Senate subcommittee backs amended House Bill 3858 to combine boat and motor titles, add $10 motor registration and phase tax cut to 6%

A state Senate subcommittee on Wednesday approved an amended version of House Bill 3858 that combines watercraft and outboard motor titling, establishes an annual $10 registration for outboard motors and phases a property-tax assessment change that will effectively lower the assessed rate on watercraft to 6% over three years.

The committee heard a 24-page staff amendment that adds technical references to "outboard motor" in enforcement, dealer and temporary-certificate sections while keeping the bill's central policy: boats and motors will be titled together rather than separately. "This bill...deletes the current requirement that outboard motors be titled separately from the watercraft," staff member Mister Gibson told the subcommittee as he summarized the amendment.

The amendment also addresses fees. The House version had set a single $20 title fee for watercraft; staff and the chair recommended changing that to a $10 title fee and adding a separate $10 registration for motors. "So that's where it sets the $10 registration fee in there," Gibson said, describing the compromise recorded in the amendment.

Department of Natural Resources representatives explained where fee revenue would go and how it would be allocated among divisions. DNR finance said the related fee pool is about $2.7 million annually with a roughly $1.4 million carry-forward balance, and staff said the amendment would make distribution language explicit rather than relying on historical practice. Senator Morrie pressed whether that language would undo earlier statutory allocations (referred to in the meeting as "Drew's law"); DNR staff replied the language was intended to memorialize existing practice and allow administrative costs and law-enforcement shares.

DNR also described implementation logistics. Julie Jarrett of the department's boat-titling section said the amendment follows U.S. Coast Guard practice by allowing 60 days for a temporary certificate of number so new motors can be legally operated while registrations are processed: "The 60 days gives us time to process the application...the Coast Guard allows 60 days for a temporary certificate of number," she said. DNR told the subcommittee it has engaged a vendor about system changes and recommended an administrative implementation date of Jan. 1, 2027, with the property-tax change first applying to property-tax years beginning in 2027.

On the property-tax change, staff described section 6 of the amendment as exempting 42.8585% of fair-market value for watercraft so that the effective assessment rate would be 6%, phased in over three equal annual installments. Members asked for clarity on the phase-in and effective dates after staff pointed out conflicting dates in prior drafts; the subcommittee agreed to record the Jan. 1, 2027 implementation timeline.

After discussion, the subcommittee voted by voice to adopt the amendment and give House Bill 3858 a favorable report as amended; the chair noted members were carrying proxies to ensure a unanimous report to the full committee. The motion passed by voice vote. "Ayes have it," the chair declared.

The subcommittee adjourned after setting the committee report and asking that the full committee place the bill on the next available agenda.

What happens next: the bill, as amended and favorably reported, will be placed on the full committee agenda for consideration and a formal vote as part of the committee process.