New Boating Laws

GGood things are happening at Lake Martin, including new legislation that could improve lake life for residents and visitors, and according to State Rep. Ed Oliver (Dist. 81), more lake legislation could be just around the corner.

Last year, State Rep. Ginny Shaver (Dist. 39) introduced a comprehensive lake bill designed for the entire state of Alabama. Her bill included a plethora of material that could have realigned Alabama’s laws with those of the U.S. Coast Guard, a proximity bill for lakes and boats among them, Oliver explained.

“It covered 100 feet for any person or thing in the water, and it was also a safety bill. It did a whole bunch of things that were good for the lake. It addressed licensing for out-of-state boaters, and it was designed to make the lakes fairer for Alabama residents,” Oliver said.

Shaver’s bill did not pass both houses of legislation and was signed into law, for several reasons. According to Oliver, Shaver took those reasons into consideration and adjusted the bill for the most recent session.

“A key piece and reason it failed was it made BUI the same as DUI, and nobody liked that. On the lake, all tickets that are written are misdemeanors. People were all upset about that, so Ginny came back this year after that bill fell by three votes. In her new bill, she changed the law. She introduced different pieces of legislation. She split the legislation up into different pieces, so one thing would not kill the rest,” Oliver said.

Going forward, boaters will receive an infraction, much like a speeding ticket. Oliver said when it comes to the status of the BUI aspect, the representatives are still working on settling it.

Also during the session, the state representatives did align a few items, such as kill switches and boat lengths, with the Coast Guard. These changes in leg- islation are not significant to the boaters/residents but help law enforcement in their relationship with boaters and the lake life.

But Shaver wasn’t the only one who had a bill regarding lakes. State Senator Garlan Gudger (Dist. 4) introduced a bill regarding wake boats.

“He had a bill that is a proximity bill for wake boats. It’s a 200-feet distance from shoreline, except at an idle, for actively wake surfing. We had people here who were against it because it targeted one kind of boat, and they wanted us to go back to doing all motorized vessels but only 100 feet from the shoreline. They wanted the thing about people in the water as well, that you had to be 100 feet away from other boats/people in the water,” Oliver explained.

After contemplating Gudger’s bill the entire session, it was decided the bill would not move forward.

“Ginny Shaver and I are left with Weiss Lake and Lake Martin, which have no proximity bill at this point, so we’ll have to come by next year to address it again. We tried to do an amendment in the Senate to move those distances from 200 feet to 100 feet and include all boats, but it didn’t happen,” Oliver said.

“My primary concern are my constituents in Tallapoosa County, and they feel like they’re being run over by out of towners. It’s just part of what living on the lake is for a few days every year. I live on the lake, so I understand it very well,” he said.

Communication and education on being out on the water is key to improving the quality of life on the lake, he added.

“I think there’s a communication gap that we have not figured out how to fill yet, and that’s something else we’re trying to work on. It’s not just one issue. There are several issues that we need to face, but one of the pieces is going to be communication and education. The objective is to keep the quality of life as best we can on the lake,” Oliver said.