[Frank Kearney]

Senator Mamie Locke of Hampton has introduced SB 820 which will if passed give your locality another way to tax your boat by adding a local motorboat registration fee for your boat.

SB 820 is on the Senate Agriculture Conservation and Natural Resources agenda for a meeting on Monday January 26th in Senate Room B of the General Assembly Building starting at 9:00 AM Contact members of the Committee to express opposition to this legislation.

Senate Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources
Senator Patricia Ticer (Chair), Alexandria, (804)698-7530, [email protected]

Senator Mary Margaret Whipple, Arlington, (804)698-7531, [email protected]

Senator Emmett Hanger, Mount Solon, (804)698-7524, [email protected]

Senator John Watkins, Midlothian, (804)698-7510, [email protected]

Senator W. Roscoe Reynolds, Martinsville, (804)698-7520, [email protected]

Senator Phillip Puckett, Tazewell, (804)698-7538, [email protected]

Senator Frank Ruff, Jr., Clarksville, (804)698-7515, [email protected]

Senator Harry Belvins, Chesapeake, (804)698-7514, [email protected]

Senator R. Creigh Deeds, Charlottesville, (804)698-7525, [email protected]

Senator Mark Obenshain, Harrisonburg, (804)698-7526, [email protected]

Senator Ryan McDougle, Mechanicsville, (804)698-75o4, [email protected]

Senator A. Donald McEachin, Richmond, (804)698-7509, [email protected]

Senator J. Chapman Petersen, Fairfax, (804)698-7534, [email protected]

Senator Ralph Northam, Norfolk, (804)698-7506, [email protected]

Senator Richard Stuart, Montross, (804)698-7528, [email protected]

SENATE BILL NO. 820
Offered January 14, 2009
Prefiled December 8, 2008
A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding in Article 1 of Chapter 7 of Title 29.1 a section numbered 29.1-711.1, relating to local motorboat registration fee.
----------
Patron-- Locke
----------
Referred to Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources
----------

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That the Code of Virginia is amended by adding in Article 1 of Chapter 7 of Title 29.1 a section numbered 29.1-711.1 as follows:

§ 29.1-711.1. Local motorboat registration fee.

A. Beginning January 1, 2010, each county, city, or town may, by ordinance, impose a registration fee upon the owner of any motorboat that is subject to the county, city, or town tangible personal property tax pursuant to Title 58.1. The fee imposed shall be for the registration of a motorboat for a period of 36 months. Upon proper application and payment of the fee, the registration may be renewed for additional 36-month periods.

B. For purposes of the amount of the fee, (i) motorboats weighing less than five tons and (ii) motorboats weighing five tons or more shall be separate classifications of property.

C. The registration fee described under this section shall not apply to a ship's lifeboat or property that is merchant's capital pursuant to Article 3 (§ 58.1-3509 et seq.) of Chapter 35 of Title 58.1.

D. 1. The local ordinance may require that decals signifying the last month and year during which the local registration is valid be displayed on the motorboat while it is being operated. Except as provided in this section, there shall be no additional charge for such decals.

2. Decals shall be displayed only upon the motorboat for which they were purchased and shall not be transferable.

3. If a decal becomes defaced, lost, or destroyed, the owner of the motorboat shall apply to the proper local official for a replacement decal within 15 days. The county, city, or town may charge a fee of $1 for each decal or set of decals replaced.

4. The county, city, or town may require dealers and manufacturers of motorboats to display decals on motorboats that are merchant's capital being used for demonstration purposes, but the registration fee under this section shall not be imposed in such circumstances.

E. The fee imposed pursuant to the authority granted under this section shall be enforced and collected in the same manner that local taxes are enforced and collected under Title 58.1.

 

[Vidego]

We already pay one in Norfolk.

 

[Frank Kearney]

The legislation if passed would allow any locality to institute a registration fee.
Beginning January 1, 2010, each county, city, or town may, by ordinance, impose a registration fee upon the owner of any motorboat that is subject to the county, city, or town tangible personal property tax pursuant to Title 58.1. The fee imposed shall be for the registration of a motorboat for a period of 36 months. Upon proper application and payment of the fee, the registration may be renewed for additional 36-month periods.

 

[Getaway]

It seems that Mamie Locke is doing just about anything and everything she can to screw up Hampton since she was voted into the state senate. This is just one more of her special interest or screw the citizens of Hampton bills.

 

[Brian Hogge]

:surrender:

 

[Mike Avery]

An article about this in the Daily Press. Even though the article talks about Hampton, make no mistake, this will affect every boat in Virginia.

Hampton eyes fee in lieu of boat tax -- dailypress.com

Hampton eyes fee in lieu of boat tax

The city's current property levy on boats hasn't brought in a penny of revenue since it was lowered in 2002.

By MATTHEW STURDEVANT | 247-7874
January 26, 2009

HAMPTON - - Hampton officials are asking the General Assembly for the right to charge motorboat owners a 36-month registration fee, which could be used instead of a boat tax.

