HCS/SCS/SB 376 - This act revises boating regulations on waters of the Mississippi River, the waters of the Missouri River and lakes with an aggregate shoreline in excess of one hundred sixty miles.

Identification numbers and temporary certificates issued by the department of revenue must be displayed on the vessel for which the number or certificate was issued.

No person under fourteen may operate a motorboat, personal watercraft or other vessel unless accompanied by on-board supervision of a parent, guardian or person sixteen years of age or older.

No variety of watercraft may be operated in excess of thirty miles per hour between a half-hour after sunset and one hour before sunrise the following day.

Between the hours of 11:00 a.m. and sunset, a red or orange flag is required to be displayed any time a person leaves a watercraft and enters the water, unless the craft is moored or anchored. The flag shall not be displayed while engaged in towing a person, but rather once that person has ceased being towed and has entered the water. Any watercraft engaged in towing must have an approved ski mirror if an additional person other than the operator is not on board the vessel.

Any person who operates or positions a vessel so as to impede or obstruct the normal flow of traffic shall be guilty of a Class C misdemeanor for the first offense, and a Class B misdemeanor thereafter.

Motorized watercraft will only be allowed to raft together in groups of twenty or less, with a minimum distance of two hundred feet between each group. A limit of three boats can be grouped together on the shore of a state park cove, with a minimum separation between such groups of one hundred feet. Violations of these restrictions subject the owner or operator to a Class C misdemeanor for the first offense, a Class B misdemeanor for the second offense and a Class A misdemeanor thereafter.

Nudity and sexual contact in public while on a lake now would constitute a Class B misdemeanor for one offense and a Class A misdemeanor thereafter.

The patrol is given arrest authority upon sight of the listed offenses, as well as the authority to disperse rafted vessels. Failure to disperse constitutes a Class C misdemeanor.
DENISE GARNIER