Florida Senate - 2012                                     SB 652
       
       
       
       By Senator Jones
       
       
       
       
       13-00234A-12                                           2012652__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to commercial parasailing; amending s.
    3         327.02, F.S.; defining terms; creating s. 327.375,
    4         F.S.; requiring the owner of a vessel engaged in
    5         commercial parasailing to obtain and carry an
    6         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; providing for the launch from and recovery of
   11         riders to a towing vessel; requiring a person engaged
   12         in operating a vessel for commercial parasailing to
   13         have certain licenses; requiring the presence of an
   14         observer; requiring certain equipment; authorizing up
   15         to three persons to be tethered to the towing vessel;
   16         prohibiting commercial parasailing in certain areas,
   17         under certain weather conditions, and during certain
   18         hours; providing requirements for a towline; requiring
   19         a safety briefing for passengers and parasail riders;
   20         providing a penalty; amending ss. 320.08, 327.391,
   21         328.17, 342.07, 713.78, and 715.07, F.S.; conforming
   22         cross-references to changes made by the act; providing
   23         an effective date.
   24  
   25  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   26  
   27         Section 1. Section 327.02, Florida Statutes, is amended to
   28  read:
   29         327.02 Definitions of terms used in this chapter and in
   30  chapter 328.—As used in this chapter and in chapter 328, unless
   31  the context clearly requires a different meaning, the term:
   32         (1) “Airboat” means a vessel that is primarily designed for
   33  use in shallow waters and powered by an internal combustion
   34  engine with an airplane-type propeller mounted above the stern
   35  and used to push air across a set of rudders.
   36         (2) “Alien” means a person who is not a citizen of the
   37  United States.
   38         (3) “Boating accident” means a collision, accident, or
   39  casualty involving a vessel in or upon, or entering into or
   40  exiting from, the water, including capsizing, collision with
   41  another vessel or object, sinking, personal injury, death,
   42  disappearance of any person from on board under circumstances
   43  that which indicate the possibility of death or injury, or
   44  property damage to any vessel or dock.
   45         (4) “Canoe” means a light, narrow vessel with curved sides
   46  and with both ends pointed. A canoe-like vessel with a transom
   47  may not be excluded from the definition of a canoe if the width
   48  of its transom is less than 45 percent of the width of its beam
   49  or it has been designated as a canoe by the United States Coast
   50  Guard.
   51         (5)(a) “Commercial parasailing” means providing or offering
   52  to provide, for consideration, any activity involving the towing
   53  of a person by a motorboat when:
   54         1. One or more persons are tethered to the towing vessel;
   55         2. The person or persons ascend above the water; and
   56         3. The person or persons remain suspended under a canopy
   57  above the water while the vessel is underway.
   58         (b) The term does not include ultralight glider towing
   59  conducted under the Federal Aviation Administration rules
   60  governing ultralight air vehicles as defined in 14 C.F.R. part
   61  103.
   62         (6)(5) “Commercial vessel” means:
   63         (a) Any vessel primarily engaged in the taking or landing
   64  of saltwater fish or saltwater products or freshwater fish or
   65  freshwater products, or any vessel licensed pursuant to s.
   66  379.361 from which commercial quantities of saltwater products
   67  are harvested, from within and without the waters of this state
   68  for sale either to the consumer, retail dealer, or wholesale
   69  dealer.
   70         (b) Any other vessel, except a recreational vessel as
   71  defined in this section.
   72         (7)(6) “Commission” means the Fish and Wildlife
   73  Conservation Commission.
   74         (8)(7) “Dealer” means any person authorized by the
   75  Department of Revenue to buy, sell, resell, or otherwise
   76  distribute vessels. Such person shall have a valid sales tax
   77  certificate of registration issued by the Department of Revenue
   78  and a valid commercial or occupational license required by any
   79  county, municipality, or political subdivision of the state in
   80  which the person operates.
