Legislative Director
Dave Thomas
dslmd@cbyca.org
It’s been snowy and cold, and I see here today that my hometown, Baltimore, now has a weather prognosticating crustacean, “Jimmy Crab”, who “did” see his shadow (today, as I write this, while Punxsutawney Phil “did not”)!
The legislatures in the CBYCA jurisdictions are all, by and large, in session and dealing with various financial concerns it seems. A few matters to mention now include:
In Maryland, the one boat specific bill, HB 244/SB 214 deals with the continuing expansion of beneficiary designation for vessels. This has come up in recent legislative sessions. It comes back because folks like it, but the DNR’s computers and whatnot are not geared up to handle it quite yet. It looks like this will come with time. Under current law, when a spouse dies, they can have in place through the DNR, the transfer upon death of their boat, so long as it is worth less than $5,000 and without ado. This was the original, limited, and popular provision that Maryland boaters have sought to expand. It’s simple and cuts down effort.
The recent expansions have sought to open it up to designating any family member or interested party, and for more pricey boats. The state stands to benefit to from these transactions by the imposition of smaller fees/assessments for handling the paperwork, a bargain for the simplicity in many cases it could afford. So far, a win-win, but also limited for the moment by the proviso that a sole owner had to be involved making the designation. Current efforts deal with the possibility that co-ownership might be a worthwhile expansion of the law. Another concern which can also complicate the situation is where differing liens and judgements might become part of the picture. According to the fiscal and policy note, Maryland has 132,770 registered vessels with sole ownership. If, according to the possibility mentioned in the policy note, 10% of these boats were re-registered with co-ownership, the revenue would $265,540. Not bad for having folks go online with their credit cards, hey?
There is another set of cross-filed bills, HB 174/SB 145 which deals with the same subject very similarly but includes motor vehicles as well as vessels. I am not clear on whether this may result in registrations of boats ending up being handled by the DMV along with autos and motorhomes, as is the case in some states and on the idea that DMV already has the
computers and the lien/encumbrance/judgment capacity as well. My understanding is that the trend has been away from having boats and cars registered by the same agency. The bottom line may be that while for the moment Maryland’s DMV may have the computer capacity, over the long-haul boats and cars are sufficiently different that separate agencies tend to work better.
While they address a number of matters in ways that do have popular appeal, the real-world problem these bills do not reach is where the boat in question is not in good shape. The short answer currently is that if the designee does not want the boat after the point of death, they simply don’t participate in the things they have to do to get the boat put in their name.
Presumably what will be worked out is that if the boat goes to more than one person, any person that doesn’t want to participate simply doesn’t go on the new title. The real-world problem is that if “no one” wants the boat (because it is seen as more of a headache and a liability than an asset, typically), what happens? In Maryland, the reality is that this is a recipe for the boat to sit and cause headaches all around. To read about where some progress has been reported in dealing with this, take a look at this month’s National Boating Federation Newsletter, courtesy of this month’s Chatter!
Last thing I will give a passing mention to is where I see in New Jersey’s just convened 222nd legislative session A 2780/S 1530 that provides $6,000,000 for the dredging of coastal lagoon communities! Since Rehoboth Bay, Delaware is technically a coastal lagoon behind a barrier island type arrangement also, this is of interest. Ocean City, Maryland as well as plenty of places in Virginia are also called to mind.
A special Thank You to our Qualifications Officer, Amy Crawford, for volunteering to serve as the Director of State Legislation for New Jersey. Welcome Aboard Amy!