|
Florida boaters want share of fuel tax
A group of Florida recreational boaters is heading
to the state’s capital in support of a bill seeking to
reallocate millions in revenue generated by Florida’s marina
fuel tax.
Standing Watch — the 29,000-member boating coalition
headquartered in Cape Coral, Fla. — says the bill would redirect
half of the $28 million to $30 million, currently being spent on
interstate road projects, into increasing enforcement efforts on
Florida’s waterways, according to a report in this morning’s
Naples (Fla.) Daily News.
The group also says it will encourage lawmakers during this
legislative session to reallocate funds from state license plate
fees into pumping up marine enforcement, says Jim Kalvin, Standing
Watch founder. Currently, those plate fees are given to the Save
the Manatee Club, the newspaper says.
Placing more enforcement officers on the water would have several
immediate benefits, Kalvin says. “There will be better manatee
protection, better emergency services and more boater
education,” he told the Daily News.
The Legislature most likely will approve the bill, Kalvin told the
newspaper, but only if the Marine Industries Association of
Florida agrees to drop its stipulation that the law provide for
establishment of a Bureau of Boating.
“Right now, the Legislature is looking for ways to cut
bureaucracy, not create more of it,” Kalvin told the paper.
“We could come back next year and ask for the Bureau of Boating
to be created.”
|
