I 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4468 

To direct the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is 

operating to study and report to the Congress regarding recreational 

vessel operator training. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 28, 2017 

Mr. KING of New York (for himself, Miss RICE of New York, and Mr. 

SUOZZI) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of the department in which the 

Coast Guard is operating to study and report to the 

Congress regarding recreational vessel operator training. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. RECREATIONAL VESSEL OPERATOR EDU4 CATION AND TRAINING. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

6 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the depart7 ment in which the Coast Guard is operating shall study 

8 and report to the Committee on Transportation and Infra9 structure of the House of Representatives and the ComVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:36 Nov 29, 2017 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4468.IH H4468

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1 mittees on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 

2 Senate regarding recreational vessel operator training. 

3 The study and report shall included a review of— 

4 (1) Coast Guard Auxiliary and Power Squadron 

5 training programs; 

6 (2) existing State boating education programs, 

7 including programs by the National Association of 

8 State Boating Law Administrators (in this section 

9 referred to as ‘‘NASBLA’’); and 

10 (3) other hands-on training programs available 

11 to recreational vessel operators. 

12 (b) INCLUDED SUBJECTS.—The study shall specifi13 cally examine— 

14 (1) course materials; 

15 (2) course content; 

16 (3) training methodology; 

17 (4) assessment methodology; and 

18 (5) relevancy of course content to risks for rec19 reational boaters. 

20 (c) CONTENTS OF REPORT.—The report under this 

21 section shall include— 

22 (1) a section regarding steps the Coast Guard 

23 and NASBLA have taken to encourage States to 

24 adopt mandatory recreational vessel operator train25 ing; 


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1 (2) an evaluation of the ability of the States to 

2 harmonize their education programs and testing pro3 cedures; 

4 (3) an analysis of the extent States have pro5 vided reciprocity among the States for their respec6 tive mandatory and voluntary education require7 ments and programs; 

8 (4) a section examining the level of uniformity 

9 of education and training between the States that 

10 currently have mandatory education and training 

11 programs; 

12 (5) a section outlining the minimum standards 

13 for education of recreational vessel operators; 

14 (6) a section analyzing how a Federal training 

15 and testing program can be harmonized with State 

16 training and testing programs; 

17 (7) analysis of course content and delivery 

18 methodology for relevancy to risks for recreational 

19 boaters; 

20 (8) a description of the current phase-in periods 

21 for mandatory boater education in State mandatory 

22 education programs and recommendation for the 

23 phase-in period for a mandatory boater education 

24 program including an evaluation as to whether the 

25 phase-in period affects course availability and cost; 


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1 (9) a description of the extent States allow for 

2 experienced boaters to by-pass mandatory education 

3 courses and go directly to testing; 

4 (10) recommendations for a by-pass option for 

5 experienced boaters; 

6 (11) a section analyzing how the Coast Guard 

7 would administer a Federal boating education, train8 ing, and testing program; and 

9 (12) the extent to which a Federal boating edu10 cation, training, and testing program should be re11 quired for all waters of a State, including internal 

12 waters. 

Æ 


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