Brianna Lieneck Boating Safety Act of 2019

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 Com- mittee 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. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Brianna Lieneck Boat- 4 ing Safety Act of 2019’’. 5 SEC. 2. RECREATIONAL VESSEL OPERATOR EDUCATION 6 AND TRAINING. 7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 8 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the depart- 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:06 Mar 28, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1669.IH H1669 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1669 IH ment in which the Coast Guard is operating shall study 1 and report to the Committee on Transportation and Infra- 2 structure of the House of Representatives and the Com- 3 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 4 Senate regarding recreational vessel operator training. 5 The study and report shall include a review of— 6 (1) Coast Guard Auxiliary and Power Squadron 7 training programs; 8 (2) existing State boating education programs, 9 including programs by the National Association of 10 State Boating Law Administrators (in this section 11 referred to as ‘‘NASBLA’’); and 12 (3) other hands-on training programs available 13 to recreational vessel operators. 14 (b) INCLUDED SUBJECTS.—The study shall specifi- 15 cally examine— 16 (1) course materials; 17 (2) course content; 18 (3) training methodology; 19 (4) assessment methodology; and 20 (5) relevancy of course content to risks for rec- 21 reational boaters. 22 (c) CONTENTS OF REPORT.—The report under this 23 section shall include— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:06 Mar 28, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1669.IH H1669 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1669 IH (1) a section regarding steps the Coast Guard 1 and NASBLA have taken to encourage States to 2 adopt mandatory recreational vessel operator train- 3 ing; 4 (2) an evaluation of the ability of the States to 5 harmonize their education programs and testing pro- 6 cedures; 7 (3) an analysis of the extent States have pro- 8 vided reciprocity among the States for their respec- 9 tive mandatory and voluntary education require- 10 ments and programs; 11 (4) a section examining the level of uniformity 12 of education and training between the States that 13 currently have mandatory education and training 14 programs; 15 (5) a section outlining the minimum standards 16 for education of recreational vessel operators; 17 (6) a section analyzing how a Federal training 18 and testing program can be harmonized with State 19 training and testing programs; 20 (7) an analysis of course content and delivery 21 methodology for relevancy to risks for recreational 22 boaters; 23 (8) a description of the current phase-in periods 24 for mandatory boater education in State mandatory 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:06 Mar 28, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1669.IH H1669 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 1669 IH education programs and recommendation for the 1 phase-in period for a mandatory boater education 2 program including an evaluation as to whether the 3 phase-in period affects course availability and cost; 4 (9) a description of the extent States allow for 5 experienced boaters to bypass mandatory education 6 courses and go directly to testing; 7 (10) recommendations for a bypass option for 8 experienced boaters; 9 (11) a section analyzing how the Coast Guard 10 would administer a Federal boating education, train- 11 ing, and testing program; and 12 (12) an analysis of the extent to which a Fed- 13 eral boating education, training, and testing pro- 14 gram should be required for all waters of a State, 15 including internal waters. 16 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:06 Mar 28, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H1669.IH H1669 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS