Amends TCA Title 69, Chapter 9.

Present law provides that every vessel propelled by sail or machinery utilized on Tennessee waters must be numbered for identification in accordance with statutory mandates along with the regulations of the fish and wildlife commission ("commission") with the exception of the following: <br /> <br /> (1) A vessel that has a valid document issued by the bureau of customs of the United States, or a federal agency successor to the bureau of customs must be registered with the agency but is not required to display the identification numbers on the vessel; <br /> <br /> (2) A vessel with a valid number awarded to it pursuant to federal law or a federally-approved numbering system of another state unless this state has become the state of principal use and the vessel has been in this state for 60 days; <br /> <br /> (3) A vessel from a country other than the United States temporarily using the waters of Tennessee; <br /> <br /> (4) A vessel that is owned by the United States government, a state, or a political subdivision of the United States government or a state that is used in the public services;<br /> <br /> (5) A ship's lifeboat;<br /> <br /> (6) A motorboat belonging to a class of boats that has been exempted from numbering by the commission after the agency has found that the numbering will not materially aid in their identification and if a federal agency has a numbering system applicable to the class of motorboats to which the vessel in question belongs, after the commission has further found that the motorboat would also be exempt from numbering if it were subject to the federal law; or<br /> <br /> (7) A vessel that is owned by a volunteer rescue squad and used solely in emergency or rescue work and not for private, personal, recreation, or business use. <br /> <br /> However, every vessel exempt must prominently display identification by name on the vessel. The commission is authorized to adjust the fees generated by the registration of non-exempt vessels by regulation in an amount that is necessary to administer the proper regulations as long as the percentage increase for a fee does not exceed the percent of increase in the average consumer price index all items-city average as published by the United States department of labor, bureau of labor statistics, since the last change in such fees. All fees and adjustment to fees generated by non-exempt vessel regulations must be deposited in the wildlife resources fund and be expended solely for the administration and operation of the commission's programs and authorized responsibilities. <br /> <br /> This bill clarifies that a nonresident owner of a vessel that does not qualify as exempt under (1)-(7) must apply for a certificate of number for the vessel with a county clerk in this state as well as comply with other statutory requirements, including paying the registration fee. The registration fees paid by nonresident owners that fall under this bill must be expended by the commission solely for the enforcement of boating regulations and to ensure that Tennessee waterways remain clean.<br />