   81         (9)(8) “Division” means the Division of Law Enforcement of
   82  the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
   83         (10)(9) “Documented vessel” means a vessel for which a
   84  valid certificate of documentation is outstanding pursuant to 46
   85  C.F.R. part 67.
   86         (11)(10) “Floating structure” means a floating entity, with
   87  or without accommodations built thereon, which is not primarily
   88  used as a means of transportation on water but which serves
   89  purposes or provides services typically associated with a
   90  structure or other improvement to real property. The term
   91  “floating structure” includes, but is not limited to, each
   92  entity used as a residence, place of business or office with
   93  public access, hotel or motel, restaurant or lounge, clubhouse,
   94  meeting facility, storage or parking facility, mining platform,
   95  dredge, dragline, or similar facility or entity represented as
   96  such. Floating structures are expressly excluded from the
   97  definition of the term “vessel” provided in this section.
   98  Incidental movement upon water or resting partially or entirely
   99  on the bottom shall not, in and of itself, preclude an entity
  100  from classification as a floating structure.
  101         (12)(11) “Florida Intracoastal Waterway” means the Atlantic
  102  Intracoastal Waterway, the Georgia state line north of
  103  Fernandina to Miami; the Port Canaveral lock and canal to the
  104  Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway; the Atlantic Intracoastal
  105  Waterway, Miami to Key West; the Okeechobee Waterway, Stuart to
  106  Fort Myers; the St. Johns River, Jacksonville to Sanford; the
  107  Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, Anclote to Fort Myers; the Gulf
  108  Intracoastal Waterway, Carrabelle to Tampa Bay; Carrabelle to
  109  Anclote open bay section (using Gulf of Mexico); the Gulf
  110  Intracoastal Waterway, Carrabelle to the Alabama state line west
  111  of Pensacola; and the Apalachicola, Chattahoochee, and Flint
  112  Rivers in Florida.
  113         (13)(12) “Homemade vessel” means any vessel built after
  114  October 31, 1972, for which a federal hull identification number
  115  is not required to be assigned by the manufacturer pursuant to
  116  federal law, or any vessel constructed or assembled prior to
  117  November 1, 1972, by other than a licensed manufacturer for his
  118  or her own use or the use of a specific person. A vessel
  119  assembled from a manufacturer’s kit or constructed from an
  120  unfinished manufactured hull shall be considered to be a
  121  homemade vessel if such a vessel is not required to have a hull
  122  identification number assigned by the United States Coast Guard.
  123  A rebuilt or reconstructed vessel shall in no event be construed
  124  to be a homemade vessel.
  125         (14)(13) “Houseboat” means any vessel that which is used
  126  primarily as a residence for a minimum of 21 days during any 30
  127  day period, in a county of this state, and this residential use
  128  of the vessel is to the preclusion of the use of the vessel as a
  129  means of transportation.
  130         (15)(14) “Length” means the measurement from end to end
  131  over the deck parallel to the centerline excluding sheer.
  132         (16)(15) “Lien” means a security interest that which is
  133  reserved or created by a written agreement recorded with the
  134  Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles pursuant to s.
  135  328.15 which secures payment or performance of an obligation and
  136  is generally valid against third parties.
  137         (17)(16) “Lienholder” means a person holding a security
  138  interest in a vessel, which interest is recorded with the
  139  Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles pursuant to s.
  140  328.15.
  141         (18)(17) “Live-aboard vessel” means:
  142         (a) Any vessel used solely as a residence and not for
  143  navigation;
  144         (b) Any vessel represented as a place of business or a
  145  professional or other commercial enterprise; or
  146         (c) Any vessel for which a declaration of domicile has been
  147  filed pursuant to s. 222.17.
  148  
  149  A commercial fishing boat is expressly excluded from the term
  150  “live-aboard vessel.”
  151         (19)(18) “Livery vessel” means any vessel leased, rented,
  152  or chartered to another for consideration.
  153         (20)(19) “Manufactured vessel” means any vessel built after
  154  October 31, 1972, for which a federal hull identification number
  155  is required pursuant to federal law, or any vessel constructed
  156  or assembled prior to November 1, 1972, by a duly licensed
  157  manufacturer.
  158         (21)(20) “Marina” means a licensed commercial facility that
  159  which provides secured public moorings or dry storage for
  160  vessels on a leased basis. A commercial establishment authorized
  161  by a licensed vessel manufacturer as a dealership shall be
  162  considered a marina for nonjudicial sale purposes.
