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S. B. No. 271 As IntroducedAs Introduced
127th General Assembly | Regular Session | 2007-2008 |
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A BILL
To amend sections 1547.14, 1547.24, 1547.99, and
1548.032 and to enact sections
1547.072 and
1547.132 of the Revised Code to make
changes to
the laws governing watercraft.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That sections 1547.14, 1547.24, 1547.99, and
1548.032 be amended and sections 1547.072 and 1547.132 of the
Revised Code be
enacted to read as follows:
Sec. 1547.072. No person shall operate or permit the
operation of a vessel on the waters in this state without
maintaining sufficient control to avoid an incident that results
in property damage, physical injury, loss of life, or any
combination of them.
Sec. 1547.132. (A) As used in this section, "public service"
means activities that include, but are not limited to, escorting
or patrolling special water events, traffic control, salvage,
firefighting, medical assistance, assisting disabled vessels, and
search and rescue.
(B) No person shall operate a vessel at a speed that creates
a wake within one hundred feet of a stationary law enforcement
vessel displaying at least one flashing, oscillating, or rotating
light conforming with 33 C.F.R. 88.11.
(C) No person shall operate a vessel at a speed that creates
a wake within one hundred feet of a vessel that is being used to
provide public service and that displays at least one flashing,
oscillating, or rotating light conforming with 33 C.F.R. 88.12.
(D) No person shall permit any vessel to be operated on the
waters in this state in violation of this section.
Sec. 1547.14. (A) Except on the waters of Lake Erie, the
Ohio River, or Lake Erie and
immediately connected harbors and
anchorage facilities bays, any person who rides
or attempts to
ride upon one or more water skis, surfboard, or similar device,
or
who engages or attempts to engage in barefoot skiing, and any
person who
operates a vessel towing a person riding or
attempting
to ride on one or more
water skis, surfboard, or
similar device,
or engaging or attempting to engage
in barefoot
skiing, shall
confine that activity to the water area within a
designated ski
zone on all bodies of water on which a
ski zone has
been
established.
(B) On all bodies of water designated as "open zone," that
is, having a
combined speed and ski zone where no specific
activity zones have been established, the activities described in
division (A) of this
section shall be confined to the open zone
areas where the activities are not specifically restricted by this
chapter and rules adopted under it.
(C) Divisions (A) and (B) of this section do not apply to an
activity described in division (A) of this section if the
vessel
involved in the activity is traveling at idle speed in
a
designated no wake zone and the activity is not being conducted
in any of the following areas:
(1) Within three hundred feet of a gas dock, marina, launch
ramp, or harbor entrance;
(2) Within a designated anchorage area, swim zone, boat swim
zone, or boat camping area;
(3) Under a bridge or within three hundred feet of a bridge
underpass;
(4) Any area designated as a no ski zone.
(D) No person shall operate or permit to be operated any
vessel
on the waters in
this state in violation of this
section.
Sec. 1547.24. No person shall operate or permit to be
operated any vessel
under eighteen feet in length while there is
present in the vessel any person
under ten years of age, not
wearing a coast guard approved type one, two, or
three, or five
personal flotation device in good and serviceable condition of
appropriate size securely attached to the person under ten years
of age.
Sec. 1547.99. (A) Whoever violates section 1547.91 of the
Revised Code is guilty of a felony of the fourth degree.
(B) Whoever violates division (F) of section 1547.08, section
1547.10, division (I) of
section 1547.111, section 1547.13, or
section 1547.66 of the
Revised Code is guilty of a misdemeanor of
the first degree.
(C) Whoever violates a provision of this chapter or a rule
adopted thereunder, for which no penalty is otherwise provided,
is
guilty of a minor misdemeanor.
(D) Whoever violates section 1547.07, 1547.132, or 1547.12 of
the
Revised Code without causing injury to persons or damage to
property is guilty of a misdemeanor of the fourth degree.
(E) Whoever violates section 1547.07, 1547.132, or 1547.12 of
the
Revised Code causing injury to persons or damage to property
is
guilty of a misdemeanor of the third degree.
(F) Whoever violates division (M) of section 1547.54,
division (G) of section 1547.30, or section 1547.131, 1547.25,
1547.33, 1547.38, 1547.39, 1547.40,
1547.65, 1547.69, or 1547.92
of the
Revised Code or a rule adopted under division (A)(2) of
section
1547.52 of the Revised Code is guilty of a misdemeanor of
the
fourth degree.
(G) Whoever violates section 1547.11 of the Revised Code
is
guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree and shall be
punished
as provided in division (G)(1), (2), or (3) of this
section.
(1) Except as otherwise provided in division (G)(2) or (3)
of
this
section, the
court shall sentence the offender to a
jail
term
of
three consecutive days and may sentence
the
offender pursuant
to
section
2929.24 of the Revised
Code to a
longer
jail term. In
addition, the
court shall impose
upon the
offender a fine of not
less than one
hundred fifty nor
more than
one thousand dollars.
