--- title: HB 556. Watercraft; boat liveries and education courses; provide collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hb556 cite_as: HB 556, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb556 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb556.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb556/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70606 date: 2025-04-04 status: introduced corpus_version: bills-2026-08-28 license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice. up: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026.md previous: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb555.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb557.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 249 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb556.md?full=1 bill_number: HB 556 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: House bill_type: bill status_date: 2025-02-20 last_action: House Withdrawn, Recommitted sponsors: - Brent Cox - Noel Williams - Lauren McDonald - Stan Gunter - Alan Powell text_version: Comm Sub has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB556/2025 upstream_id: 1978277 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - boating safety - boat rentals - watercraft law - Georgia Department of Natural Resources - recreational boating age limits --- # HB 556. Watercraft; boat liveries and education courses; provide ## Text 25 LC 44 3123S The House Committee on Game, Fish and Parks offers the following substitute to HB 556: A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To amend Code Section 52-7-8.3 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to1 operation of watercraft, identification, and operation by minor s, so as to provide for boat2 rentals and education courses; to provide for a penalty; to provide for a definition; to provide3 for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:5 SECTION 1.6 Code Section 52-7-8.3 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to operation of7 watercraft, identification, and operation by minors, is amended by revising subsection (g) as8 follows:9 "(g)(1) As used in this subsection, the term 'course' means a rental education course as10 provided for in paragraph (3) of this subsection. No person shall rent, lease, or let for hire11 any vessel ten horsepower or more to any person under 16 years of age. On and after12 July 1, 2014, a person 16 years of age or older may rent or lea se any vessel ten13 horsepower or more if such person has completed a boating education course approved14 by the department. This subsection shall not apply to any person licensed by the United15 States Coast Guard as a master of a vessel or a nonresident who has in his or her16 H. B. 556 (SUB) - 1 - 25 LC 44 3123S possession proof that he or she has completed a National Associ ation of State Boating17 Law Administrators approved boater education course or equivalency examination from18 another state.19 (2) No person shall rent, lease, or let for hire any vessel ten horsepower or more to any20 person under 18 years of age. No person shall operate a vessel that has been rented,21 leased, or let for hire unless such person is 18 years of age or older and has completed a22 rental education course approved by the department. A person 18 years of age or older23 may rent, lease, or let for hire a vessel ten horsepower or mor e if such person has24 completed a rental education course approved by the department. No person may rent,25 lease, or let for hire a vessel ten horsepower or more to a person 18 years of age or older26 unless such person has completed a rental education course approved by the department27 and, if one or more additional persons 18 years or age or older will be present on such28 vessel, at least one additional person has completed such course.29 (3) Rental education courses provided pursuant to paragraph (2) of this subsection must30 be approved by the department and must result in the issuance o f a rental education31 certificate upon successful completion of the course. Rental education certificates shall32 be effective for six months after the date of issuance and shall be valid anywhere in this33 state. Boat liveries shall use course materials approved by th e department. At a34 minimum, a course must consist of a ten-minute operation familiarization video followed35 by a renter orientation checklist. Such video must address the following topics in order36 to be approved:37 (A) Operator responsibility, ethics, courtesy, and good judgment on the water;38 (B) Safety equipment;39 (C) Navigation rules;40 (D) Aids to navigation, and buoys and other waterway markers; and41 (E) Proper identification.42 H. B. 556 (SUB) - 2 - 25 LC 44 3123S (4) The requirement to complete a course does not apply to any person licensed by the43 United States Coast Guard as a master of a vessel, any person w ho has in his or her44 possession a valid boater education identification card showing that he or she has45 completed a boating education course approved by the department, or a person who has46 in his or her possession proof that he or she has completed a National Association of State47 Boating Law Administrators approved boater education course or equivalency48 examination from another state.49 (5) Any person who violates this subsection shall be guilty of a misdemeanor."50 SECTION 2.51 All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.52 H. B. 556 (SUB) - 3 - ## Summaries written by Georgia Commons The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the bill. Quote the text, not the summary. A House committee substitute for HB556 would raise the minimum age to rent a boat with ten horsepower or more from 16 to 18 and require anyone renting or operating such a rented boat to complete a short rental education course. ### Plain-language summary Georgia law currently bars renting powered vessels of ten horsepower or more to anyone under 16 and requires renters 16 and older to complete a boating education course. This bill rewrites those rules in O.C.G.A. § 52-7-8.3. It raises the minimum rental age to 18 and requires that anyone who rents, leases, or operates such a rented vessel first complete a new 'rental education course' approved by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, separate from the existing general boater education course. Boat liveries (businesses that rent boats) would have to use department-approved course materials, and the course must include at least a ten-minute video on topics like navigation rules and safety equipment, plus a renter orientation checklist. Certificates from the course are valid for six months statewide. People with a U.S. Coast Guard master's license, an existing boater education card, or an equivalent out-of-state certification are exempt. Violations remain a misdemeanor. ### What it does - Raises the minimum age to rent, lease, or be let a vessel of ten horsepower or more from 16 to 18 years old. - Creates a new required 'rental education course' that renters and operators of rented vessels must complete, separate from the state's general boater education course. - Requires that if multiple adults 18 or older will be on a rented vessel, at least one additional person besides the renter must also have completed the course. - Directs the Georgia Department of Natural Resources to approve rental education course materials and requires boat liveries to use only approved materials. - Sets minimum content requirements for the course, including a ten-minute video covering safety, navigation rules, and proper identification. - Keeps violations of these rental rules classified as a misdemeanor criminal offense. ### Who it affects Boat rental businesses (boat liveries), people who want to rent or operate rented vessels with ten horsepower or more, teenagers aged 16 and 17 who could previously rent boats after taking a boater education course, and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, which approves course materials and certificates. ### Why it matters Georgians who rent boats for fishing or recreation would face a new age floor of 18 and a mandatory short training course before renting or operating a rented boat, changing access for younger renters and adding a compliance step for rental businesses and their customers. ### Key provisions - Section 1 revises subsection (g) of O.C.G.A. § 52-7-8.3, banning rental of vessels of ten horsepower or more to anyone under 18, up from the prior age of 16. - Paragraph (2) requires anyone operating a rented vessel to be 18 or older and to have completed a department-approved rental education course. - Paragraph (2) also requires that if more than one adult will be aboard, at least one additional person besides the renter must have completed the course. - Paragraph (3) requires rental education courses to be approved by the Department of Natural Resources and to issue a certificate valid for six months statewide, and requires boat liveries to use approved course materials. - Paragraph (3) sets minimum course content: a ten-minute video on operator responsibility, safety equipment, navigation rules, waterway markers, and proper identification, followed by a renter orientation checklist. - Paragraph (4) exempts Coast Guard-licensed masters, holders of a valid boater education card, and people with equivalent out-of-state certification from the rental course requirement. - Paragraph (5) makes violation of the subsection a misdemeanor. - Section 2 repeals conflicting laws. ## Status - Status: Introduced (2025-02-20) - Last action: House Withdrawn, Recommitted (2025-04-04) - Sponsors: Brent Cox, Noel Williams, Lauren McDonald, Stan Gunter, Alan Powell - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70606 > The history, votes, and amendments (249 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb556.md?full=1