State Boating Act

119 S3985 IS: State Boating Act U.S. Senate 2026-03-04 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain. II 119th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 3985 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES March 4, 2026 Mr. Crapo (for himself and Mr. Welch ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation A BILL To allow States to require payment of State fees related to boating as a condition for issuance of a vessel number and to collect such fees in conjunction with other fees related to vessel numbering. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the State Boating Act . 2. Collection of state fees related to boating Section 12307 of title 46, United States Code, is amended— (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1)— (A) by striking The authority and inserting (a) In general.— The authority ; and (B) by striking that are— and inserting that— ; (2) in paragraph (1)— (A) by inserting are before prescribed ; and (B) by striking ; or and inserting a semicolon; (3) in paragraph (2)— (A) by inserting are before related ; and (B) by striking the period and inserting ; or ; and (4) by adding at the end the following: (3) require the payment of State fees related to boating, which may include fees for search and rescue operations, boating safety measures, or efforts to address aquatic invasive species. (b) State fees related to boating A State issuing authority may collect a fee described in subsection (a)(3) in conjunction with the collection of any other fee established under this section. (c) Use of fees Fees collected by States under the authority of this section may only be used to fund activities directly related to improving recreational boating, boater safety, boater access, use of waterways by recreational boaters, and aquatic invasive species mitigation. .