The court may suspend the execution of the mandatory
jail
term of three
consecutive days
that it is required
to impose by
division (G)(1) of this section if the court, in
lieu
of the
suspended
jail term, places the offender
under a community control
sanction pursuant to section
2929.25 of the Revised Code
and
requires the
offender to attend,
for three consecutive days, a
drivers'
intervention program that
is certified pursuant to
section
3793.10 of the Revised Code. The
court also may suspend
the
execution of any part of the mandatory
jail term of three
consecutive days
that it is
required to impose by division
(G)(1)
of this section if
the court
places the offender
under a community
control
sanction pursuant to section 2929.25 of the Revised Code
for
part
of the three
consecutive days; requires the offender to
attend,
for that part
of the three consecutive days, a drivers'
intervention program
that is certified pursuant to section 3793.10
of the Revised
Code; and sentences the offender to a
jail term
equal
to the remainder of the three consecutive days
that the
offender
does not spend attending the drivers'
intervention
program. The
court may require the offender, as a
condition of
community control, to
attend and
satisfactorily complete any
treatment or education
programs, in
addition to the required
attendance at a drivers'
intervention
program, that the operators
of the drivers'
intervention program
determine that the offender
should attend
and to report
periodically to the court on the
offender's progress
in the
programs. The court also may impose
any
other conditions of
community control on the offender that it
considers
necessary.
(2) If, within
six years of the offense, the offender
has
been convicted of or pleaded guilty to one violation of
section
1547.11 of the Revised Code, of a municipal ordinance
relating to
operating a watercraft or manipulating any water skis,
aquaplane,
or similar device while under the influence of alcohol,
a drug of
abuse, or
a combination of
them, of a municipal ordinance
relating
to operating a watercraft
or manipulating any water
skis,
aquaplane, or similar device with
a prohibited
concentration of
alcohol, a controlled substance, or a metabolite of a controlled
substance in the
whole blood,
blood
serum or plasma, breath, or
urine, of division
(A)(1) of
section
2903.06 of the Revised Code,
or of division
(A)(2), (3),
or (4) of
section 2903.06 of the
Revised Code
or
section
2903.06 or
2903.07 of the Revised Code
as
they existed prior to March 23,
2000, in a case in which
the jury
or judge found that the offender
was under the influence
of
alcohol, a drug of abuse, or
a combination of them, the
court
shall
sentence the offender to a
jail term
of
ten
consecutive
days
and may sentence the offender pursuant to
section
2929.24 of
the
Revised Code to a longer
jail term. In
addition,
the court shall
impose upon the
offender a fine of not
less than
one hundred fifty
nor more than
one thousand dollars.
In addition to any other sentence that it imposes upon the
offender, the court may require the offender to attend a drivers'
intervention program that is certified pursuant to section
3793.10
of the Revised Code.
(3) If, within
six years of the offense, the offender
has
been convicted of or pleaded guilty to more than one violation
identified in
division (G)(2) of this section,
the court shall
sentence the offender to a
jail term
of thirty
consecutive days
and may sentence the
offender to a longer
jail
term
of not more
than one
year. In addition, the
court
shall impose upon the
offender a
fine of not less than one
hundred
fifty nor more than
one
thousand dollars.
In addition to any other sentence that it imposes upon the
offender, the court may require the offender to attend a drivers'
intervention program that is certified pursuant to section
3793.10
of the Revised Code.
(4) Upon a showing that
serving a jail term
would seriously
affect
the ability of an offender sentenced
pursuant to division
(G)(1),
(2), or (3) of this section to
continue the offender's
employment,
the court may authorize that
the offender be granted
work release
after the
offender has served the
mandatory jail term
of three, ten,
or
thirty consecutive days
that the court is
required
by division (G)(1), (2), or (3) of this section to
impose. No
court shall authorize work release
during the
mandatory
jail term of
three, ten, or thirty consecutive days
that the
court
is required by division (G)(1), (2),
or (3) of
this section
to
impose. The duration of the work
release shall
not exceed the
time
necessary each day for the
offender to
commute to and from
the
place of employment and the
place
in which the jail term is served
and the
time
actually spent under employment.
