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Posted on Friday, May 2, 2008 - Charlotte Observer

`OUR MAIN OBJECTIVE IS SAFETY'

N.C. looks at boater education

Committee studying laws in other states before proposing bill
KEVIN CARY
kcary@charlotteobserver.com

Plans for a proposed bill asking for mandatory boater education in North Carolina are moving forward, and the bill could be ready for the 2009 session.

A committee met last month to discuss the issue and agreed to study other states' boater education laws as an initial step to proposing the bill.

State Rep. Michael Wray, D-Northampton, conducted the meeting, which included officials from the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, the National Transportation Safety Board and the Coast Guard.

The Lake Norman Marine Commission also sent a letter to the commission in February, urging the creation of a boater education law, after local efforts fizzled five years ago.

The marine commission is hoping the state will pass a law similar to Connecticut's. In that state, boaters must take an eight-hour course and get certified before they can operate a boat on a public lake.

Fred Harris, the interim executive director of the N.C. Wildlife Commission, said the committee has not determined exactly what kind of boater education it will push for.

"You want something that is enforceable and clear," Harris said. "It has to be something that would be supported throughout the state."

The road to creating that law is still lengthy. No proposal is expected to be ready for a vote before the 2009 session.

That study of other states could take a few months, and then the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission -- which would likely administer the law -- would be asked to recommend it.

"We are just laying the groundwork," Wray said. "We are still trying to determine some of the challenges to this and some of the opponents. All of that is unforeseen. But we want to get it moving. Our main objective is safety. We want to save some injuries and save some lives."

Harris said initial feedback about a law has been positive. A similar attempt 10 years ago fizzled in the N.C. legislature.