Boating decal, rental bills clear hurdles....

[Phantom]

Silver Duck -- I agree completely

example: How many people stay away because of the $charge$ to launch the boat ?

[Dave R]

The extra $20 I spend every year for my Maine milfoil sticker does not bother me. The hassle of getting it at the Bridgton ME town hall, which has limited hours, bothers me. The folks that enforce the sticker laws should have them for sale for $25 for those that don't have a chance to get one through "normal means" and don;t mind spending an extra fiver for convenience.

[Airwaves]

Silver Duck wrote:

I seriously doubt that a $20 fee will even make the average out of state boater blink, let alone keep them away. After all, boating is not a cheap passtime, , and $20 is pretty insignificant in the overall cost of owning a boat!

AHHH you underestimate just how petty a Mass Legislator can be

How could the move be justified on Beacon Hill in retaliation for a $20 sticker in NH?

Revenue from an "insurance fee" on uninsured or under insured NH drivers could be placed into the "high risk pool" and it would have several immediate benefits in Mass.

1. It would reduce the amount of money insurance companies pay into the pool (by extension the amount of money good drivers pay into it)

2. It would reduce the number of Mass residents registering their car in NH to avoid paying insurance

3. Reducing the number of Mass residents registering in NH would boost sales and excise tax revenue.

4. Reducing the number of uninsured or under insured cars from NH on Mass roads would result in the Insurance Division looking at more cuts in premiums.

Since Mass requires its own residents to purchase a minimum amount of insurance this wouldn't be like the old commuter tax NH imposed years ago.

All it has to do is hit a Mass lawmaker the wrong way. Or actually any Mass resident for that matter since in Mass we can request specific bills be filed through our reps/senators, someone points out how much $ NH is getting from its boaters "education fee" from MA residents...

As for paying access fees for things like launching a boat, you are buying a service so it's really not the same argument.

I'm not saying these things will come to pass, I am just saying that they could.

[Woodsy]

Airwaves...

Although NH doesn't require insurance, a NH registered vehicle is required to have insurance in order to drive legally in Massachusetts.

Woodsy

[jrc]

If I read this right, a non-resident can drive in Mass for 30 days each year without liabilty insurance as long as the vehicle would be legal to drive in the non-resident's state. It's a little convoluted but that how I read it.

PART I. ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT


TITLE XIV. PUBLIC WAYS AND WORKS


CHAPTER 90. MOTOR VEHICLES AND AIRCRAFT


MOTOR VEHICLES


Chapter 90: Section 3. Operation of motor vehicles owned by non-residents; liability insurance; vehicles used in connection with place of business; suspension or revocation of right to operate vehicle; registration


Section 3. Subject to the provisions of section three A and except as otherwise provided in this section and in section ten, a motor vehicle or trailer owned by a non-resident who has complied with the laws relative to motor vehicles and trailers, and the registration and operation thereof, of the state or country of registration, may be operated on the ways of this commonwealth without registration under this chapter, to the extent, as to length of time of operation and otherwise, that, as finally determined by the registrar, the state or country of registration grants substantially similar privileges in the case of motor vehicles and trailers duly registered under the laws and owned by residents of this commonwealth; provided, that no motor vehicle or trailer shall be so operated on more than thirty days in the aggregate in any one year or, in any case where the owner thereof acquires a regular place of abode or business or employment within the commonwealth, beyond a period of thirty days after the acquisition thereof, except during such time as the owner thereof maintains in full force a policy of liability insurance providing indemnity for or protection to him, and to any person responsible for the operation of such motor vehicle or trailer with his express or implied consent, against loss by reason of the liability to pay damages to others for bodily injuries, including death at any time resulting therefrom, caused by such motor vehicle or trailer, at least to the amount or limits required in a motor vehicle liability policy as defined in section thirty-four A.

[Airwaves]

Although NH doesn't require insurance, a NH registered vehicle is required to have insurance in order to drive legally in Massachusetts.

Woodsy

True, but the changes I envision would also require proof of that insurance, such as a "boater eduction deca....opps "insurance coverage decal" if a NH vehicle is uninsured or under insured in order to drive in MA.

jrc;
you are correct in the law as currently instituted. again, what I envision is a change to the MA laws if the appropriate persons are ticked off enough, a newly written law if you will.

[Skip]

The Marine Patrol takes a stance against the education decal proposal.

Entire story can be read HERE at the on-line edition of today's Citizen.