HB 1121 Summary

• Requires motorboat registration numbers to be displayed, painted on, or attached so they are legible and clearly visible; motorboats registered under federal law (33 CFR 173) must comply with federal display requirements instead.

• Modifies muffler requirements to require that a motorboat's muffler or other exhaust device must muffle or suppress sound, removing the previous requirement to prevent excessive and unusual noise at all speeds.

• Prohibits law enforcement officers from stopping, inspecting, searching, or detaining a boat solely to determine compliance with boating laws, except when enforcing light display requirements.

• Changes the nighttime speed restriction from the period between sunset and sunrise to 15 minutes after sunset through 15 minutes before sunrise; requires sunset and sunrise times to be determined using federal United States Naval Observatory data.

• Repeals provisions prohibiting unnecessary sounding of whistles or horns on boats.