State Sen. Mamie Locke, D-Hampton, introduced legislation on Hampton's behalf that would allow a city, county or town to impose a registration fee on motorboat owners.

The legislation would allow a different fees for motorboats weighing less than 5 tons and for those heavier than 5 tons. Under current law, the city may tax boats only based on assessed value, rather than asking for a flat fee.

Mayor Molly Joseph Ward said the decision to pursue this legislation was based on an evolving process of getting public opinion from various groups. The purpose is to have a fair method of charging boat owners, Ward said.

"I am not in favor of the other scheme because I don't think it makes sense," Ward said.

Having served as Hampton's treasurer, Ward said she was familiar with the difficulties of collecting a boat tax.

Unlike cars, which are registered in a particular locality, boat owners aren't required to document the port where they keep their boat for most of the year. And if a boat is in a Hampton marina fewer than six months, it can't be taxed. This results in the treasurer's office having to document that the boat is in a local marina for at least six months of the year, Ward said.

Additionally, the boat tax results in thousands of bills that are a few dollars each on lower-value boats, Ward said. Conversely, the owner of a $2 million yacht would be required to pay $20,000 if the boat tax rate was $1 for every $100 of the boat's assessed value.

Hampton's current property tax on boats, a rate of $0.000001 for every $100, hasn't brought in a penny of revenue since it was lowered in 2002 from $1 per $100.

However, Hampton did collect about $27,000 last year on boats used for business purposes, which are taxed at $1 for every $100.

When the previous tax on recreational boats was in place, it brought in an increasing amount of revenue, from $373,057 in 1999 to $427,187 in 2002. Between 2000 and 2008, the number of boats increased from 5,325 to 7,120, according to the commissioner of the revenue's office.

The argument about whether to have a boat tax is decades old. In 1986, the city lowered the boat tax from $5.40 for every $100 of assessed value to $1 to keep pace with Portsmouth, which had set its rate at 50 cents.

In 1989, then-City Councilman Baxter Simmons suggested raising the rate to $2 to bring in $150,000 more to pay for an $80,000 police boat.

The conversation has ebbed and flowed along similar lines: Should the rate be kept low to compete with marinas in localities where the rate is lower, or should boating-related expenses be offset by a tax?

That argument leads into another: How many boaters will leave and take with them the money that they pay for slip fees, repairs, boat supplies, lodging, groceries and restaurant meals? And how does that local economic effect compare with the amount raised in boat tax revenue?

A study in 2005 by Old Dominion University concluded that a boat tax reduction in many Hampton Roads communities decreased tax revenue without a noticeable increase in the number of boats regionally or to a particular city.

Before council members make a decision, they'll consider the results of an economic study by the Virginia Institute of Marine Science.

It involves asking boat owners about what type of boat they have, how much they spend on each boating trip, fixed expenses and other costs. The study is scheduled to be released in February.

City Manager Jesse Wallace said that he didn't want to speculate on the cost of a registration fee if Hampton adopted one but that it would help defray costs of police boats and the city's other boater-related expenses.

Boat tax
The legislation would allow different fees for motorboats weighing less than 5 tons and for those heavier than 5 tons. The current law allows the city to tax boats only based on assessed value, rather than asking for a flat fee.

 

[Boost240sx]

Just when you think having a boat can't get any more expensive.

 

[hookinfinger]

Don't you just love the way these politicians love to use the word fee instead of calling it what it is, a tax ?

 

[striper_on]

The real joke in Norfolk is the light rail to no where. Might as well tax us some more to pay for this debacle. VB wants no part of it and I don't blame them they don't want the riff raff from Downtown Norfolk invading the Oceanfront. But the funny thing about it is, they already have Sure hate to so say it but the decision is already made, but I wrote my letter.

 

[South Paw]

Oh... I get it now.

A fine is a tax for doing something wrong. A tax is a fine for doing something in general, bad or good. A fee is a tax for doing something right. What a play on words...

For every tax problem there is a solution which is straightforward, uncomplicated and wrong.

Good Fishin

 

[Frank Kearney]

Mamie Locke's bill Senate Bill 820 went down to defeat in a Senate Committee Today.
SB 820 Motorboats; authorizes county, city, or town to impose registration fee on certain.
Mamie E. Locke | all patrons ... notes | add to my profiles
Summary as introduced:
Local motorboat registration fee. Authorizes a county, city, or town to impose a local motorboat registration fee on motorboats subject to the locality's tangible personal property tax. Each registration would be for a period of 36 months. For purposes of the fee, the bill also would create separate classifications for motorboats weighing less than five tons and motorboats weighing five tons or more.

Full text:
12/08/08 Senate: Prefiled and ordered printed; offered 01/14/09 094318256

Status:
12/08/08 Senate: Prefiled and ordered printed; offered 01/14/09 094318256
12/08/08 Senate: Referred to Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources
01/26/09 Senate: Failed to report (defeated) in Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources (6-Y 8-N 1-A)

 

[jwas1]

Good news. I could see cities like Newport News taxing and charging a registration fee if that had passed.