| 1 | The Water & Natural Resources Committee recommends the |
| 2 | following: |
| 3 |
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| 4 | Council/Committee Substitute |
| 5 | Remove the entire bill and insert: |
| 6 | A bill to be entitled |
| 7 | An act relating to commercial parasailing; creating s. |
| 8 | 327.375, F.S.; defining the term "commercial parasailing"; |
| 9 | requiring each vessel engaged in commercial parasailing to |
| 10 | be licensed annually; providing a license fee; providing |
| 11 | for disposition of license fees collected; requiring each |
| 12 | owner to carry liability insurance; providing for minimum |
| 13 | amounts of insurance and maximum deductibles; providing |
| 14 | requirements for persons conducting commercial parasailing |
| 15 | operations; providing criminal penalties; providing an |
| 16 | effective date. |
| 17 |
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| 18 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 19 |
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| 20 | Section 1. Section 327.375, Florida Statutes, is created |
| 21 | to read: |
| 22 | 327.375 Commercial parasailing.-- |
| 23 | (1) As used in this section, the term "commercial |
| 24 | parasailing" means providing or offering to provide, for |
| 25 | consideration, any activity involving the towing of a person by |
| 26 | a motorboat when: |
| 27 | (a) One or more persons are tethered to the towing vessel; |
| 28 | (b) The person or persons ascend above the water; and |
| 29 | (c) The person or persons remain suspended above the water |
| 30 | while the vessel is underway. |
| 31 | (2) A vessel engaged in commercial parasailing shall be |
| 32 | licensed annually by the commission at a cost of $50. All |
| 33 | license fees collected shall be paid into the Marine Resources |
| 34 | Conservation Trust Fund to recover the associated costs of |
| 35 | regulating commercial parasailing. The license shall be |
| 36 | available for inspection when the vessel is engaged in |
| 37 | commercial parasailing. |
| 38 | (3) The owner of a vessel engaged in commercial |
| 39 | parasailing shall obtain and carry a policy from an insurance |
| 40 | carrier licensed in this state, insuring against an accident, |
| 41 | loss, injury, property damage, or other casualty caused by or |
| 42 | resulting from the commercial parasailing activity. The |
| 43 | insurance policy shall provide coverage for a minimum of |
| 44 | $500,000 per person and $1 million per event. The deductible for |
| 45 | the insurance policy may not exceed $5,000 per event. Proof of |
| 46 | insurance shall be carried on the vessel and be available for |
| 47 | inspection when commercial parasailing activities are conducted. |
| 48 | A person conducting a commercial parasailing activity shall give |
| 49 | each rider the insurance carrier's name and address and the |
| 50 | insurance policy number. |
| 51 | (4) A person engaged in commercial parasailing shall meet |
| 52 | the following requirements: |
| 53 | (a) A person shall not use any vessel for commercial |
| 54 | parasailing unless it is designed and equipped for towing a |
| 55 | person while parasailing and is equipped with a launch platform |
| 56 | and powered winch to release and retrieve the towline. |
| 57 | (b) A person operating a vessel engaged in commercial |
| 58 | parasailing on the waters of this state shall have a current and |
| 59 | valid license issued by the United States Coast Guard |
| 60 | authorizing that person to engage in carrying passengers for |
| 61 | hire. The license shall be carried on the vessel and be |
| 62 | available for inspection while commercial parasailing activities |
| 63 | are conducted. |
| 64 | (c) A person may not operate a vessel for commercial |
| 65 | parasailing unless an observer 18 years of age or older is |
| 66 | present in the vessel at all times to monitor the progress of |
| 67 | any airborne parasail rider and parachute. The observer shall be |
| 68 | attentive to the parasail rider or riders and shall have no |
| 69 | other duties while the rider or riders are in the water or |
| 70 | suspended above the water. |
| 71 | (d) A person shall not operate any vessel engaged in |
| 72 | commercial parasailing unless: |
| 73 | 1. All riders wear a United States Coast Guard approved |
| 74 | type I, type II, or type III personal flotation device that is |
| 75 | in serviceable condition and of the proper size; |
| 76 | 2. All riders are connected to the towline and secured in |
| 77 | a seat harness attached to an ascending type of parachute; |
| 78 | 3. The vessel is in full compliance with all United States |
| 79 | Coast Guard crewing and equipment carriage requirements for |
| 80 | passenger-carrying vessels as specified in the Code of Federal |
| 81 | Regulations or as otherwise specified by the United States Coast |
| 82 | Guard in the vessel's certificate of inspection; and |
| 83 | 4. The vessel is equipped with a functional VHF marine |
| 84 | transceiver. |
| 85 | (e) Commercial parasailing is prohibited in the Atlantic |
| 86 | Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico in waters less than 2,000 feet from |
| 87 | the shore. The restriction applies to the entire commercial |
| 88 | parasailing apparatus, including the vessel, towline, and rider. |
| 89 | (f) A person shall not operate a vessel towing a |
| 90 | commercial parasailing rider so that the vessel, towline, or |
| 91 | rider comes within 600 feet of: |
| 92 | 1. An anchored vessel; |
| 93 | 2. A person in the water; |
| 94 | 3. The shore or seawall; or |
| 95 | 4. A structure, bridge, power line, wharf, pier, dock, |
| 96 | buoy, platform, piling, channel marker, or other similar object. |
| 97 | (g) Commercial parasailing is prohibited: |
| 98 | 1. On bodies of water less than 2,000 feet in width from |
| 99 | shore to shore; |
| 100 | 2. From one-half hour after sunset to one-half hour before |
| 101 | sunrise and at all times during restricted visibility; and |
| 102 | 3. When there are sustained winds of 20 knots or higher, |
| 103 | or seas 5 feet or higher in the area of operation. |
| 104 | (h) Towlines used for commercial parasailing shall not |
| 105 | exceed 800 feet in length. |
| 106 | (i) Commercial parasail operators shall launch riders only |
| 107 | from and recover riders only to the vessel's launch platform. |
| 108 | (j) No more than two persons shall be tethered to the |
| 109 | towing vessel and ascend above the water at any time. |
| 110 | (5) A person who violates this section commits a |
| 111 | misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as provided in s. |
| 112 | 775.082 or s. 775.083. |
| 113 | Section 2. This act shall take effect October 1, 2005. |