HB255 Implementation Update

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Dan, if you’re referring to the local boater program, I’m from Co. and keep my boat less than 20 miles from the lake. It’s worth it not to have to be fully inspected, they see the sticker and wave you thru. Sq
 
I'm confused on how the education aspect will be accomplished for those boaters coming from out of state (say from the south through St George or any direction in bound) when they have to stop at the entrance station at the border for boat inspection? I can see them being able to pay the fee there but what of the education course? Can't really require it before they get there as they won't even know about it (coming from out of state and maybe their first time to Utah). How are out of state boat owners supposed to know about this to take the online course before they get to the border? Maybe I missed something in this thread.

Another question would be do Utah residents have to take the online course also before they can launch starting 7/1? I may have missed that one also.
 
Cliff said:
I'm confused on how the education aspect will be accomplished for those boaters coming from out of state
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I agree, they will have to provide the information at launch ramps for those who aren't aware of the new law/requirements(not everyone has such an informative site as this one).
 
I am referring to HB255.

HB255 states:

23-27-304. Aquatic invasive species fee.
(1)(a) ... there is imposed an annual nonresident aquatic invasive species fee of $20 on each vessel in order to launch or operate a vessel in waters of this state if:
(i) the vessel is owned by a nonresident; and
(ii) the vessel would otherwise be subject to registration requirements under Section 73-18-7 if the vessel were owned by a resident of this state;
***

73-18-7 Registration requirements...
(1)(a) Except as provided by Section 73-18-9, the owner of each motorboat and sailboat on the waters of this state shall register with the division as provided in this chapter.
***

73-18-9 Exemptions from registration.
Registration under this chapter is not required for any of the following:
(1) a motorboat or sailboat that:
(a) is already covered by a valid registration issued by its nonresident owner's state; and
(b) has not been within this s state in excess of 60 days for the calendar year.
***
 
John P Funk said:
I agree, they will have to provide the information at launch ramps for those who aren't aware of the new law/requirements(not everyone has such an informative site as this one).
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So how will they perform the "online" testing before leaving the inspection station at the border?
If they are not required to do the inline testing at the border when they arrive, then who is required to do it and why the different treatment?

I'm confused as to how this will all work out for even application of the requirements
But then again maybe I'm missing something
 
Dan Spitzer said:
I am referring to HB255.

HB255 states:

23-27-304. Aquatic invasive species fee.
(1)(a) ... there is imposed an annual nonresident aquatic invasive species fee of $20 on each vessel in order to launch or operate a vessel in waters of this state if:
(i) the vessel is owned by a nonresident; and
(ii) the vessel would otherwise be subject to registration requirements under Section 73-18-7 if the vessel were owned by a resident of this state;
***

73-18-7 Registration requirements...
(1)(a) Except as provided by Section 73-18-9, the owner of each motorboat and sailboat on the waters of this state shall register with the division as provided in this chapter.
***

73-18-9 Exemptions from registration.
Registration under this chapter is not required for any of the following:
(1) a motorboat or sailboat that:
(a) is already covered by a valid registration issued by its nonresident owner's state; and
(b) has not been within this s state in excess of 60 days for the calendar year.
***
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They way I read this is if you are from out of state and have a valid registration from that state you are exempt. Does anybody disagree or show something different? Peter
 
Unless you spend 60 days or more a year on Utah waters, which probably explains why the state of Utah is tracking boat registration numbers and provided for in the law automatic type camera entries with date stamps to help with enforcement.
 
Concerned Soldier said:
Unless you spend 60 days or more a year on Utah waters, which probably explains why the state of Utah is tracking boat registration numbers and provided for in the law automatic type camera entries with date stamps to help with enforcement.
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Is it 60 days “on the water” or 60 days in Utah??? I don’t get the boat wet for more than 60 days in Utah, BUT I do store the boat in Utah more than 60 days. Can you clarify? Sq
 
If you click on the attachment to Power Hound's post above mine you can read it. To me it reads "within this state in excess of 60 days for the calendar year." Since this is a new law I would contact the Utah DNR and get written clairifaction to any questions you may have. The point I was making was their tracking days on the water or in the state begins to make sense now as it is a qualification under the new law. This new tracking system looks like it will be used not only to track which lakes you have gone to but also calculate how many days your boat was used in Utah for enforcement purporses.
 
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Boats stored in UT for more than 60 days in a calendar year are required to be registered in UT and therefor are subject the HB255.

Also, not cited in my previous post, is that the exemption requires the non-resident's state to have a numbering system consistent with US Coast Guard reg's. Colorado's numbering system is consistent. That seems to be consistent with a tracking system .
 
Wow, there would be a lot of boats stored at Lake Powell that would need to be registered in Utah that haven't been previously under that law . So has Utah not been actively enforcing it and is this an attempt to do so?
 
So, in a nutshell, as an Az. resident, if I launch at Wahweap Launch Ramp, AZ and only fish Arizona water, does this bill say I need to purchase this AIS sticker ? Asking for a friend.
 
