RBOC and a number of additional boating community organizations are advocating for key revisions to Governor Newsom’s proposed 250% vessel registration fee increase that would take effect on July 1.
California boaters would see their boat registration fees increase from a minimum of $20 every two years to at least $70 every two years as soon as July 1 if the Governor’s state budget proposal is enacted.
Budget subcommittees in the state Senate and Assembly are discussing this proposal now, and are anticipated to decide on the issue in the next few weeks. as the state budget development process moves forward in the state capitol. RBOC leaders and advocate are lobbying and testifying.
For the February 16 joint boating community letter to the Legislature on this issue: click here
More information:
The Governor’s proposed state budget for the Division of Boating and Waterways [DBW] proposes adjustments to the Harbors and Watercraft Revolving Fund [HWRF].
The HWRF receives no monies from the state’s General Fund.
It is comprised of boat fuel tax dollars, registration fees, federal monies, and interest payments on loans from the HWRF..
The HWRF support several programs and services that benefit boaters including infrastructure such as launch ramps, education, aquatic centers, local boating law enforcement, the boater certification card, and invasive species prevention and control.
The Governor’s proposal includes an increase in the minimum amount of vessel registration fees, from $20 every two years to $70 every two years, effective July 1.
This proposed registration fee increase is being considered as the state increasingly dedicates boater fuel tax dollars to the state parks system. and not to the HWRF. This started decades ago, and now totals $107 million each year.
In contrast, only $15 million [14%] of the fuel taxes paid by boaters are placed in the HWRF for the programs and services that directly benefit boaters.
It is also important to acknowledge that:
The owners and operators of more than 640,000 registered vessels in California also pay a very significant amount of property taxes to the counties.
The proposed 250% registration fee increase would extract an additional $20 million from California boaters - most of whom earn under $100K per year and 95% of whom own a small boat that is 26 feet long and smaller.
The fee increase be levied during this unprecedented pandemic when individuals are finding outdoor on-the-water recreation to be a safe and enjoyable activity providing significant mental and physical benefits.
The HWRF also supports programs that are of little or no benefit to boaters including beach restoration.
RBOC, together with other boating organizations, is urging legislators to take one or more of the following actions:
Reduce the amount of the proposed increase to an amount significantly less than 250%.
Re-direct a small, yet reasonable portion of the $107 million in annual boat fuel tax dollars to the HWRF.
Permanently eliminate the authority for HWRF funds to be utilized for beach erosion control.
Establish an equitable funding structure for the invasive species program that includes other beneficiaries with a proportional financial framework.
Establish in statute the stakeholder process to be undertaken over the next few years to develop long-term funding approaches to the HWRF.
Add to the Boating and Waterways Commission’s statutory authority the responsibility to approve loans and grants from the HWRF.
The thought is that, taken together, these actions would provide the state’s boating community with an affirmation that the State of California is taking a balanced, reasonable approach, with increased transparency, to address boating revenues in a manner that respects the proper use of those funds for boating programs and services that directly benefit the boating public.