SR39 - Relative to National Safe Boating Week.

Enrolled May 20, 2025 Passed IN Senate May 19, 2025 CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION Senate Resolution No. 39 Introduced by Senator Richardson April 21, 2025 Relative to National Safe Boating Week. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SR 39, Richardson. Digest Key Bill Text WHEREAS, The Department of Parks and Recreation estimates that 4,000,000 Californians engage in boating, fishing, and other recreational activities on California’s navigable waters; and WHEREAS, The Division of Boating and Waterways estimates that Californians own 2,600,000 registered and nonregistered recreational boats; and WHEREAS, In 2023, the United States Coast Guard counted 339 boating accidents in California that involved 33 deaths, 164 injuries, and approximately $4,600,000 of damage to property as a result of recreational boating accidents; and WHEREAS, The majority of accidents are caused by human error or poor decisions, not by the boat, equipment, or environmental factors; and WHEREAS, Alcohol use remains the leading contributing factor in all fatal boating accidents at 14 percent; and WHEREAS, Operator inattention and inexperience are also leading contributing factors in mishaps, annually causing hundreds of accidents and dozens of fatalities; and WHEREAS, Navigation rule violations were a contributing factor in 53 percent of accidents, 34 percent of deaths, and 60 percent of injuries in 2023; and WHEREAS, Eighty-seven percent of reported boating accident victims who drowned in 2023 were not wearing life jackets; and WHEREAS, A significant number of boaters who lose their lives by drowning each year would be alive today had they worn their life jackets; and WHEREAS, Boating safety courses and boating safety campaigns can teach people how to adhere to better boating practices and make safer decisions; and WHEREAS, United States Coast Guard statistics show that, of the accidents where the level of operator education was known, 75 percent of boating deaths occurred on boats where the boat operator had never received boating education instruction; and WHEREAS, The United States Coast Guard considers the use of engine cut-off switches by powerboat operators important because powerboat propellers may injure persons in the water when operators are ejected or fall overboard; now, therefore, be it Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, That the Senate recognizes May 17 through May 23, 2025, inclusive, as National Safe Boating Week, and the start of a year-round effort to promote safe boating in California; and be it further Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.