46 U.S.C. § 13102
Section 13102 · State recreational boating safety programs
Current version, with additions and removals from the November 16, 1990 version.
(a) The Secretary shall make a contract with, and allocate and distribute amounts from the Boat Safety Account established by section 9504 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to, a State that has an approved State recreational boating safety program, if the State demonstrates to the Secretary's satisfaction that—
(1) the program submitted by that State is consistent with this chapter and chapters 61 and 123 of this title;
(2) amounts distributed will be used to develop and carry out a State recreational boating safety program containing the minimum requirements of subsection (c) of this section;
(3) sufficient State matching amounts are available from general State revenue, undocumented vessel numbering and license fees, State marine fuels taxes, or from a fund constituted from the proceeds of those taxes and established to finance a State recreational boating safety program; and
(4) the program submitted by that State designates a State lead authority or agency that will carry out or coordinate carrying out the State recreational boating safety program supported by financial assistance of the United States Government in that State, including the requirement that the designated State authority or agency submit required reports that are necessary and reasonable to carry out properly and efficiently the program and that are in the form prescribed by the Secretary.
(b) Amounts of the Government (except amounts from sources referred to in subsection (a)(3) of this section) may not be used to provide a State's share of the costs of the program described under this section. State matching amounts committed to a program under this chapter may not be used to constitute the State's share of matching amounts required by another program of the Government.
(c) The Secretary shall approve a State recreational boating safety program, and the program is eligible to receive amounts authorized to be expended under section 13106 of this title, if the program includes—
(1) a vessel numbering system approved or carried out by the Secretary under chapter 123 of this title;
(2) a cooperative boating safety assistance program with the Coast Guard in that State;
(3) sufficient patrol and other activity to ensure adequate enforcement of applicable State boating safety laws and regulations;
(4) an adequate State boating safety education program, that includes the dissemination of information concerning the hazards of operating a vessel when under the influence of alcohol or drugs; and
(5) a system, approved by the Secretary, for reporting marine casualties required under section 6102 of this title.
(d) The Secretary's approval under this section is a contractual obligation of the Government for the payment of a proportionate share of the cost of carrying out the program.
To encourage greater State participation and uniformity in boating safety efforts, and particularly to permit the States to assume the greater share of boating safety education, assistance, and enforcement activities, the Secretary shall carry out a national recreational boating safety program. Under this program, the Secretary shall make contracts with, and allocate and distribute amounts to, eligible States to assist them in developing, carrying out, and financing State recreational boating safety programs.
The Secretary shall establish guidelines and standards for the program. In doing so, the Secretary—
shall consider, among other things, factors affecting recreational boating safety by contributing to overcrowding and congestion of waterways, such as the increasing number of recreational vessels operating on those waterways and their geographic distribution, the availability and geographic distribution of recreational boating facilities in and among applying States, and State marine casualty and fatality statistics for recreational vessels;
shall consult with the Secretary of the Interior to minimize duplication with the purposes and expenditures of chapter 2003 of title 54, United States Code,1 the Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration Act of 1950 (16 U.S.C. 777–777k), and with the guidelines developed under those Acts; and
shall maintain environmental standards consistent with the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1451–1464) and other laws and policies of the United States intended to safeguard the ecological and esthetic quality of the waters and wetlands of the United States.
A State whose recreational boating safety program has been approved by the Secretary is eligible for allocation and distribution of amounts under this chapter to assist that State in developing, carrying out, and financing its program. Matching amounts shall be allocated and distributed among eligible States by the Secretary as provided by section 13104 of this title.
1 So in original. The words “, United States Code, probably should not appear.