119-hr2772

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2772 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

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119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 2772

 To direct the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is 
 operating to study and report to the Congress regarding recreational 
 vessel operator training.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 April 9, 2025

 Mr. Garbarino (for himself and Mr. LaLota) introduced the following 
 bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and 
 Infrastructure

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

 To direct the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is 
 operating to study and report to the Congress regarding recreational 
 vessel operator training.

 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

 This Act may be cited as the ``Brianna Lieneck Boating Safety Act 
of 2025''.

SEC. 2. RECREATIONAL VESSEL OPERATOR EDUCATION AND TRAINING.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the department in which the 
Coast Guard is operating shall study and report to the Committee on 
Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and 
the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate 
regarding recreational vessel operator training. The study and report 
shall include a review of--

    (1) Coast Guard Auxiliary and Power Squadron training 
 programs;

    (2) existing State boating education programs, including 
 programs by the National Association of State Boating Law 
 Administrators (in this section referred to as ``NASBLA''); and

    (3) other hands-on training programs available to 
 recreational vessel operators.

    (b) Included Subjects.--The study shall specifically examine--

    (1) course materials;

    (2) course content;

    (3) training methodology;

    (4) assessment methodology; and

    (5) relevancy of course content to risks for recreational 
 boaters.
            (c) Contents of Report.--The report under this section shall 
include--

    (1) a section regarding steps the Coast Guard and NASBLA 
 have taken to encourage States to adopt mandatory recreational 
 vessel operator training;

    (2) an evaluation of the ability of the States to harmonize 
 their education programs and testing procedures;

    (3) an analysis of the extent States have provided 
 reciprocity among the States for their respective mandatory and 
 voluntary education requirements and programs;

    (4) a section examining the level of uniformity of 
 education and training between the States that currently have 
 mandatory education and training programs;

    (5) a section outlining the minimum standards for education 
 of recreational vessel operators;

    (6) a section analyzing how a Federal training and testing 
 program can be harmonized with State training and testing 
 programs;

    (7) an analysis of course content and delivery methodology 
 for relevancy to risks for recreational boaters;

    (8) a description of the current phase-in periods for 
 mandatory boater education in State mandatory education 
 programs and recommendation for the phase-in period for a 
 mandatory boater education program including an evaluation as 
 to whether the phase-in period affects course availability and 
 cost;

    (9) a description of the extent States allow for 
 experienced boaters to bypass mandatory education courses and 
 go directly to testing;

    (10) recommendations for a bypass option for experienced 
 boaters;

    (11) a section analyzing how the Coast Guard would 
 administer a Federal boating education, training, and testing 
 program; and

    (12) an analysis of the extent to which a Federal boating 
 education, training, and testing program should be required for 
 all waters of a State, including internal waters.
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