re:MA kayak law
yup, rescue vests would be illegal in massachuesetts under this law. And it wouldn’t matter if you were running class 4 with a guide, you’d still need to do a wet exit upon leaving the beach. Safety is good, but this bill won’t do it.
Phil
Are these legislators even kayakers?
– Last Updated: Oct-22-09 1:06 PM EST –
Hmmmm a roll in a Type I...is that going to happen?
Kayak is defined as being propelled by a double blade..guess there could be a future demand for short single blade sticks.
And the ACA is requiring First Aid and CPR for their instructors now...
Got a reply from my Rep
– Last Updated: Oct-27-09 6:17 PM EST –
Well the email addy is someone else at the state house. An aide I presume. But in response to my argument that it was a poorly written bill which would cause far more problems than it might resolve, he wrote
"Dear Tom,
I concur…
I will oppose it if it comes to the House floor and will support your point of view.
Thank you for contacting me regarding your concerns"
I believe that's the first time I've ever been concurred with. ;-)
David, if you or your crew want a name to go with that, email me.
Tommy
Excellent analysis. nm
Put the “Pressure” On…
strange. The bill has been referred to the Senate committee on ethics and rules. I don’t think there is an “ethical” issue here. Must be a “rules” change to move the bill?
http://www.mass.gov/legis/186history/h02281.htm
Regardless, since the bill is there, hit the committee’s membership roster, get the list of senators, and press with phone calls. Nothing fancy (the aide won’t know/care anyway except to get the bill #.)
Once you reach the senator’s office, ask to speak to an aide. When aide is on, “Hi I’m so and so, a consituent of the senator’s. Please tell the senator that I am OPPOSED to the kayak bill - House 2281 - that has been referred to the ethics/rules committee. If the senator wants to talk more about it, I am available to talk at #.”
If you have done this before, you’ll likely be surprised at how quick it is. This will take all of 2 minutes after you reach an aide. (There is an outside chance the senator and/or aide may call you back. You may also want to follow up later. In which case, GET the aide’s name.)
sing
PS. Tracking Bills.
– Last Updated: Oct-29-09 10:34 AM EST –
Go to this site:
http://www.mass.gov/legis/ltsform.htm
you can punch it the specific house or senate bill #. Generally, most of us won't know the numbers (unless we are diehard involved in the issue or a paid lobbyist...). You can put in the key word -- "kayak" -- and get to the bill any way.
If you want to find out what's up each year with kayak bills, just punch in "kayak" in the seach phrase every jan/feb and the active bills under consideration will pop up.
sing
it’s got to be in your favor
that it’s the same old flawed bill without changes
that means …
- your objections still apply and you don’t have to come up with new arguments
- you can point out that it’s the same old flawed bill!
interesting, oversight maybe?
no type V… oversight maybe? or they just don’t understand coast guard specifications? obviously not boaters…
doesn’t the label on a rescue vest say something about meeting the requirements for a type III pfd…
i can see lawsuits over this already if this legislation goes into effect… as written…
oh well, that’s government for you…
very ambigious legislation
does a canoe become a kayak when paddled with a double blade?
does a kayak become a canoe when paddled with a single blade?
i just love their definitions as stated in the proposed legislation…
no type V pfd’s either…
greenland stick
Could we define Greenland sticks to be bladeless sticks and not paddles?
Just wear it around your ankle.
House bill in Senate
The House bill is relatively mild, and has been negotiated with some prominent members of the kayaking community. In particular, it applies only to kayak instructors “for hire”, and mandates…
(a) first aid, cpr and water safety training for such instructors
(b) wet exit training to be given at the beginning if a spray skirt is used during a session
Note, both clauses single out kayaks, but it is logical for (b)(spray skirts), while (a) is gratuitous.
This is fairly different than the senate bill, which contains a number of bad provisions.
A number of us are talking to both House Reps and Senators and are trying to sort this all out. There are probably enough reps in the House who now understand the issues and will block the Senate bill. But the fate of the House bill in the Senate is less certain. In fact, the Senator sho is puching the, Robert O’leary, has been intransigent. So anyone in his district (mid and outer Cape plus Islands) who wants to call him and oppose his bill would be most welcome.
Cape & Islands kayakers
If anyone here lives in the mid or outer Cape or Nantucket or the Vineyard, it would be useful if you would call your State Senator, Robert O’Leary, and oppose the kayak bill he is sponsoring, Senate #974. Here is his page…
http://www.mass.gov/legis/member/rol0.htm
Basically, his bill contains a number of badly drafted, inaccurate and probably counterproductive provisions. You can see the bill here…
http://www.mass.gov/legis/bills/senate/186/st00pdf/ST00974.pdf
Likewise, if you are in Therese Murray’s district – lower Cape and Plymouth area – do likewise. She is the Senate President and is behind the bill, though not a sponsor.
–David.
Feedback
I contacted our State Senator (after I heard the bill passed the Senate) and my State Rep.
An aid for our Senator got back to me and we exchanged emails with the issues. He indicated this is the current status of this bill.
“the Senate bill is now before the House of Representatives. Rep. Straus’ kayak safety bill passed the House around the same time and is now before the Senate Ethics and Rules Committee.”
Canoes?
What about canoes? Do the same rules apply?
Interesting…
The law states a craft with a covered deck. So the usual canoe would not be under this legislation it seems, but would one that is really loaded up with float bags etc for WW have to comply? Maybe in the eyes of the officer beholding it?
Can’t see the Coasties being so confused, but local police looking to raise the town’s revenues may be another matter. This could turn into the same kind of income opportunity as is having license plate lights out in NY state.
The Coasties can’t enforce it, anyway
The Coast Guard does not enforce state laws, only federal. It will be up to the Mass DNR and other agencies to enforce it, which makes it all the more pointless, since there are no resources to do so.
Mass Environmental Police
That’s who would be enforcing this.
Hey I saw them enforcing the PFD law once about two years ago. Honest!
Definition of a “kayak” in the bill
is particularly disappointing. With so many contraptions that people paddle these days, it just doesn’t make sense.
On the Way to the Governor’s Desk
This bill got through the Senate on 1/6. It is on the way to the Governor’s desk. If you have trouble with it, it might be a good time to call or write Mr. Patrick.