The Committee on Fish, Game and Forestry proposed the following amendment (497R001.KMM.GEC):

Amend the bill, as and if amended, by striking SECTION 3 in its entirety and inserting:

/SECTION3. Article 1, Chapter 21, Title 50 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:

"Section 50-21-95.(A) It is unlawful for a person to operate upon the waters of this State a vessel powered by an engine of ten horsepower or greater, a personal watercraft, or a specialty propcraft without having possession of a South Carolina boating safety certificate issued by the department in the person's name, unless the person:

(1) was born on or before July 1, 2006;

(2) is in possession of a license to operate a vessel issued by the United States Coast Guard in the person's name, regardless of the expiration date on the license;

(3) is in possession of a merchant mariner credential issued by the United States Coast Guard in the person's name, regardless of the expiration date on the credential;

(4) is a nonresident in possession of a boater education certificate, or an equivalency, issued by another state in the nonresident' s name;

(5) is exempt pursuant to a regulation promulgated by the department; or

(6) is accompanied by a person at least eighteen years old who:

(a) is in possession of a South Carolina boating safety certificate issued by the department in the person's name; or

(b) meets one of the criteria in items (1) through (5) of this subsection.

(B) A person who violates this section commits a noncriminal offense and is subject to a civil fine of not less than fifty dollars and not more than three hundred dollars." /