Bill Text: IA HF2014 | 2015-2016 | 86th General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: A bill for an act relating to rafting safety regulations and including penalties.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2016-01-26 - Subcommittee, Fisher, Lykam, and Paustian. H.J. 122. [HF2014 Detail]
Download: Iowa-2015-HF2014-Introduced.html
House File 2014 - Introduced HOUSE FILE BY WILLS A BILL FOR 1 An Act relating to rafting safety regulations and including 2 penalties. 3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: TLSB 5238YH (5) 86 av/nh PAG LIN 1 1 Section 1. NEW SECTION. 462A.26A Rafting safety regulations 1 2 == special event permits. 1 3 1. Definitions. As used in this section, unless the context 1 4 otherwise requires: 1 5 a. "Making way" means vessel movement attributed to 1 6 intentional guided motion. 1 7 b. "Rafting" means the anchoring, tying, fastening, 1 8 linking, or joining of any combination of three or more vessels 1 9 together. 1 10 c. "Shoreline" means the zone of contact of a body of water 1 11 with land other than an island unless the island is located 1 12 within three hundred yards of the shoreline. 1 13 d. "Underway" means not anchored or moored to a fixed 1 14 object. 1 15 e. "Vessel" means every type of watercraft used or capable 1 16 of being used as a means of transportation or habitation on the 1 17 water. 1 18 2. Regulations for rafting. 1 19 a. (1) Rafting of three to ten vessels shall be conducted 1 20 at least one hundred yards from the shoreline of a public body 1 21 of water. Such vessels shall be located at least two hundred 1 22 yards from any other vessel or group of vessels that are tied 1 23 or anchored together. 1 24 (2) Rafting of eleven or more vessels shall be conducted at 1 25 least three hundred yards from the shoreline of a public body 1 26 of water. 1 27 (3) Two vessels may be tied or anchored together within 1 28 one hundred yards of the shoreline of a public body of water, 1 29 but such vessels must be located at least fifty yards from any 1 30 other vessel or any other group of vessels tied or anchored 1 31 together. 1 32 (4) In the event of a violation of this paragraph "a", a 1 33 peace officer may order all vessels within three hundred yards 1 34 of the shoreline of a public body of water to disperse if the 1 35 peace officer is unable to determine which vessels were in the 2 1 area first. 2 2 b. (1) Notwithstanding paragraph "a", the commission, by 2 3 rules adopted pursuant to chapter 17A, may designate areas on a 2 4 public body of water where rafting or anchoring is prohibited 2 5 within three hundred yards from the shoreline and to a point as 2 6 described by signage installed by the department. All vessels 2 7 in such a designated area shall be underway and making way at 2 8 no wake speed or greater. 2 9 (2) The department shall place signs in such designated 2 10 areas where rafting or anchoring is prohibited that state "NO 2 11 RAFTING OR ANCHORING == $500.00 FINE". 2 12 3. Special event permit. 2 13 a. Notwithstanding subsection 2, the commission may, by 2 14 rules adopted pursuant to chapter 17A, provide for the issuance 2 15 of a special event permit that allows rafting or anchoring in 2 16 an area where rafting or anchoring is otherwise prohibited. 2 17 b. The rules shall provide that issuance of a special event 2 18 permit is conditioned on an assurance by the permit applicant 2 19 that the applicant will take reasonable care to ensure that 2 20 persons or boaters in the vicinity of the event will not be 2 21 subjected to unreasonably loud or disturbing noise, that event 2 22 participants will not engage in any disorderly conduct, and 2 23 that any islands used during the event will be cleaned up after 2 24 the event ends. 2 25 c. The commission may deny a special event permit 2 26 application if the applicant was previously issued a special 2 27 event permit and the event resulted in a serious complaint from 2 28 a person or boater in the vicinity of the event or a response to 2 29 the event by a peace officer. 2 30 d. The rules shall require that an application for a special 2 31 event permit be received by the commission in writing at least 2 32 forty=five days before the event and be accompanied by an 2 33 application fee of fifty dollars. 2 34 Sec. 2. Section 805.8B, subsection 1, Code 2016, is amended 2 35 by adding the following new paragraph: 3 1 NEW PARAGRAPH. f. For rafting safety violations under 3 2 section 462A.26A, the scheduled fine is five hundred dollars. 3 3 EXPLANATION 3 4 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 3 5 the explanation's substance by the members of the general assembly. 3 6 This bill prohibits the rafting of vessels within specified 3 7 distances from the shoreline of a public body of water. 3 8 "Rafting" is defined to mean the anchoring, tying, fastening, 3 9 linking, or joining of any combination of three or more vessels 3 10 together. 3 11 The bill allows rafting near the shoreline of a public 3 12 body of water under the following circumstances: rafting of 3 13 three to 10 vessels shall be conducted at least 100 yards 3 14 from the shoreline and such vessels shall be located at least 3 15 200 yards from any other vessel or group of vessels that are 3 16 tied or anchored together, and rafting of 11 or more vessels 3 17 shall be conducted at least 300 yards from the shoreline. The 3 18 bill also provides that two vessels may be tied or anchored 3 19 together within 100 yards of the shoreline, but such vessels 3 20 must be located at least 50 yards from any other vessel or any 3 21 other group of vessels tied or anchored together. If these 3 22 provisions are violated, a peace officer may order all vessels 3 23 within 300 yards of the shoreline to disperse if the peace 3 24 officer is unable to determine which vessels were in the area 3 25 first. 3 26 The bill allows the natural resource commission, by rules 3 27 adopted pursuant to Code chapter 17A, to designate areas within 3 28 300 feet of the shoreline of a public body of water within 3 29 which rafting or anchoring is prohibited. The department 3 30 of natural resources shall post signage to that effect 3 31 which states that there is a $500 fine for violation of the 3 32 prohibition. 3 33 The bill also allows the commission to issue a special 3 34 event permit allowing rafting or anchoring in prohibited areas 3 35 if the applicant gives assurance that the applicant will 4 1 take reasonable care that persons or boaters in the vicinity 4 2 of the event will not be subjected to unreasonably loud or 4 3 disturbing noise, that event participants will not engage in 4 4 any disorderly conduct, and that any islands used during the 4 5 event will be cleaned up after the event ends. An application 4 6 for a permit may be denied if the applicant has previously 4 7 been issued a permit for an event which resulted in a serious 4 8 complaint from a person or boater in the vicinity of the event 4 9 or a response to the event from a peace officer. 4 10 The application for a special event permit must be submitted 4 11 in writing, as prescribed by rule, at least 45 days prior to 4 12 the event and accompanied by an application fee of $50. 4 13 A violation of the provisions of the bill is punishable with 4 14 a scheduled fine of $500. LSB 5238YH (5) 86 av/nh
