licensed
  158  manufacturer.
  159         (21)(20) “Marina” means a licensed commercial facility that
  160  which provides secured public moorings or dry storage for
  161  vessels on a leased basis. A commercial establishment authorized
  162  by a licensed vessel manufacturer as a dealership shall be
  163  considered a marina for nonjudicial sale purposes.
  164         (22)(21) “Marine sanitation device” means any equipment
  165  other than a toilet, for installation on board a vessel, which
  166  is designed to receive, retain, treat, or discharge sewage, and
  167  any process to treat such sewage. Marine sanitation device Types
  168  I, II, and III shall be defined as provided in 33 C.F.R. part
  169  159.
  170         (23)(22) “Marker” means any channel mark or other aid to
  171  navigation, information or regulatory mark, isolated danger
  172  mark, safe water mark, special mark, inland waters obstruction
  173  mark, or mooring buoy in, on, or over the waters of the state or
  174  the shores thereof, and includes, but is not limited to, a sign,
  175  beacon, buoy, or light.
  176         (24)(23) “Motorboat” means any vessel equipped with
  177  machinery for propulsion, irrespective of whether the propulsion
  178  machinery is in actual operation.
  179         (25)(24) “Muffler” means an automotive-style sound
  180  suppression device or system designed to effectively abate the
  181  sound of exhaust gases emitted from an internal combustion
  182  engine and prevent excessive sound when installed on such an
  183  engine.
  184         (26)(25) “Navigation rules” means the International
  185  Navigational Rules Act of 1977, 33 U.S.C. appendix following s.
  186  1602, as amended, including the annexes thereto, for vessels on
  187  waters outside of established navigational lines of demarcation
  188  as specified in 33 C.F.R. part 80 or the Inland Navigational
  189  Rules Act of 1980, 33 U.S.C. ss. 2001 et seq., as amended,
  190  including the annexes thereto, for vessels on all waters not
  191  outside of such lines of demarcation.
  192         (27)(26) “Nonresident” means a citizen of the United States
  193  who has not established residence in this state and has not
  194  continuously resided in this state for 1 year and in one county
  195  for the 6 months immediately preceding the initiation of a
  196  vessel titling or registration action.
  197         (28)(27) “Operate” means to be in charge of or in command
  198  of or in actual physical control of a vessel upon the waters of
  199  this state, or to exercise control over or to have
  200  responsibility for a vessel’s navigation or safety while the
  201  vessel is underway upon the waters of this state, or to control
  202  or steer a vessel being towed by another vessel upon the waters
  203  of the state.
  204         (29)(28) “Owner” means a person, other than a lienholder,
  205  having the property in or title to a vessel. The term includes a
  206  person entitled to the use or possession of a vessel subject to
  207  an interest in another person, reserved or created by agreement
  208  and securing payment of performance of an obligation, but the
  209  term excludes a lessee under a lease not intended as security.
  210         (30) “Passenger support system” means a device used to
  211  tether, connect, or otherwise suspend a person under a canopy.
  212         (31)(29) “Person” means an individual, partnership, firm,
  213  corporation, association, or other entity.
  214         (32)(30) “Personal watercraft” means a vessel less than 16
  215  feet in length which uses an inboard motor powering a water jet
  216  pump, as its primary source of motive power and which is
  217  designed to be operated by a person sitting, standing, or
  218  kneeling on the vessel, rather than in the conventional manner
  219  of sitting or standing inside the vessel.
  220         (33)(31) “Portable toilet” means a device consisting of a
  221  lid, seat, containment vessel, and support structure which that
  222  is specifically designed to receive, retain, and discharge human
  223  waste and which that is capable of being removed from a vessel
  224  by hand.
  225         (34)(32) “Prohibited activity” means such activity as will
  226  impede or disturb navigation or creates a safety hazard on
  227  waterways of this state.
  228         (35)(33) “Racing shell,” “rowing scull,” or “racing kayak”
  229  means a manually propelled vessel that which is recognized by
  230  national or international racing associations for use in
  231  competitive racing and in which all occupants, with the
  232  exception of a coxswain, if one is provided, row, scull, or
  233  paddle, and that which is not designed to carry and does not
  234  carry any equipment not solely for competitive racing.
