[C320-list] State proposes hiking boat fees (Maryland)

[Jim Sweet]

Maryland should change its name to New York.

Jim Sweet
TGIF (Thank God It Floats) 902
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Paul Rickman" <ilove2sail at verizon.net>
To: <c320-list at catalina320.org>
Sent: Thursday, February 16, 2012 3:53 PM
Subject: [C320-list] State proposes hiking boat fees (Maryland)








They plan to raise the flush tax and add a frontage tax to your property
taxes.

State proposes hiking boat fees
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By 2016, fees would range from $50 to $700 depending on size of boat
By Pamela Wood
Thursday, February 16, 2012 at 11:21 am (Updated: February 16, 11:21 am)

It soon may become much more expensive to put a boat in the water in 
Maryland.
The Department of Natural Resources is proposing drastic increases in boat 
registration fees to raise money for dredging, buoy maintenance, 
ice-breaking and other water projects.
“We do not have sufficient funds to support the needs that we have for 
boating in Maryland,” said Bob Gaudette, who supervises boating programs for 
the DNR.
Right now, boaters pay $24 every two years to register their boats.
Under the proposal, the registration fee would be multiplied many times 
over, depending on the size of the boat.
The fees would be phased in. By 2016, owners of small boats less than 16 
feet would pay $50 every two years. Other fees would be $125 for boats from 
16 to 32 feet, $250 for boats from 32 feet to 45 feet, and $500 for boats 
from 45 feet to 65 feet. For the largest boats of all — more than 65 feet — 
the fee would be $700.
The fees would apply to boats that aren’t registered in Maryland, but are 
state-documented vessels because they are primarily used here.
The proposal removes an exemption for sailboats that don’t also have motors. 
Under the proposal, all sailboats 16 feet or larger must register, whether 
they have a motor or not.
There also would be a new, voluntary registration for canoes, kayaks and 
paddleboats that would cost $12 every two years. About 57,000 small, 
nonmotorized boats would be eligible statewide.
Anne Arundel County would be the state jurisdiction most heavily affected by 
the new rules. There are 36,348 registered boats here, more than in any 
other county.
If boat ownership stays steady at about 200,000 boats, the new fees would 
bring in $13.2 million per year. Right now, boating registration generates 
$2.1 million for the state annually.
But even the proposed increases wouldn’t be enough to plug the boating 
services budget holes at DNR.
The DNR’s boating programs get most of their money from the 5 percent excise 
tax paid when boats are sold.
As the economy has faltered, boat sales have plummeted. That means less 
excise tax money going to the state.
“I am completely at the whim of the marketplaces. If boat sales go up, I 
have money. If boat sales go down, I don’t have money,” Gaudette said.
But the state still has a long list of boating-related projects. That list 
could soon get longer. The Army Corps of Engineers announced recently that 
it can no longer afford as many dredging projects.
The state has about $15 million available for boating projects each year, 
but an annual list of $41 million worth of work.
Even if the registration fee increases are approved by lawmakers, the DNR 
still will be short.
“This gets us a little less than halfway there,” Gaudette said. “We’re not 
going for the moon here. We’re trying to cover the most critical of our 
projects.”
The projects include maintaining thousands of buoys, markers and signs; 
maintaining 265 public boating channels; keeping channels free of ice in the 
winter; having Natural Resources Police conduct boating safety checks; 
removing abandoned boats; and maintaining public boating facilities.
DNR officials acknowledged that they may face opposition. Lawmakers have 
been wary of fee and tax increases and many are already frustrated about 
Gov. Martin O’Malley’s proposal to apply the 6 percent sales tax to gasoline 
purchases.
Olivia Campbell Andersen, the DNR’s lobbyist, said many boating fees haven’t 
been changed in decades. And the money would go to projects that will 
benefit those who pay the fees.
“People recognize the great need for services that these funds provide,” she 
said. “We want to keep boating thriving and safe in Maryland.”
The proposal is being introduced to the General Assembly today. A hearing 
has not yet been scheduled.