Okay, this is what the Utah Code (the law) says:
73-18-9. Exemptions from registration.
Registration under this chapter is not required for any of the following:
(1) a motorboat or sailboat that:
(a) is already covered by a valid registration issued by its nonresident owner's resident state; and
(b) has not been within this state in excess of 60 days for the calendar year;
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You will notice that 73-18-9 (1)(b) specifically says there is a 60 day limit per calendar year that a non-resident water vessel can be “within this state” without registering it in Utah. The law does NOT say “on the water”. So if you actually store the non-resident boat within the state of Utah for more than 60 days in any given calendar year, then – TECHNICALLY – you are required to register the water vessel in Utah for each calendar year the boat is stored within Utah for more than 60 days.

This is NOT a new requirement under HB255 just passed and going into effect on July 1, 2020. Code 73-18-9 was last amended by the 2008 Utah General Session and increased the limit from 14 days to 60 days.

This is just my own personal opinion, but I doubt that this requirement to register a non-resident boat STORED in Utah for more than 60 days is aggressively enforced, if enforced at all. But the requirement is valid (legal) and could be enforced. I leave it to you to decide the risk of enforcement.
 
I can’t understand why any of you are confused. While I am opposed to this new law for a variety of reasons, the provisions are very clear to me as to what is required of non-resident owners. Here is the pertinent portion of the bill for you non-residents.
23-27-304. Aquatic invasive species fee.
(1)(a) Except as provided in Subsection (1)(b), there is imposed an annual nonresident aquatic invasive species fee of $20 on each vessel in order to launch or operate a vessel in waters of this state if:
(i) the vessel is owned by a nonresident; and
(ii) the vessel would otherwise be subject to registration requirements under Section 73-18-7 if the vessel were owned by a resident of this state.
(b) The provisions of Subsection (1)(a) do not apply if the vessel is owned and operated by a state or federal government agency and the vessel is used within the course and scope of the duties of the agency.
(c) The division shall administer and collect the fee described in Subsection (1)(a), and the fee shall be deposited into the Aquatic Invasive Species Interdiction Account created in Section 23-27-305.
(2) Before launching a vessel on the waters of this state, a nonresident shall pay the aquatic invasive species fee as described in Subsection (1), and the vessel owner shall successfully complete an aquatic invasive species education course offered by the division.
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Somewhere along the line to the launch site you will encounter an inspection station. It could be at the port of entry or at an improved launch ramp. You will be asked for proof of fee payment and you will be asked for proof of course completion. The law does not specify who, what, when, where, or how you will obtain that proof; just that before launching in Utah you are required to pay the fee and complete the course.

The fee collection system is under development and should be ready for implementation before July 1, 2020. I believe that an on-line payment system and a DWR Regional Office option will be available by July 1, 2020, but don’t have official confirmation of that at this time.

The course already exists and has been available to Utah residents for several years. I have completed it for at least 4 years now. When you successfully complete the course, you are given the option of printing out the certificate for display in your launch vehicle. I keep a copy in each of my vehicles, a copy in my boat, and a couple extra copies at home.

These new requirements are your responsibility to fulfill. You will be advised at some point (probably at an inspection station) what the requirements are. If you have already completed the requirements you will be allowed to launch. If you haven’t completed the requirements for whatever reason, you will not be allowed to launch.

If you are not a resident of Utah and bring a water vessel to Utah that would require registration in Utah and launch that vessel in Utah water, then you will be required to pay the fee and complete the Utah course. Seems clear to me.
 
So the question still stands.
I know that the answer is that the pay portal will be up in the next couple of weeks. Read that more then once, but here is my dilemma.
We get on our house boat in the middle of next week. We don't get off until July 3rd. How do we pay from the middle of the lake? Will they be checking on the lake? Will they check the tow vehicles when the come down to retrieve the boats/vessels? It stands to reason that if they are checking before launch that the answer would be no to these questions. The boats are already on the lake and have been checked at the ramp. That would, however, mean that common sense would be in full swing but i think we know what has happen to common sense.

I took the online cert and have printed out copies.

How do I pay?

Thanks,

Norm
 
We love our yearly Lake Powell boating trip and have done everything we could to prevent/delay it’s contamination with Aquatic Invasive Species (aptly referred to as an STD). Being from Arizona, storing our boat in Arizona, launching in Arizona I supported the initial decontamination efforts and have tolerated the Utah inspections the last few years at the top of the ramp. I hope Utah can keep it’s lakes clean of AIS and will do what I can to assist, short of paying the fee and taking the course. We own a second home in Utah and pay plenty of taxes to Utah. We end up in Utah waters for most of our time on Lake Powell. To clarify my responsibility for being on Utah waters this July I have read the statute HB255 in its entirety and the referenced 73-18-7 (and 73-18-9). It seems pretty straightforward to me, after reading the actual language, that non-Utah residents who have their boat registered properly in Arizona (probably most states) are exempt from having to pay the fee or take the course unless their boat is physically in Utah for more than 60 days a year. I will continue to cooperate with other efforts to contain and limit the spread of AIS.
 
I live in Colorado and am facing the same situation. I know there will be people trying to collect the fee and I also read that unless you are subject to taxes on your boat you are not subject to the fee. I doubt seriously that someone collecting the fees is going to know and agree with that. I think they will do whatever they can to collect the fee or keep us off the water
 
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