  235         (36)(34) “Recreational vessel” means any vessel:
  236         (a) Manufactured and used primarily for noncommercial
  237  purposes; or
  238         (b) Leased, rented, or chartered to a person for the
  239  person’s noncommercial use.
  240         (37)(35) “Registration” means a state operating license on
  241  a vessel which is issued with an identifying number, an annual
  242  certificate of registration, and a decal designating the year
  243  for which a registration fee is paid.
  244         (38)(36) “Resident” means a citizen of the United States
  245  who has established residence in this state and has continuously
  246  resided in this state for 1 year and in one county for the 6
  247  months immediately preceding the initiation of a vessel titling
  248  or registration action.
  249         (39)(37) “Sailboat” means any vessel whose sole source of
  250  propulsion is the wind.
  251         (40) “Sustained wind speed” means a wind speed determined
  252  by averaging the observed wind speed rounded to the nearest
  253  whole knot over a 2-minute period.
  254         (41)(38) “Unclaimed vessel” means any undocumented vessel,
  255  including its machinery, rigging, and accessories, which is in
  256  the physical possession of any marina, garage, or repair shop
  257  for repairs, improvements, or other work with the knowledge of
  258  the vessel owner and for which the costs of such services have
  259  been unpaid for a period in excess of 90 days following from the
  260  date written notice of the completed work is given by the
  261  marina, garage, or repair shop to the vessel owner.
  262         (42)(39) “Vessel” is synonymous with boat as referenced in
  263  s. 1(b), Art. VII of the State Constitution and includes every
  264  description of watercraft, barge, and airboat, other than a
  265  seaplane on the water, used or capable of being used as a means
  266  of transportation on water.
  267         (43)(40) “Waters of this state” means any navigable waters
  268  of the United States within the territorial limits of this
  269  state, and the marginal sea adjacent to this state and the high
  270  seas when navigated as a part of a journey or ride to or from
  271  the shore of this state, and all the inland lakes, rivers, and
  272  canals under the jurisdiction of this state.
  273         Section 3. Section 327.375, Florida Statutes, is created to
  274  read:
  275         327.375 Commercial parasailing.—
  276         (1) The owner of a vessel engaged in commercial parasailing
  277  may not offer or provide for consideration any parasailing
  278  activity unless the owner first obtains and carries in full
  279  force and effect an insurance policy, from an insurance carrier
  280  licensed in this state or approved by the Office of Insurance
  281  Regulation, insuring against any accident, loss, injury,
  282  property damage, death, or other casualty caused by or resulting
  283  from any commercial parasailing activity. The insurance policy
  284  must provide coverage of at least $1 million per person and $2
  285  million per event. Proof of insurance must be available for
  286  inspection at the location where commercial parasailing is
  287  offered or provided for consideration, and each customer who
  288  requests it shall be provided with the insurance carrier’s name
  289  and address and the insurance policy number.
  290         (2)(a) Commercial parasailing is prohibited unless:
  291         1. The person operating the vessel engaged in commercial
  292  parasailing has a current and valid license issued by the United
  293  States Coast Guard authorizing that person to carry passengers
  294  for hire. The license must be appropriate for the number of
  295  passengers carried and the displacement of the vessel. The
  296  license must be carried on the vessel and be available for
  297  inspection while engaging in commercial parasailing activities.
  298         2. An observer 18 years of age or older is present in the
  299  vessel at all times to monitor the progress of any tethered
  300  parasail rider and parasail equipment. The observer may not be a
  301  customer, must be attentive to the parasail rider or riders and
  302  equipment, and may not have any other duties while the rider or
  303  riders are in the water or suspended above the water.
  304         3. The vessel’s passenger support system, including, but
  305  not limited to, ropes and harnesses used to secure a parasail
  306  rider, has been inspected by the division pursuant to its
  307  enforcement authority provided in s. 327.70.
  308         4. The towline is rated for a tensile strength exceeding
  309  4,800 pounds, is braided, and is a low-stretch type not
  310  exceeding 500 feet in length.