(5) Notwithstanding any section of the Revised Code that
authorizes the suspension of the imposition or execution of a
sentence or the placement of an offender in any treatment program
in lieu of
being imprisoned or serving a jail term,
no court shall
suspend the
mandatory jail term of ten or thirty
consecutive days
required to be imposed by
division (G)(2) or (3) of this section
or place an offender who
is
sentenced pursuant to division (G)(2)
or (3) of this section
in
any treatment program in lieu of
being
imprisoned or
serving a jail term until after the
offender has
served the
mandatory jail term of ten or thirty consecutive days
required to be imposed pursuant to division (G)(2)
or
(3) of this
section. Notwithstanding any section of the
Revised
Code that
authorizes the suspension of the imposition or
execution
of a
sentence or the placement of an offender in any
treatment
program
in lieu of
being imprisoned or serving a jail
term, no court,
except as
specifically
authorized by division
(G)(1) of this
section, shall
suspend the
mandatory jail term of
three
consecutive days
required to be
imposed by
division (G)(1) of this
section or place an offender
who is
sentenced pursuant to division
(G)(1) of this section in
any
treatment program in lieu of
imprisonment until after the
offender
has served the
mandatory
jail term of three consecutive days
required to
be imposed
pursuant to division (G)(1) of
this
section.
(6) As used in division (G) of this section, "jail term" and
"mandatory jail term" have the same meanings as in section 2929.01
of the Revised Code.
(H) Whoever violates section 1547.304 of the Revised Code
is
guilty of a misdemeanor of the fourth degree and also shall be
assessed any costs incurred by the state or a county, township,
municipal corporation, or other political subdivision in
disposing
of an abandoned junk vessel or outboard motor, less any
money
accruing to the state, county, township, municipal
corporation, or
other political subdivision from that
disposal.
(I) Whoever violates division (B) or (C) of section
1547.49
of the Revised Code is guilty of a minor misdemeanor.
(J) Whoever violates section 1547.31 of the Revised Code is
guilty of a
misdemeanor of the fourth degree on a first offense.
On each subsequent
offense, the person is guilty of a misdemeanor
of the third degree.
(K) Whoever violates section 1547.05 or 1547.051 of the
Revised Code is guilty
of a misdemeanor of the fourth degree if
the violation is not related to a
collision, injury to a person,
or damage to property and a misdemeanor of the
third degree if the
violation is related to a collision, injury to a person,
or damage
to property.
(L) The sentencing court, in addition to the penalty
provided
under this section for a violation of this chapter or a
rule
adopted under it
that involves a powercraft powered by more
than
ten horsepower and that, in
the opinion of the court,
involves a
threat to the safety of persons or
property, shall
order the
offender to complete successfully a boating course
approved by the
national association of state boating law
administrators
before
the offender is allowed to operate a
powercraft powered by more
than
ten horsepower on the waters in
this state. Violation of a
court order
entered under this
division is punishable as contempt
under Chapter
2705. of the
Revised Code.
Sec. 1548.032. (A)(1) If a person who is not an electronic
watercraft dealer owns a watercraft or outboard motor for which a
physical
certificate of title
has not been issued by a clerk of a
court of
common pleas and the person sells the watercraft or
outboard motor to a watercraft dealer registered under section
1547.543 of the Revised Code, the person is not required to
obtain
a physical certificate of title to the watercraft or outboard
motor in
order to transfer ownership to the dealer. The person
shall
present the dealer, in a manner approved by the chief of the
division of watercraft,
with sufficient proof of the person's
identity
and
complete and sign a form prescribed by the chief
attesting to
the person's identity and assigning the
watercraft or
outboard motor to the
dealer. Except as otherwise provided in this
section, the watercraft dealer shall present the assignment form
to any clerk of a court of common pleas together with an
application for a certificate of title and payment of the fees
prescribed by section 1548.10 of the Revised Code.
In a case in which an electronic certificate of title has
been issued and either the buyer or seller of the watercraft or
outboard motor is an electronic watercraft dealer, the electronic
watercraft dealer
instead may inform a
clerk of a court of common
pleas via electronic means of
the sale
of
the watercraft or
outboard motor and assignment of ownership of the watercraft or
outboard motor. The clerk shall enter the information relating to
the
assignment into
the automated title processing system,
and
ownership
of the
watercraft or outboard motor passes to the
applicant when the clerk
enters this
information into the
system.
The dealer is not required to
obtain
a physical certificate of
title to the watercraft or outboard motor in the dealer's
name.
(2) A clerk shall charge and collect from a dealer a fee of
five
dollars for
each watercraft or outboard motor assignment sent
by the dealer to the clerk under
division (A)(1) of this section.
The fee shall
be distributed in
accordance with section
1548.10 of
the Revised Code.
(B) If a person who is not an electronic watercraft
dealer
owns a watercraft or outboard motor for which a physical
certificate of
title has
not been issued by a clerk of a court of
common pleas
and the person sells the
watercraft or outboard motor
to a person who is not a watercraft dealer registered under
section 1547.543 of the Revised Code, the
person shall obtain a
physical certificate of title to the watercraft or outboard motor
in order to
transfer ownership of the watercraft or outboard motor
to
that person.
Section 2. That existing sections 1547.14, 1547.24, 1547.99,
and
1548.032 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.
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