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Committee reviews boating law cleanup bill to eliminate free decal, raise accident reporting threshold
Summary
A cleanup bill would remove the three-year validation decal process for boats, raise the accident reporting threshold from $100 to $2,000 and repeal an inactive boating advisory council. Fish, Wildlife & Parks told lawmakers the changes align state rules with federal guidance from the U.S. Coast Guard.
Representative Kelly, sponsor of House Bill 468, described the measure as a cleanup bill for the Fish, Wildlife & Parks boating statutes. The sponsor said the bill updates boat validation procedures, aligns Montana’s passing and right-of-way language with other states and federal waterways, raises the damage threshold for boating accident reports from $100 to $2,000, and repeals a boating advisory committee that has not functioned for several years.
Phil Kilbreath, boating law administrator and enforcement division staff at Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, testified that the U.S. Coast Guard no longer considers Montana’s three-year validation decal — a free sticker issued periodically — to be compliant with federal rules that limit registration. Kilbreath said the department is not proposing additional recurring fees: the department would keep permanent boat registration (the “boat MT number” or hull number) and eliminate the free decals that previously expired and required reissuance every one to three years.
Kilbreath described other technical changes in the bill: clarifying language on obstructing a normally used passageway, updating life jacket code language for personal watercraft (for example, jet skis), and directing any funds remaining in the advisory council account toward improved boating facilities. He said the bill would still allow the department to prepare accident reports for people who need documentation for insurance even when accidents fall below the higher reporting threshold.
Committee members asked whether the change would require new fees or periodic stickers; Kilbreath reiterated that the bill would remove the free validation sticker process and not require ongoing new fees. Senator Phelan and Senator Vance questioned how enforcement officers would verify registration; Kilbreath explained boat MT/hull numbers serve as the equivalent of a license plate and can be checked against registration records.
The department recommended a do-pass vote. The sponsor closed by saying he had experience enforcing similar laws and asked the committee for a due pass. No committee vote or formal action was recorded in the transcript.
Ending: The hearing closed after proponents and informational witnesses testified; the committee did not take a recorded vote in the transcript.
