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House passes bill updating personal watercraft safety to cover efoils and similar devices
Summary
House Bill 1418 passed final passage to modernize boating-safety law, empowering the Fish and Boat Commission to set education and safety rules for new electric motorized personal watercraft such as efoils and jet boards and exempting small motorized kayaks and canoes.
The Pennsylvania House voted to finally pass House Bill 1418, updating state watercraft safety rules to address newer electric motorized personal watercraft. The final recorded vote was 190 yeas and 13 nays.
Representative Mirsky (D-Erie), sponsor of the bill, told the House the measure aligns Pennsylvania law with U.S. Coast Guard standards and addresses new high-speed electric devices that did not exist 15 to 20 years ago. "It empowers the Fish and Boat Commission to establish rules requiring safety education for users of certain electric motorized personal watercraft, such as efoils and jet boards," Mirsky said.
Mirsky said the bill exempts small motorized kayaks and canoes and does not create new fees for boating-safety education courses. The sponsor described the update as a public-safety measure intended to help operators handle the equipment and follow basic safety protocols.
The bill was considered on three separate days before final passage. The House clerk recorded the yeas and nays after debate and the bill will be presented to the Senate for concurrence as part of the legislative process.
