Lexington, SC (0524/2021 Randall Smith) - Last Friday was a very, very sad day for the boating safety-minded public in South Carolina. The Boater Education Bill S.497 has been stopped from being enacted into law this year.
The person responsible is Rep. Chris Murphy, the Chairman of the powerful House Judiciary Committee who represents Dorchester County District 98. Instead of representing just his own district, Rep. Murphy’s actions have told the rest of the citizens of our state he alone knows what is best for us. Rep. Murphy has refused to schedule a hearing on S.497. He has sat on this bill since March 02 of this year and he has done absolutely nothing. Then on Thursday, May 13, he successfully halted its consideration before the House of Representatives, thus killing the bill for this year.
S.497 would require youth operators (anyone born after July 1, 2006) to pass a free boating safety course. It may surprise you, but in our state, anyone over the age of 17 with enough money can purchase a boat and operate it on our waterways without any training or testing regardless if they even know how to drive it.
This historic legislation is supported by Attorney General Alan Wilson, Sheriff Jay Koon of Lexington County, Sheriff Leon Lott of Richland County, Sheriff Lee Foster of Newberry County, Sheriff Josh Price of Saluda County and others. Also, it is supported by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources and many civic organizations.
The National Safe Boating Council says 70% of deaths occurred on boats where the operator had no boating safety instruction and 20% of deaths occurred on boats where the operator had nationally approved boating safety instruction.
South Carolina is seventh in the nation per capita with over 500,000 registered boats. When compared to the population, that is one in ten for each person in the state. We have more recreational watercraft than Texas and we have more recreational watercraft than all other southern states except Florida. South Carolina has over 300 miles of coastline, yet we are the only coastal state that does not have mandatory boater education for all boaters.
I think it is about time Rep. Murphy knows just how upset we, the boating safety-minded public, are with him. Washington D.C. politics has come to our state. It’s about time we take our government back. For a bill as simple as requiring Boater Education for our young people, I cannot understand who would oppose it. It all boils down to what price do we put on a life.
I hope you never have to meet a family that has lost a son or a daughter in a watercraft accident. I have, several of them. Our lakes are supposed to be a place for us to enjoy, but too often things turn tragic. S.497 has already passed the State Senate. However, the fight for this is far from being over. We will be back next year to continue the fight for S.497 in the House of Representatives.
To read Senate Bill (S.497)
Randall Smith is chairman of the South Carolina Crime Victims’ Council Boating Safety Citizens’ Advisory Committee. In 1997, he lost his son Drew to an impaired boater on Lake Murray. With his wife, he wrote the “Boating Safety Act of 1999,” also called Drew’s Law, which mandated stiffer penalties for impaired boating. Smith has advocated for boating safety for the past 23 years “in honor and memory of my son.”
The Smiths started a Facebook page in March of this year to promote boating safety. https://www.facebook.com/groups/469288324274212
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