  163         (22)(21) “Marine sanitation device” means any equipment
  164  other than a toilet, for installation on board a vessel, which
  165  is designed to receive, retain, treat, or discharge sewage, and
  166  any process to treat such sewage. Marine sanitation device Types
  167  I, II, and III shall be defined as provided in 33 C.F.R. part
  168  159.
  169         (23)(22) “Marker” means any channel mark or other aid to
  170  navigation, information or regulatory mark, isolated danger
  171  mark, safe water mark, special mark, inland waters obstruction
  172  mark, or mooring buoy in, on, or over the waters of the state or
  173  the shores thereof, and includes, but is not limited to, a sign,
  174  beacon, buoy, or light.
  175         (24)(23) “Motorboat” means any vessel equipped with
  176  machinery for propulsion, irrespective of whether the propulsion
  177  machinery is in actual operation.
  178         (25)(24) “Muffler” means an automotive-style sound
  179  suppression device or system designed to effectively abate the
  180  sound of exhaust gases emitted from an internal combustion
  181  engine and prevent excessive sound when installed on such an
  182  engine.
  183         (26)(25) “Navigation rules” means the International
  184  Navigational Rules Act of 1977, 33 U.S.C. appendix following s.
  185  1602, as amended, including the annexes thereto, for vessels on
  186  waters outside of established navigational lines of demarcation
  187  as specified in 33 C.F.R. part 80 or the Inland Navigational
  188  Rules Act of 1980, 33 U.S.C. ss. 2001 et seq., as amended,
  189  including the annexes thereto, for vessels on all waters not
  190  outside of such lines of demarcation.
  191         (27)(26) “Nonresident” means a citizen of the United States
  192  who has not established residence in this state and has not
  193  continuously resided in this state for 1 year and in one county
  194  for the 6 months immediately preceding the initiation of a
  195  vessel titling or registration action.
  196         (28)(27) “Operate” means to be in charge of or in command
  197  of or in actual physical control of a vessel upon the waters of
  198  this state, or to exercise control over or to have
  199  responsibility for a vessel’s navigation or safety while the
  200  vessel is underway upon the waters of this state, or to control
  201  or steer a vessel being towed by another vessel upon the waters
  202  of the state.
  203         (29)(28) “Owner” means a person, other than a lienholder,
  204  having the property in or title to a vessel. The term includes a
  205  person entitled to the use or possession of a vessel subject to
  206  an interest in another person, reserved or created by agreement
  207  and securing payment of performance of an obligation, but the
  208  term excludes a lessee under a lease not intended as security.
  209         (30)“Passenger support system” means a device used to
  210  tether, connect, or otherwise suspend a person under a canopy.
  211         (31)(29) “Person” means an individual, partnership, firm,
  212  corporation, association, or other entity.
  213         (32)(30) “Personal watercraft” means a vessel less than 16
  214  feet in length which uses an inboard motor powering a water jet
  215  pump, as its primary source of motive power and which is
  216  designed to be operated by a person sitting, standing, or
  217  kneeling on the vessel, rather than in the conventional manner
  218  of sitting or standing inside the vessel.
  219         (33)(31) “Portable toilet” means a device consisting of a
  220  lid, seat, containment vessel, and support structure which that
  221  is specifically designed to receive, retain, and discharge human
  222  waste and which that is capable of being removed from a vessel
  223  by hand.
  224         (34)(32) “Prohibited activity” means such activity as will
  225  impede or disturb navigation or creates a safety hazard on
  226  waterways of this state.
  227         (35)(33) “Racing shell,” “rowing scull,” or “racing kayak”
  228  means a manually propelled vessel that which is recognized by
  229  national or international racing associations for use in
  230  competitive racing and in which all occupants, with the
  231  exception of a coxswain, if one is provided, row, scull, or
  232  paddle, and that which is not designed to carry and does not
  233  carry any equipment not solely for competitive racing.
  234         (36)(34) “Recreational vessel” means any vessel:
  235         (a) Manufactured and used primarily for noncommercial
  236  purposes; or
  237         (b) Leased, rented, or chartered to a person for the
  238  person’s noncommercial use.
