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

[JJ Morrison]

I guess it depends whether you're bragging or paying; 32 ft if bragging, 31.999999 ft if paying!
In any event the cost of being alive is going up!!
Cheers
JohnM
1999#574
 

> From: dcnolte at mac.com
> Date: Fri, 17 Feb 2012 10:11:17 -0500
> To: C320-List at Catalina320.com
> Subject: Re: [C320-list] State proposes hiking boat fees (Maryland)
> 
> Good point Irv, does anyone know whether we would fall into the $125 or $250 category, all of the article state:
> 
> 16 feet to 32 feet: $125.
> 32 feet to 45 feet: $250.
> 
> Which are we? It doesn't say "less than" or "greater than"
> 
> Anybody know?
> 
> Maybe I will apply for exemptions for boats more than 20 years old - hard to believe, but mine will be there soon!
> 
> David Nolte
> Beach House #0004
> 
> 
> On Feb 17, 2012, at 9:17 AM, Irving Grunes wrote:
> 
> > Isn't our C320 only 31 ft 11 and1/2 inches long to get under the 32 ft
> > limit? .:0))
> > Irv Grunes
> > #851
> > 
> > 
> > On Fri, Feb 17, 2012 at 8:59 AM, Allan S Field <allan.field at verizon.net>wrote:
> > 
> >> Or The People's Republic of Maryland...
> >> 
> >> Allan S. Field
> >> Sent from my iPad
> >> 
> >> On Feb 16, 2012, at 3:58 PM, "Jim Sweet" <jamesweet at frontiernet.net>
> >> wrote:
> >> 
> >>> 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
> >>> -A A +A
> >>> 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.
> >>> 
> >>> 
> >> 
>