  311         5. All riders wear an appropriate floatation device
  312  approved by the United States Coast Guard, other than an
  313  inflatable device, which is in serviceable condition and of the
  314  proper size.
  315         6. The vessel is in full compliance with all requirements
  316  of the United States Coast Guard governing crewing and equipment
  317  carriage for passenger-carrying vessels as specified in the Code
  318  of Federal Regulations or as otherwise specified by the United
  319  States Coast Guard in the vessel’s certificate of inspection.
  320         7. The vessel is equipped with a functional VHF marine
  321  transceiver and a separate electronic device capable of access
  322  to National Weather Service forecasts and current weather
  323  conditions.
  324         (b) A person operating a vessel engaged in commercial
  325  parasailing shall launch riders only from and recover riders
  326  only to the vessel and no more than three persons may be
  327  tethered to the towing vessel and ascend above the water at any
  328  time.
  329         (c) A person may not operate a vessel towing a commercial
  330  parasailing rider on any coastal waters of the state less than
  331  1,800 feet from the shore. This restriction applies to the
  332  entire commercial parasailing apparatus, including the vessel,
  333  towline, and rider.
  334         (d) A person may not operate a vessel towing a commercial
  335  parasailing rider so that the vessel, towline, or rider comes
  336  within 400 feet of:
  337         1. An anchored vessel;
  338         2. A person in the water; or
  339         3. A structure, bridge, power line, wharf, pier, dock,
  340  platform, piling, marker, or other similar fixed object.
  341         (e) Commercial parasailing is prohibited within a distance
  342  of 100 feet of the marked channel of the Florida Intracoastal
  343  Waterway and during any time between the hours of one-half hour
  344  after sunset to one-half hour before sunrise.
  345         (f) Commercial parasailing is prohibited when the current
  346  conditions or those forecasted by the National Weather Service
  347  include a sustained wind speed of more than 20 miles per hour in
  348  the area of operation, rain or heavy fog that results in reduced
  349  visibility of less than 0.5 miles, or a known lightning storm
  350  within 7 miles of the parasailing area.
  351         (g) The captain of the vessel engaged in commercial
  352  parasailing shall use all available means to determine
  353  prevailing and forecasted weather conditions and record this
  354  information in a weather log each time passengers are to be
  355  taken out on the water. The weather log must be available for
  356  inspection at all times at the place of business.
  357         (h) Each passenger and parasail rider must be given a
  358  safety briefing before embarking or before the commercial
  359  parasailing activity commences. This briefing must include a
  360  description of the equipment, the parasailing activity, and the
  361  inherent risks and instruction on how to safely evacuate from
  362  the passenger support system during a water landing.
  363         (3) A person or operator who violates any provision of this
  364  section commits a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable
  365  as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.
  366         Section 4. Paragraph (d) of subsection (5) of section
  367  320.08, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
  368         320.08 License taxes.—Except as otherwise provided herein,
  369  there are hereby levied and imposed annual license taxes for the
  370  operation of motor vehicles, mopeds, motorized bicycles as
  371  defined in s. 316.003(2), tri-vehicles as defined in s. 316.003,
  372  and mobile homes, as defined in s. 320.01, which shall be paid
  373  to and collected by the department or its agent upon the
  374  registration or renewal of registration of the following:
  375         (5) SEMITRAILERS, FEES ACCORDING TO GROSS VEHICLE WEIGHT;
  376  SCHOOL BUSES; SPECIAL PURPOSE VEHICLES.—
  377         (d) A wrecker, as defined in s. 320.01(40), which is used
  378  to tow a vessel as defined in s. 327.02(42) s. 327.02(39), a
  379  disabled, abandoned, stolen-recovered, or impounded motor
  380  vehicle as defined in s. 320.01(38), or a replacement motor
  381  vehicle as defined in s. 320.01(39): $41 flat, of which $11
  382  shall be deposited into the General Revenue Fund.