  239         (37)(35) “Registration” means a state operating license on
  240  a vessel which is issued with an identifying number, an annual
  241  certificate of registration, and a decal designating the year
  242  for which a registration fee is paid.
  243         (38)(36) “Resident” means a citizen of the United States
  244  who has established residence in this state and has continuously
  245  resided in this state for 1 year and in one county for the 6
  246  months immediately preceding the initiation of a vessel titling
  247  or registration action.
  248         (39)(37) “Sailboat” means any vessel whose sole source of
  249  propulsion is the wind.
  250         (40)“Sustained wind speed” means a wind speed determined
  251  by averaging the observed wind speed rounded to the nearest
  252  whole knot over a 2-minute period.
  253         (41)(38) “Unclaimed vessel” means any undocumented vessel,
  254  including its machinery, rigging, and accessories, which is in
  255  the physical possession of any marina, garage, or repair shop
  256  for repairs, improvements, or other work with the knowledge of
  257  the vessel owner and for which the costs of such services have
  258  been unpaid for a period in excess of 90 days from the date
  259  written notice of the completed work is given by the marina,
  260  garage, or repair shop to the vessel owner.
  261         (42)(39) “Vessel” is synonymous with boat as referenced in
  262  s. 1(b), Art. VII of the State Constitution and includes every
  263  description of watercraft, barge, and airboat, other than a
  264  seaplane on the water, used or capable of being used as a means
  265  of transportation on water.
  266         (43)(40) “Waters of this state” means any navigable waters
  267  of the United States within the territorial limits of this
  268  state, and the marginal sea adjacent to this state and the high
  269  seas when navigated as a part of a journey or ride to or from
  270  the shore of this state, and all the inland lakes, rivers, and
  271  canals under the jurisdiction of this state.
  272         Section 2. Section 327.375, Florida Statutes, is created to
  273  read:
  274         327.375Commercial parasailing.—
  275         (1) The owner of a vessel engaged in commercial parasailing
  276  may not offer or provide for consideration any parasailing
  277  activity unless the owner first obtains and carries in full
  278  force and effect an insurance policy, from an insurance carrier
  279  licensed in this state or approved by the Department of
  280  Insurance, insuring against any accident, loss, injury, property
  281  damage, death, or other casualty caused by or resulting from any
  282  commercial parasailing activity. The insurance policy must
  283  provide coverage of at least $1 million per person and $2
  284  million per event. Proof of insurance must be available for
  285  inspection at the location where commercial parasailing is
  286  offered or provided for consideration, and each customer who
  287  requests it shall be provided with the insurance carrier’s name
  288  and address and the insurance policy number.
  289         (2) A person engaged in commercial parasailing must meet
  290  the following requirements:
  291         (a) Commercial parasail operators shall launch riders only
  292  from and recover riders only to the vessel.
  293         (b) A person may not operate a vessel engaged in commercial
  294  parasailing on the waters of this state unless the person has a
  295  current and valid license issued by the United States Coast
  296  Guard authorizing that person to engage in carrying passengers
  297  for hire. The license must be appropriate for the number of
  298  passengers carried and the displacement of the vessel. The
  299  license must be carried on the vessel and be available for
  300  inspection while commercial parasailing activities are
  301  conducted.
  302         (c) A person may not operate a vessel for commercial
  303  parasailing unless an observer 18 years of age or older is
  304  present in the vessel at all times to monitor the progress of
  305  any tethered parasail rider and parasail equipment. The observer
  306  may not be a customer, must be attentive to the parasail rider
  307  or riders and equipment, and may not have any other duties while
  308  the rider or riders are in the water or suspended above the
  309  water.
  310         (d) A person may not operate any vessel engaged in
  311  commercial parasailing unless:
  312         1. All riders wear an appropriate floatation device
  313  approved by the United States Coast Guard, other than an
  314  inflatable device, which is in serviceable condition and of the
  315  proper size;
  316         2. The vessel is in full compliance with all requirements
  317  of the United States Coast Guard governing crewing and equipment
  318  carriage for passenger-carrying vessels as specified in the Code
  319  of Federal Regulations or as otherwise specified by the United
  320  States Coast Guard in the vessel’s certificate of inspection;
  321  and
  322         3. The vessel is equipped with a functional VHF marine
  323  transceiver and a separate electronic device capable of access
  324  to National Weather Service forecasts and current weather
  325  conditions.
