SENATE DOCKET, NO. 975 FILED ON: 1/8/2009
SENATE .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 974
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_______________
PRESENTED BY:
O'Leary, Robert (SEN)
_______________
To the Honorable Senate and House of
Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:
The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the passage of the accompanying bill:
An Act relative to kayaks.
_______________
PETITION OF:
|
Name:
|
District/Address:
|
|
O'Leary, Robert (SEN)
|
Cape and Islands
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Cleon H. Turner
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1st Barnstable
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[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
SEE SENATE, NO. S01410 OF 2007-2008.]
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_______________
In the Year Two Thousand and
Nine
_______________
An Act relative to kayaks.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
SECTION 1.
Chapter 90B of the General Laws, as appearing in the 200
6
o
fficial
e
dition, is hereby amended by inserting after section 5B the following
new
section:-
Section 5C.
Every person aboard a kayak, as defined in section 13B, shall wear at all times a
c
oast
g
uard approved personal floatation device of
t
ype I, II or
II
I
, in good and serviceable condition.
SECTION 2.
Section 11 of said chapter 90B, as so appearing, is hereby amended by
inserting, after clause (o), the following clause:-
(
p
)
Prescribe safety equipment required to be aboard any kayak, as defined in s
ection 13B, however no such rule or regulation may exempt kayakers from the requirement to wear a personal flotation device as required by section 5C .
SECTION 3.
Said chapter 90B
, as so appearing
,
is
hereby further amended by inserting after section 13
A the following
new
section:—
Section 13B.
(
A
)
As used in this chapter, “kayak” means a lightweight boat that: (
i
) is covered, except for a single or double opening in the center thereof; and (ii) is propelled by a double bladed paddle.
(
B
)
Anyone wh
o holds himself out as a kayak instructor for hire shall obtain and maintain: (
i
) first aid training approved by the department of public health; (ii) cardiopulmonary resuscitation training approved by the department of public health; and (iii) kayak instr
uctor certification from the American Canoe Association, American Red Cross certification in small craft safety and basic water rescue, or equivalent water training.
Any course of kayak instruction shall include, but not be limited to; (
i
) the safety proc
edures appropriate to the level of kayak paddling difficulty; and (ii) wet exit training, which training shall be conducted prior to a student operating a kayak unsupervised or in water deeper than 5 feet.
Wet exit training shall consist of practice escap
ing from a kayak while submerged in a controlled water setting.
Wet exit training shall not be required by this section if the kayak to be utilized by the student during the training is a sealed-hull, sit-on-top or open-decked kayak in which no part of th
e kayaker’s body is covered or enclosed within the cockpit, or center opening of the kayak.
A liability release that limits an instructor’s responsibility to comply with this section shall be void.”
