Lawmaker wants paddlers to pay

[Yosemite Sam]

This good bit of information is in todays edition of the LDS

CONCORD — Paddlers, rowers and sailors may pay to register their canoes, kayaks and small sailboats if the Legislature adopts a bill introduced by Representative John Byrnes (R-Swanzey) that would eliminate their exemption. “Quite simply they use the same facilities and enjoy the same services as all other boaters, but don’t pay for them,” said Byrnes, a freshman lawmaker and lifelong boater and angler. “The other boaters pay a hefty fee while the canoeists and kayakers pay nothing, but expect the same services. It is a question of being fair.”
“I’m one of them,” Byrnes continued. “I have a canoe and fly fish. I park my pickup in the lot and use the ramp. If I capsize, I expect to be rescued and if I drown, I expect Fish & Game to recover my body,” he remarked. “I’m guilty, but I’m willing to pay.” Byrnes, a retired officer of the Keene Police Department, said that he has yet to address the details of the legislation, but anticipated that it would include a modest, flat fee for all small boats powered by muscle and wind. Boat owners are liable for two fees. The boat fee (RSA 72-A:3), which varies with the age, length and power of the vessel, exempts, canoes, kayaks, rowboats and sailboards as well as sailboats less than 20 feet in length and jet-skis or “personal watercraft” of less than ten feet. The registration fee (RSA 270-E:5), which is based only on the length of vessels, exempts sailboats less than 12 feet long along with all boats propelled by human power. In addition to the registration fee boat owners are also required to pay $7.50 for the lake restoration and preservation fund, $1 for the N.H. Fish & Game search and rescue fund, for the public boat access fund. If the boat is registered with an authorized agent, generally a marina, rather than the N.H. Department of Safety, a $5 processing fee is charged.
Byrnes said that he has not determined how the proceeds from the additional fees would be allocated, but indicated that they should be applied to the programs and services from which all boaters benefit. Representative Richard Drisko (R-Hollis) chairs the Exotic Aquatic Weeds and Species Committee established by the Legislature to oversee the state’s effort to control milfoil. “Our major problem is money,” he said, explaining that expanding the number of boat registrations could provide additional funds for the matching
grants the N.H. Department of Environmental Services distributes to municipal governments and local organizations to address milfoil. However, Drisko said that past efforts to eliminate the exemption for canoes, kayaks, rowboats and small sailboats have failed. “But,” he said, “it is always worth a try.” Likewise, Jared Teutsch, president of the New Hampshire Lakes Association, said that his organization worked with the N.H. Fish & Game Department to do away with the exemption in the past and would give serious consideration
to supporting a fresh initiative that steered funds to protecting the water quality of the lakes. He noted that in Maine a $20 fee is levied on canoes and kayaks and the proceeds are applied to controlling exotic and invasive species. Last year the Legislature, at the request of the Department of Safety, doubled the boat registration fees to ensure sufficient funding for the Marine Patrol. But, Representative David Hess (R-Hooksett) has filed legislation to repeal all tax and fee increases enacted since 2007.