Conveyance: includes a motor vehicle, a vessel, a motorboat, a sailboat, a personal watercraft, a container, a trailer, a live well, or a bilge area. See Utah Code 23-27-102
Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes a state, district, or territory of the United States. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
Except as provided in Subsection (1)(b), there is imposed an annual nonresident aquatic invasive species fee of $20 on each vessel in order to launch or operate a vessel in waters of this state if:
(i)
the vessel is owned by a nonresident; and
(ii)
the vessel would otherwise be subject to registration requirements under Section 73-18-7 if the vessel were owned by a resident of this state.
(b)
The provisions of Subsection (1)(a) do not apply if the vessel is owned and operated by a state or federal government agency and the vessel is used within the course and scope of the duties of the agency.
(c)
The division shall administer and collect the fee described in Subsection (1)(a), and the fee shall be deposited into the Aquatic Invasive Species Interdiction Account created in Section 23-27-305.
(2)
Before launching a vessel on the waters of this state, a nonresident shall pay the aquatic invasive species fee as described in Subsection (1), and the vessel owner shall successfully complete an aquatic invasive species education course offered by the division.
(3)
(a)
The division shall study options and feasability of implementing an automated system capable of scanning, photographing, and providing real-time information regarding a conveyance‘s or equipment‘s:
(i)
last entry into a body of water; and
(ii)
last decontamination.
(b)
The study described in Subsection (3)(a) shall evaluate the system’s capability of:
(i)
operation with or without the use or supervision of personnel;
(ii)
operation 24 hours per day;
(iii)
capturing a state assigned number on a vessel or conveyance as described in Section 73-18-6;
(iv)
preserving photographic evidence of:
(A)
a conveyance’s state assigned bow number;
(B)
a conveyance’s or equipment’s entry into a body of water, including the global positioning system location of where the conveyance is photographed; and
(C)
decontamination of the conveyance or equipment;
(v)
identifying a conveyance or equipment not owned by a resident that is entering a body of water in this state; and
(vi)
collecting the fee described in Subsection (1).
(c)
The division shall present a report of the study and findings described in Subsections (3)(a) and (b) to the Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment Interim Committee before November 30, 2020.
(d)
Based on the findings of the study described in this Subsection (3), the division shall implement a pilot program to provide the services described in this Subsection (3) on or before May 1, 2021.
(4)
The board may increase fees assessed under Subsection (1), so long as:
(a)
the fee for nonresidents described in Subsection (1) is no less than the resident fee described in Section 73-18-26; and
(b)
the fee is confirmed in the legislative fee schedule.