  326         (e) No more than three persons may be tethered to the
  327  towing vessel and ascend above the water at any time.
  328         (f) A person may not operate a vessel towing a commercial
  329  parasailing rider on any coastal waters of the state less than
  330  1,800 feet from the shore. This restriction applies to the
  331  entire commercial parasailing apparatus, including the vessel,
  332  towline, and rider.
  333         (g) A person may not operate a vessel towing a commercial
  334  parasailing rider so that the vessel, towline, or rider comes
  335  within 400 feet of:
  336         1. An anchored vessel;
  337         2. A person in the water; or
  338         3. A structure, bridge, power line, wharf, pier, dock,
  339  platform, piling, marker, or other similar fixed objects.
  340         (h) A person may not operate any vessel towing a parasail
  341  or engage in parasailing within 100 feet of the marked channel
  342  of the Florida Intracoastal Waterway.
  343         (i) Commercial parasailing is prohibited when the current
  344  conditions or those forecasted by the National Weather Service
  345  include a sustained wind speed of more than 20 miles per hour in
  346  the area of operation, rain or heavy fog that results in reduced
  347  visibility of less than 0.5 miles, or a known lightning storm
  348  within 7 miles of the parasailing area.
  349         (j) The vessel captain shall use all available means to
  350  determine prevailing and forecasted weather conditions and
  351  record this information in a weather log each time passengers
  352  are to be taken out on the water. The weather log must be
  353  available for inspection at all times at the place of business.
  354         (k) A towline used for commercial parasailing must be rated
  355  for a tensile strength that exceeds 4,800 pounds, must be
  356  braided, and must be a low-stretch type and may not exceed 500
  357  feet in length.
  358         (l) Each passenger and parasail rider must be given a
  359  safety briefing before embarking or before the parasail activity
  360  commences. This briefing must include a description of the
  361  equipment, the parasailing activity, and the inherent risks and
  362  instruction on how to safely evacuate from the passenger support
  363  system during a water landing.
  364         (m) A person operating a vessel for commercial parasailing
  365  may not engage in parasailing, or any similar activity, at any
  366  time between the hours of one-half hour after sunset to one-half
  367  hour before sunrise.
  368         (3) A person or operator who violates any provision of this
  369  section commits a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable
  370  as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.
  371         Section 3. Paragraph (d) of subsection (5) of section
  372  320.08, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
  373         320.08 License taxes.—Except as otherwise provided herein,
  374  there are hereby levied and imposed annual license taxes for the
  375  operation of motor vehicles, mopeds, motorized bicycles as
  376  defined in s. 316.003(2), tri-vehicles as defined in s. 316.003,
  377  and mobile homes, as defined in s. 320.01, which shall be paid
  378  to and collected by the department or its agent upon the
  379  registration or renewal of registration of the following:
  380         (5) SEMITRAILERS, FEES ACCORDING TO GROSS VEHICLE WEIGHT;
  381  SCHOOL BUSES; SPECIAL PURPOSE VEHICLES.—
  382         (d) A wrecker, as defined in s. 320.01(40), which is used
  383  to tow a vessel as defined in s. 327.02(42) s. 327.02(39), a
  384  disabled, abandoned, stolen-recovered, or impounded motor
  385  vehicle as defined in s. 320.01(38), or a replacement motor
  386  vehicle as defined in s. 320.01(39): $41 flat, of which $11
  387  shall be deposited into the General Revenue Fund.
