Dear Assemblymember Duvall,

Thank you very much for taking over the sponsorship of Assembly bill AB 1458, the boater operator license bill.

This is the legislation that will require the operators of powerboats on California waters to pass a written test on boating safety and carry an operators certificate as verification.

This is something that is long overdue. Fast powerboats and personal watercraft (PWCs or "jetskis") have been responsible for an alarming number of preventable injuries and fatalities over the last several decades, often inflicted on passengers and bystanders who have not voluntarily assumed the risks associated with improper operation of these vessels.

However, after attending several of the stakeholder meetings to work out details among various interest groups, I am aware of a disturbing trend in the course of this legislation. Specifically, there appears to be considerable pressure to have the mandatory operator license requirement apply to the "operators" of small sailboats, kayaks, single-person outriggers and other small non-motorized craft that have nothing to do with the vast majority of serious boating accidents.

I have attached a bar chart showing risk of injury for various types of vessel operation. As you can see, kayaks and small sailboats barely register on the scale compared to PWCs and other fast powerboats.

It is certainly true that all types of boating can benefit from better education, and it is very likely that fatalities due to high speed accidents will be reduced when this program is implemented. Again, I appreciate your support of the measure and want very much for it to become law.

But mandatory licensing of kayak paddlers and small boat sailors is not justified by the accident statistics, is inconsistent with the laws of every other state, and will lead to widespread, highly motivated, and thoroughly justified opposition to this legislation.

My understanding is that the original sponsor backed out for this very reason. The text had been amended to apply to all boats of all sizes, not just powerboats, and he correctly recognized this as a political, if not a substantive, faux pas with his constituency.

Please make sure that the proposed amendment extending the requirements of AB 1458 to paddlers and small boat sailors does not creep into the text, before this becomes a major public issue.

Thank you very much for your attention.

Paul Kamen
Member, Board of Directors, San Francisco Bay Yacht Racing Association.