I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1669 

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 

MARCH 11, 2019 

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. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Brianna Lieneck Boat5 ing Safety Act of 2019’’. 

6 SEC. 2. RECREATIONAL VESSEL OPERATOR EDUCATION 

7 AND TRAINING. 

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

9 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the departVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:06 Mar 28, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1669.IH H1669

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1 ment in which the Coast Guard is operating shall study 

2 and report to the Committee on Transportation and Infra3 structure of the House of Representatives and the Com4 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 

5 Senate regarding recreational vessel operator training. 

6 The study and report shall include a review of— 

7 (1) Coast Guard Auxiliary and Power Squadron 

8 training programs; 

9 (2) existing State boating education programs, 

10 including programs by the National Association of 

11 State Boating Law Administrators (in this section 

12 referred to as ‘‘NASBLA’’); and 

13 (3) other hands-on training programs available 

14 to recreational vessel operators. 

15 (b) INCLUDED SUBJECTS.—The study shall specifi16 cally examine— 

17 (1) course materials; 

18 (2) course content; 

19 (3) training methodology; 

20 (4) assessment methodology; and 

21 (5) relevancy of course content to risks for rec22 reational boaters. 

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

24 section shall include— 


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1 (1) a section regarding steps the Coast Guard 

2 and NASBLA have taken to encourage States to 

3 adopt mandatory recreational vessel operator train4 ing; 

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

6 harmonize their education programs and testing pro7 cedures; 

8 (3) an analysis of the extent States have pro9 vided reciprocity among the States for their respec10 tive mandatory and voluntary education require11 ments and programs; 

12 (4) a section examining the level of uniformity 

13 of education and training between the States that 

14 currently have mandatory education and training 

15 programs; 

16 (5) a section outlining the minimum standards 

17 for education of recreational vessel operators; 

18 (6) a section analyzing how a Federal training 

19 and testing program can be harmonized with State 

20 training and testing programs; 

21 (7) an analysis of course content and delivery 

22 methodology for relevancy to risks for recreational 

23 boaters; 

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

25 for mandatory boater education in State mandatory 


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1 education programs and recommendation for the 

2 phase-in period for a mandatory boater education 

3 program including an evaluation as to whether the 

4 phase-in period affects course availability and cost; 

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

6 experienced boaters to bypass mandatory education 

7 courses and go directly to testing; 

8 (10) recommendations for a bypass option for 

9 experienced boaters; 

10 (11) a section analyzing how the Coast Guard 

11 would administer a Federal boating education, train12 ing, and testing program; and 

13 (12) an analysis of the extent to which a Fed14 eral boating education, training, and testing pro15 gram should be required for all waters of a State, 

16 including internal waters. 

Æ 


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