  388         Section 4. Subsection (1) of section 327.391, Florida
  389  Statutes, is amended to read:
  390         327.391 Airboats regulated.—
  391         (1) The exhaust of every internal combustion engine used on
  392  any airboat operated on the waters of this state shall be
  393  provided with an automotive-style factory muffler, underwater
  394  exhaust, or other manufactured device capable of adequately
  395  muffling the sound of the exhaust of the engine as described in
  396  s. 327.02(25) s. 327.02(24). The use of cutouts or flex pipe as
  397  the sole source of muffling is prohibited, except as provided in
  398  subsection (4). Any person who violates this subsection commits
  399  a noncriminal infraction punishable as provided in s. 327.73(1).
  400         Section 5. Subsection (4) of section 328.17, Florida
  401  Statutes, is amended to read:
  402         328.17 Nonjudicial sale of vessels.—
  403         (4) A marina, as defined in s. 327.02(21) s. 327.02(20),
  404  shall have:
  405         (a) A possessory lien upon any vessel for storage fees,
  406  dockage fees, repairs, improvements, or other work-related
  407  storage charges, and for expenses necessary for preservation of
  408  the vessel or expenses reasonably incurred in the sale or other
  409  disposition of the vessel. The possessory lien shall attach as
  410  of the date the vessel is brought to the marina or as of the
  411  date the vessel first occupies rental space at the marina
  412  facility.
  413         (b) A possessory lien upon any vessel in a wrecked, junked,
  414  or substantially dismantled condition, which has been left
  415  abandoned at a marina, for expenses reasonably incurred in the
  416  removal and disposal of the vessel. The possessory lien shall
  417  attach as of the date the vessel arrives at the marina or as of
  418  the date the vessel first occupies rental space at the marina
  419  facility. If the funds recovered from the sale of the vessel, or
  420  from the scrap or salvage value of the vessel, are insufficient
  421  to cover the expenses reasonably incurred by the marina in
  422  removing and disposing of the vessel, all costs in excess of
  423  recovery shall be recoverable against the owner of the vessel.
  424  For a vessel damaged as a result of a named storm, the
  425  provisions of this paragraph shall be suspended for 60 days
  426  following the date the vessel is damaged in the named storm. The
  427  operation of the provisions specified in this paragraph run
  428  concurrently with, and do not extend, the 60-day notice periods
  429  provided in subsections (5) and (7).
  430         Section 6. Subsection (2) of section 342.07, Florida
  431  Statutes, is amended to read:
  432         342.07 Recreational and commercial working waterfronts;
  433  legislative findings; definitions.—
  434         (2) As used in this section, the term “recreational and
  435  commercial working waterfront” means a parcel or parcels of real
  436  property which that provide access for water-dependent
  437  commercial activities, including hotels and motels as defined in
  438  s. 509.242(1), or provide access for the public to the navigable
  439  waters of the state. Recreational and commercial working
  440  waterfronts require direct access to or a location on, over, or
  441  adjacent to a navigable body of water. The term includes water
  442  dependent facilities that are open to the public and offer
  443  public access by vessels to the waters of the state or that are
  444  support facilities for recreational, commercial, research, or
  445  governmental vessels. These facilities include public lodging
  446  establishments, docks, wharfs, lifts, wet and dry marinas, boat
  447  ramps, boat hauling and repair facilities, commercial fishing
  448  facilities, boat construction facilities, and other support
  449  structures over the water. As used in this section, the term
  450  “vessel” has the same meaning as in s. 327.02(42) s. 327.02(39).
  451  Seaports are excluded from the definition.
  452         Section 7. Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section
  453  713.78, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
  454         713.78 Liens for recovering, towing, or storing vehicles
  455  and vessels.—
  456         (1) For the purposes of this section, the term:
  457         (b) “Vessel” means every description of watercraft, barge,
  458  and airboat used or capable of being used as a means of
  459  transportation on water, other than a seaplane or a “documented
  460  vessel” as defined in s. 327.02(10) s. 327.02(9).
  461         Section 8. Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section
  462  715.07, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
  463         715.07 Vehicles or vessels parked on private property;
  464  towing.—
  465         (1) As used in this section, the term:
  466         (b) “Vessel” means every description of watercraft, barge,
  467  and airboat used or capable of being used as a means of
  468  transportation on water, other than a seaplane or a “documented
  469  vessel” as defined in s. 327.02(10) s. 327.02(9).
  470         Section 9. This act shall take effect July 1, 2012.