RBOC appreciates the action taken by Governor Newsom and the State Legislature to remove a proposed 250% increase in boat registration fees from the state budget in response to the serious concerns raised by RBOC, our national advocacy partner BoatU.S., and boating associations including the Pacific Inter-Club Yacht Association, Southern California Yachting Association, Marine Recreation Association, California Association of Harbor Masters and Port Captains, California Yacht Brokers Association, National Marine Manufacturers Association, California Association of Harbor Masters and Port Captains, thousands of California boaters who took action, and several other allied organizations.
"This is the right decision for boaters," responded RBOC President Winston Bumpus. "The further we look into the many different pots where boater-generated fuel tax dollars are placed, the more questions boaters have identified about the fairness of a registration fee increase."
Continued Bumpus: "For instance, boaters pay $107 million each year in fuel taxes to the state, yet only $15 million [14%] is provided to the Harbors and Watercraft Revolving Fund [HWRF] for a number of programs and services including boater education and operator certification, safety and enforcement on the waterways, boating facilities, removal of abandoned and derelict watercraft, and efforts to combat invasive species."
Added David B. Kennedy with BoatU.S. Government Affairs: "This is a great demonstration of the benefits of boaters engaging on issues that matter to their boating. Working with RBOC, over 4,000 messages were sent by BoatU.S. members to the legislature and governor. It's clear their voices were heard."
The final state budget action allocates state general fund dollars to the Harbors and Watercraft Revolving Fund [HWRF] administered by the Division of Boating and Waterways [DBW] for a variety of programs and services that benefit boaters.
RBOC and others will participate in a public stakeholder process DBW will initiate in the near future to develop recommendations to the Legislature for long-term solutions to the deficiencies that DBW and State Parks state that the HWRF is experiencing. Boat registration fees will be part of that conversation, together with efficiencies and improvements to existing programs and revisions to better serve the boating public.