Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
House bill would modernize Montana boating rules, raise report threshold to $2,000
Summary
A bill sponsored in the House Fish, Wildlife and Parks Committee would align Montana boating rules with federal standards, remove an obsolete decal requirement and raise the damage threshold that triggers a mandatory boating accident report from $100 to $2,000.
House Bill 468 would update state boating statutes to match federal navigation and labeling standards, eliminate a free three‑year validation decal and raise the dollar threshold that requires reporting an accident.
The bill’s sponsor, Representative Steve Kelly, described the measure as “essentially a cleanup bill for the Department of Fish and Wildlife.” He told the committee the bill “cleans up language regarding boating laws to make them consistent with other state laws and federal laws.”
The Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks law enforcement division testified in support. Phil Kilbreath, boating law administrator for Fish, Wildlife & Parks, said the U.S. Coast Guard’s…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
