Funding the Utah AIS Program

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[font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000][size 3]I know I'm probably beating a dead horse here, but back in 2015, SB 89 (AQUATIC INVASIVE SPECIES FEE by dipstick Senator S. Jenkins) was passed. That bill assessed an additional $10 fee on every Utah registered watercraft and the money was to be deposited into the Boating Account and to be used for aquatic invasive species interdiction. That’s a good thing. However, comma, it had some MAJOR omissions. It didn’t require the fee be collected from non-registered watercraft such as kayaks, float tubes/pontoons, paddle boards, etc. And there was no mention of collecting fees from non-resident watercraft as is done in neighboring sates like Idaho & Wyoming.[/size][/#800000][/font]
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[font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000]I badgered both Sen Jenkins and my State Representative about the short comings of said bill and the dipstick Jenkins couldn’t be bothered with making any changes to correct the short comings. My Rep agreed with my assessment and he talked with the dipstick Jenkins trying to get him to amend the language. The dipstick wasn’t interested, and it didn’t happen. So in Utah any non-registered watercraft don’t have to support the program financially, and ALL out of state watercraft get a free pass in Utah waters.[/#800000][/font]
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[font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000]You can go back on BFT and find threads that I started trying to get others to follow my lead in this gross negligence, but very few, if any, BFT members responded. Would getting everybody that puts a watercraft of any kind in Utah public waters complete fund the AIS program? Of course it wouldn’t. But it would have lowered the amount of additional funding needed from the state to fund the program.[/#800000][/font]
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[size 2][font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000][size 3]I tried to get dipstick Jenkins to change the bill such that an additional sticker would be required on ANY watercraft – registered or not – placed in water in Utah. And, like Wyoming does, non-resident watercraft would pay a higher fee for the sticker. I still think that is a better solution than what we have, but I’m not going to hold my breath waiting for that to happen.[/size][/#800000][/font][#800000][#800000][/#800000][/#800000][#800000][/#800000][/size]
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