A 8626: Requires pontoon boat rental businesses to equip all pontoon boats available for rent with a safety ladder; defines terms; establishes penalties.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 8626 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN ASSEMBLY May 22, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. MIKULIN -- read once and referred to the Commit- tee on Transportation AN ACT to amend the navigation law, in relation to requiring pontoon boat rental businesses to equip all pontoon boats available for rent with a safety ladder The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The navigation law is amended by adding a new section 44-a 2 to read as follows: 3 § 44-a. Safety ladders equipped on pontoon boat rentals. 1. For the 4 purposes of this section, the following terms shall have the following 5 meanings: 6 (a) "Pontoon boat" means a boat: 7 (i) floated by two bullet shaped pontoons; 8 (ii) containing no inboard motors; and 9 (iii) not exceeding twenty-four feet in length, as measured from end 10 to end on the pontoon. 11 (b) "Pontoon boat rental business" means a business that offers 12 pontoon boats for rent to the general public, but shall not include an 13 individual who allows another individual to use their boat for personal 14 relationships and without compensation. 15 (c) "Safety ladder" means any ladder that is not in the form of ropes, 16 that is affixed to a pontoon boat and which is designed and manufactured 17 in accordance with the standards and guidelines established by the 18 department of parks, recreation and historic preservation. 19 2. No person, corporation, partnership, or limited liability company 20 which is the owner of a pontoon boat rental boat business shall knowing- 21 ly rent or make available for rent a pontoon boat that is not equipped 22 with a safety ladder. 23 3. Failure to properly equip a pontoon boat with a safety ladder prior 24 to the rental of such boat shall result in a warning for a first noted EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD11776-01-5 
 A. 8626 2 1 violation, while each subsequent violation of this section shall result 2 in a fine of five hundred dollars per violation. 3 § 2. This act shall take effect one year after it shall have become a 4 law. Effective immediately, the department of parks, recreation and 5 historic preservation is authorized to promulgate, amend and/or repeal 6 any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of this act on 7 or before such effective date.