A1013

An Act concerning liability insurance for certain vessels.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. As used in this act:

"Chief Administrator" means the Chief Administrator of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission established by section 4 of P.L.2003, c.13 (C.39:2A-4).

"Operator" means any person having charge, control, operation, or direction of any vessel.

"Owner" means any person, other than a lienholder, having the property of, or title to, a vessel.

"Vessel" means a boat or watercraft powered with a motor, or combination of motors, in excess of 25 horsepower.

"Waters of this State" means all waters within the jurisdiction of this State, both tidal and nontidal, and the marginal sea adjacent to this State to a distance of three nautical miles from the shoreline.

2. Every owner of a vessel registered in this State shall maintain liability insurance coverage, under provisions approved by the chief administrator, insuring against loss resulting from liability imposed by law for bodily injury or death sustained by any person arising out of the ownership, maintenance, operation, or use of the vessel wherein such coverage shall be at least in an amount or limit of $100,000, exclusive of interest and costs, on account of injury to, or death of, one or more than one person, in any one accident.

3. a. Any owner of a vessel registered in this State who operates the vessel or causes it to be operated upon the waters of this State without liability insurance coverage as required by this act, and any operator who operates or causes a vessel registered in this State to be operated and who knows or should know from the attendant circumstances that the vessel is without liability insurance coverage required by this act shall be subject, for the first offense, to a fine of not less than $300 nor more than $1,000, and shall forthwith forfeit his right to operate a vessel on the waters of this State for a period of one year from the date of conviction. Upon subsequent conviction, he shall be subject to a fine of up to $5,000 and shall be subject to imprisonment for a term of 14 days, and shall forfeit his right to operate a vessel for a period of two years from the date of his conviction.

b. Failure to produce at the time of trial an insurance identification card or an insurance policy which was in force for the time of operation for which the offense is charged creates a rebuttable presumption that the person was uninsured when charged with a violation of this section.

4. a. An insurance identification card shall be in the possession of the owner or operator of a vessel registered in this State at all times when operating the vessel on the waters of this State.

The owner or operator shall exhibit an insurance identification card when requested to do so by a law enforcement officer.

Any person violating this subsection shall be subject to a fine of $75.

If a person charged with a violation of this subsection can exhibit his insurance identification card which was valid on the day he was charged, the judge may dismiss the charge. However, the judge may impose court costs.

b. An owner or operator failing to exhibit the insurance identification card upon request as required by subsection a. of this section shall terminate the voyage and immediately return the vessel to its point of departure or proceed to such other location as may be designated by the law enforcement officer; provided, however, that a law enforcement officer shall not be required to escort the vessel to its point of departure or other designated location, and may not be held liable for any claim arising from the termination of the voyage, return of the vessel to its point of departure or to such other designated location, or disposition of the vessel at any such location.

A person who fails to return the vessel to its point of departure or proceed to another location as required by this subsection shall be subject to a fine of not more than $500 or to a term of imprisonment not to exceed 60 days or both.

c. The Commissioner of Banking and Insurance shall, after consultation with the chief administrator, promulgate rules and regulations concerning the issuance, design, and content of the insurance identification card to be issued to each person covered by liability insurance as required by subsection a. of this section.

5. Within 180 days after the effective date of this act, every insurer authorized to issue liability insurance coverage pursuant to section 2 of this act shall provide an appropriate reduction in premium for the successful completion by the named insured of a boat safety course approved by the Superintendent of State Police in the Department of Law and Public Safety. The reduction in premium shall be an amount justified by the insurer's actuarial experience, and shall be available to the insured for a three-year period beginning with the next succeeding policy period after the date of completion of an approved boat safety course.

6. The chief administrator shall adopt rules and regulations, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.) necessary to effectuate the purposes of this act, except those rules and regulations adopted by the Commissioner of Banking and Insurance as provided in subsection c. of section 4 of this act.

7. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Donald W. McGloan Law."

8. This act shall take effect on the 120th day after enactment, but the Commissioner of Banking and Insurance and the Chief Administrator of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission may take any anticipatory administrative action in advance of that date as necessary for implementation of the act.

STATEMENT

This bill, known as the “Donald W. McGloan Law,” requires that every owner of a boat or watercraft and powered by a motor, or combination of motors, in excess of 25 horsepower, defined as a "vessel," registered in this State is to maintain liability insurance coverage insuring against loss for bodily injury or death sustained by any person arising out of the ownership, maintenance, operation or use of that vessel.

This bill requires that coverage shall be maintained in an amount or limit of $100,000 on account of injury to, or death of, one or more than one person, in any one accident. Under the bill, a person who owns or operates a vessel registered in this State without such liability insurance is subject, for the first offense, to a fine of not less than $300 nor more than $1,000 and his right to operate a vessel on the waters of this State shall be suspended for a period of one year. Subsequent convictions subject the person to a fine of up to $5,000, imprisonment for 14 days, and suspension of his right to operate a vessel for a period of two years.

The bill requires an insurance identification card to be in the possession of the owner or operator of a vessel registered in this State at any time it is operated on the waters of this State and to be exhibited when requested by a law enforcement officer. Violators would face a fine of $75. However, if a person can exhibit an insurance identification card which was valid on the day he was charged, the judge may dismiss the charge but impose court costs. This bill also requires an owner or operator of such a vessel operating on the waters of this State, who fails to produce an insurance identification card, to terminate the voyage and immediately return the vessel to its point of departure or proceed to another location as may be designated by the law enforcement officer. A law enforcement officer is not required, however, to escort the vessel to its point of departure or other designated location, and may not be held liable for any claim arising from the termination of the voyage, return of the vessel to its point of departure or to such other designated location, or disposition of the vessel at any such location. A person who fails to return the vessel to its point of departure or other designated location is to be subject to a fine of not more than $500 or to a term of imprisonment not to exceed 60 days or both.