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House Bill 1395 |
House Author: Parker |
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Effective: 6-17-11 |
Senate Sponsor: Watson et al. |
House Bill 1395 amends the Parks and Wildlife Code to decrease from 16 years of age to 13 years of age the minimum age required for a person to operate a personal watercraft or to operate a motorboat powered by certain types of motors on the public waters of Texas and changes the conditions for an exception to the age requirement. The bill amends provisions relating to the applicability of the requirement that a person take a boater education course in order to operate certain vessels on the state's public waters and provisions relating to the grounds for a court's dismissal of a charge of the offense of failing to possess required documents relating to that requirement. The bill changes the conditions under which a person is exempt from the boater education course requirement and requires the Parks and Wildlife Commission by rule to establish a boater education deferral program, which must be available at no cost to boat dealers, manufacturers, and distributors.