H.F. 2014 Section 1. NEW SECTION . 462A.26A Rafting safety regulations 1 —— special event permits. 2 1. Definitions. As used in this section, unless the context 3 otherwise requires: 4 a. “Making way” means vessel movement attributed to 5 intentional guided motion. 6 b. “Rafting” means the anchoring, tying, fastening, 7 linking, or joining of any combination of three or more vessels 8 together. 9 c. “Shoreline” means the zone of contact of a body of water 10 with land other than an island unless the island is located 11 within three hundred yards of the shoreline. 12 d. “Underway” means not anchored or moored to a fixed 13 object. 14 e. “Vessel” means every type of watercraft used or capable 15 of being used as a means of transportation or habitation on the 16 water. 17 2. Regulations for rafting. 18 a. (1) Rafting of three to ten vessels shall be conducted 19 at least one hundred yards from the shoreline of a public body 20 of water. Such vessels shall be located at least two hundred 21 yards from any other vessel or group of vessels that are tied 22 or anchored together. 23 (2) Rafting of eleven or more vessels shall be conducted at 24 least three hundred yards from the shoreline of a public body 25 of water. 26 (3) Two vessels may be tied or anchored together within 27 one hundred yards of the shoreline of a public body of water, 28 but such vessels must be located at least fifty yards from any 29 other vessel or any other group of vessels tied or anchored 30 together. 31 (4) In the event of a violation of this paragraph “a” , a 32 peace officer may order all vessels within three hundred yards 33 of the shoreline of a public body of water to disperse if the 34 peace officer is unable to determine which vessels were in the 35 -1- LSB 5238YH (5) 86 av/nh 1/ 4

H.F. 2014 area first. 1 b. (1) Notwithstanding paragraph “a” , the commission, by 2 rules adopted pursuant to chapter 17A, may designate areas on a 3 public body of water where rafting or anchoring is prohibited 4 within three hundred yards from the shoreline and to a point as 5 described by signage installed by the department. All vessels 6 in such a designated area shall be underway and making way at 7 no wake speed or greater. 8 (2) The department shall place signs in such designated 9 areas where rafting or anchoring is prohibited that state “NO 10 RAFTING OR ANCHORING —— $500.00 FINE”. 11 3. Special event permit. 12 a. Notwithstanding subsection 2, the commission may, by 13 rules adopted pursuant to chapter 17A, provide for the issuance 14 of a special event permit that allows rafting or anchoring in 15 an area where rafting or anchoring is otherwise prohibited. 16 b. The rules shall provide that issuance of a special event 17 permit is conditioned on an assurance by the permit applicant 18 that the applicant will take reasonable care to ensure that 19 persons or boaters in the vicinity of the event will not be 20 subjected to unreasonably loud or disturbing noise, that event 21 participants will not engage in any disorderly conduct, and 22 that any islands used during the event will be cleaned up after 23 the event ends. 24 c. The commission may deny a special event permit 25 application if the applicant was previously issued a special 26 event permit and the event resulted in a serious complaint from 27 a person or boater in the vicinity of the event or a response to 28 the event by a peace officer. 29 d. The rules shall require that an application for a special 30 event permit be received by the commission in writing at least 31 forty-five days before the event and be accompanied by an 32 application fee of fifty dollars. 33 Sec. 2. Section 805.8B, subsection 1, Code 2016, is amended 34 by adding the following new paragraph: 35 -2- LSB 5238YH (5) 86 av/nh 2/ 4

H.F. 2014 NEW PARAGRAPH . f. For rafting safety violations under 1 section 462A.26A, the scheduled fine is five hundred dollars. 2 EXPLANATION 3 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 4 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 5 This bill prohibits the rafting of vessels within specified 6 distances from the shoreline of a public body of water. 7 “Rafting” is defined to mean the anchoring, tying, fastening, 8 linking, or joining of any combination of three or more vessels 9 together. 10 The bill allows rafting near the shoreline of a public 11 body of water under the following circumstances: rafting of 12 three to 10 vessels shall be conducted at least 100 yards 13 from the shoreline and such vessels shall be located at least 14 200 yards from any other vessel or group of vessels that are 15 tied or anchored together, and rafting of 11 or more vessels 16 shall be conducted at least 300 yards from the shoreline. The 17 bill also provides that two vessels may be tied or anchored 18 together within 100 yards of the shoreline, but such vessels 19 must be located at least 50 yards from any other vessel or any 20 other group of vessels tied or anchored together. If these 21 provisions are violated, a peace officer may order all vessels 22 within 300 yards of the shoreline to disperse if the peace 23 officer is unable to determine which vessels were in the area 24 first. 25 The bill allows the natural resource commission, by rules 26 adopted pursuant to Code chapter 17A, to designate areas within 27 300 feet of the shoreline of a public body of water within 28 which rafting or anchoring is prohibited. The department 29 of natural resources shall post signage to that effect 30 which states that there is a $500 fine for violation of the 31 prohibition. 32 The bill also allows the commission to issue a special 33 event permit allowing rafting or anchoring in prohibited areas 34 if the applicant gives assurance that the applicant will 35 -3- LSB 5238YH (5) 86 av/nh 3/ 4

H.F. 2014 take reasonable care that persons or boaters in the vicinity 1 of the event will not be subjected to unreasonably loud or 2 disturbing noise, that event participants will not engage in 3 any disorderly conduct, and that any islands used during the 4 event will be cleaned up after the event ends. An application 5 for a permit may be denied if the applicant has previously 6 been issued a permit for an event which resulted in a serious 7 complaint from a person or boater in the vicinity of the event 8 or a response to the event from a peace officer. 9 The application for a special event permit must be submitted 10 in writing, as prescribed by rule, at least 45 days prior to 11 the event and accompanied by an application fee of $50. 12 A violation of the provisions of the bill is punishable with 13 a scheduled fine of $500. 14 -4- LSB 5238YH (5) 86 av/nh 4/ 4