  383         Section 5. Subsection (1) of section 327.391, Florida
  384  Statutes, is amended to read:
  385         327.391 Airboats regulated.—
  386         (1) The exhaust of every internal combustion engine used on
  387  any airboat operated on the waters of this state shall be
  388  provided with an automotive-style factory muffler, underwater
  389  exhaust, or other manufactured device capable of adequately
  390  muffling the sound of the exhaust of the engine as described in
  391  s. 327.02(25) s. 327.02(24). The use of cutouts or flex pipe as
  392  the sole source of muffling is prohibited, except as provided in
  393  subsection (4). Any person who violates this subsection commits
  394  a noncriminal infraction punishable as provided in s. 327.73(1).
  395         Section 6. Subsection (4) of section 328.17, Florida
  396  Statutes, is amended to read:
  397         328.17 Nonjudicial sale of vessels.—
  398         (4) A marina, as defined in s. 327.02(21) s. 327.02(20),
  399  shall have:
  400         (a) A possessory lien upon any vessel for storage fees,
  401  dockage fees, repairs, improvements, or other work-related
  402  storage charges, and for expenses necessary for preservation of
  403  the vessel or expenses reasonably incurred in the sale or other
  404  disposition of the vessel. The possessory lien shall attach as
  405  of the date the vessel is brought to the marina or as of the
  406  date the vessel first occupies rental space at the marina
  407  facility.
  408         (b) A possessory lien upon any vessel in a wrecked, junked,
  409  or substantially dismantled condition, which has been left
  410  abandoned at a marina, for expenses reasonably incurred in the
  411  removal and disposal of the vessel. The possessory lien shall
  412  attach as of the date the vessel arrives at the marina or as of
  413  the date the vessel first occupies rental space at the marina
  414  facility. If the funds recovered from the sale of the vessel, or
  415  from the scrap or salvage value of the vessel, are insufficient
  416  to cover the expenses reasonably incurred by the marina in
  417  removing and disposing of the vessel, all costs in excess of
  418  recovery shall be recoverable against the owner of the vessel.
  419  For a vessel damaged as a result of a named storm, the
  420  provisions of this paragraph shall be suspended for 60 days
  421  following the date the vessel is damaged in the named storm. The
  422  operation of the provisions specified in this paragraph run
  423  concurrently with, and do not extend, the 60-day notice periods
  424  provided in subsections (5) and (7).
  425         Section 7. Subsection (2) of section 342.07, Florida
  426  Statutes, is amended to read:
  427         342.07 Recreational and commercial working waterfronts;
  428  legislative findings; definitions.—
  429         (2) As used in this section, the term “recreational and
  430  commercial working waterfront” means a parcel or parcels of real
  431  property which that provide access for water-dependent
  432  commercial activities, including hotels and motels as defined in
  433  s. 509.242(1), or provide access for the public to the navigable
  434  waters of the state. Recreational and commercial working
  435  waterfronts require direct access to or a location on, over, or
  436  adjacent to a navigable body of water. The term includes water
  437  dependent facilities that are open to the public and offer
  438  public access by vessels to the waters of the state or that are
  439  support facilities for recreational, commercial, research, or
  440  governmental vessels. These facilities include public lodging
  441  establishments, docks, wharfs, lifts, wet and dry marinas, boat
  442  ramps, boat hauling and repair facilities, commercial fishing
  443  facilities, boat construction facilities, and other support
  444  structures over the water. As used in this section, the term
  445  “vessel” has the same meaning as in s. 327.02(42) s. 327.02(39).
  446  Seaports are excluded from the definition.
  447         Section 8. Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section
  448  713.78, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
  449         713.78 Liens for recovering, towing, or storing vehicles
  450  and vessels.—
  451         (1) For the purposes of this section, the term:
  452         (b) “Vessel” means every description of watercraft, barge,
  453  and airboat used or capable of being used as a means of
  454  transportation on water, other than a seaplane or a “documented
  455  vessel” as defined in s. 327.02(10) s. 327.02(9).
  456         Section 9. Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section
  457  715.07, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
  458         715.07 Vehicles or vessels parked on private property;
  459  towing.—
  460         (1) As used in this section, the term:
  461         (b) “Vessel” means every description of watercraft, barge,
  462  and airboat used or capable of being used as a means of
  463  transportation on water, other than a seaplane or a “documented
  464  vessel” as defined in s. 327.02(10) s. 327.02(9).
  465         Section 10. This act shall take effect July 1, 2013.