CHAPTER 315
SB 358 – FINAL VERSION
07May2008… 1605h
2008 SESSION
06/05
SENATE BILL 358
AN ACT relative to mooring permits.
SPONSORS: Sen. Letourneau, Dist 19; Sen. Cilley, Dist 6; Sen. Burling, Dist 5; Rep. Wickson, Rock 5; Rep. Bishop, Rock 2; Rep. Snow, Rock 1
COMMITTEE: Transportation and Interstate Cooperation
This bill authorizes the commissioner of the department of safety to adopt rules requiring mooring permits on public waters.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
07May2008… 1605h
08-2098
06/05
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Eight
AN ACT relative to mooring permits.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
315:1 New Section; Mooring of Boats on Public Waters; Petitions to Require Permits; Hearings. Amend RSA 270 by inserting after section 61 the following new section:
270:61-a Petitions to Require Permits: Hearings.
I. The commissioner of safety shall, after receiving a petition signed by 25 or more residents or property owners of each affected town or towns in which a lake, pond, or river is located and after notice and hearing at which it appears that the public interest requires the use of mooring permits, amend the rules adopted under this subdivision to require mooring permits on the body of water. The provisions of this subdivision and associated rules shall then apply to such water body.
II. The commissioner of safety shall hold a public hearing to determine whether to grant a petition submitted under paragraph I. In determining whether to grant the petition, the commissioner shall take into consideration the following factors:
(a) The size of the body of water.
(b) Public safety.
(c) The maintenance of residential, recreational, and scenic values.
(d) The variety of uses of the body of water.
(e) The environment and water quality.
(f) Threatened and endangered species.
(g) The number of people affected, either directly or indirectly.
(h) The availability of moorings to the non-shorefront owning public.
III. The commissioner of safety shall schedule the public hearing at a date and time which provides interested individuals with sufficient notice, and at a location in the vicinity of the body of water under consideration. If mooring permits are required under this section, the effective date of such requirement shall be no earlier than October 1 of any given year.
315:2 New Paragraph; Mooring Permit Required; Limitations. Amend RSA 270:61 by inserting after paragraph VI the following new paragraph:
VII. An owner of shorefront property separated from the main water body by a manmade structure shall be granted a permit for a mooring on the main body of water if the need for the mooring is established and if the conditions of RSA 270:64, I are met.
315:3 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
Approved: July 2, 2008
Effective Date: August 31, 2008