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HB 756

BOATS/SHIPS/VESSELS: Provides relative to personal watercraft

2026 Regular Session Introduced by Bryan Fontenot

HB 756 strengthens PWC safety, raises reporting thresholds for boating incidents, refines enforcement procedures, and broadens PWC definitions and equipment rules.

Effective date: 08/01/2026.
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Bill Summary · HB 756

Summary of HB 756 (Louisiana, 2026 Regular Session)

Purpose

HB 756 amends and reenacts provisions related to personal watercraft and general watercraft operation to update terminology, adjust enforcement standards, and strengthen safety requirements for personal watercraft (PWCs).

Key Provisions and Changes

  • Careless operation of a watercraft (R.S. 34:851.4)

    • Keeps the core concept of careless operation but updates terminology:
    • Replaces “right-of-way” with “give way.”
    • Replaces references to “collision” with “boating incident” when describing approaches or potential collisions.
    • Adjustments to vessel interactions:
    • Clarifies rules involving overtaking (right-side or left-side overtaking with giving way to the vessel being overtaken). Clarifies yielding rules when vessels cross paths (left vessel yields to right vessel), and when motorboats must yield to sail or non-motorized vessels under certain conditions.
    • Passages near docks, shorelines, and sail/motorized interactions are refined, including safe speed and caution requirements when passing.

  • Boating incidents, reporting, and enforcement (R.S. 34:851.10; 34:851.29)

    • Definition change: Creates the term “boating incident” to encompass deaths, injuries, property damage, or vessel loss arising from operation, construction, seaworthiness, equipment, or machinery.
    • Duties after a boating incident: Operators must render assistance, provide identification, and exchange information with affected parties.
    • Reporting thresholds:
    • Notice requirements increase the reportable property damage threshold from $500 to $2,000 or more.
    • Complete loss of a vessel also triggers reporting.
    • Operators must file an incident report within five days when thresholds are met.
    • Enforcement approach (R.S. 34:851.29):
    • Reforms enforcement authority: wildlife agents and peace officers may not stop/board vessels for enforcement unless there is reasonable suspicion of a violation.
    • Officers must identify themselves prior to boarding and are shielded from trespass liability while performing duties.

  • Personal watercraft definitions and safety (R.S. 34:855.2; 34:855.3)

    • Definition: Maintains that a “personal watercraft” is a vessel powered by an inboard motor driving a water jet pump or similar machinery, designed for operation by a person sitting, standing, or kneeling on the vessel. Note: The bill expands this by clarifying that a vessel using other machinery as its primary power source can also be considered a PWC.
    • Regulation and safety on PWCs (R.S. 34:855.3)
    • Keeps the requirement that every person aboard a PWC must wear a Coast Guard-approved PFD (types I, II, III, or V).
    • Prohibits allowing anyone not wearing a PFD to be on board.
    • Clarifies that inflatable PFDs on PWCs do not satisfy the mandatory PFD requirement.

Who/What Is Affected

  • Operators and passengers of personal watercraft in Louisiana.
  • Operators of recreational power vessels and other watercraft interacting with PWCs.
  • Law enforcement and wildlife agents responsible for enforcement of watercraft laws.
  • The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, for incident reporting and data sharing with the U.S. Coast Guard.

Procedural and Timeline Aspects

  • The bill maintains existing enforcement and reporting frameworks but tightens thresholds (notably raising property damage reporting from $500 to $2,000 and adding complete-loss reporting).
  • It shifts enforcement practices to require reasonable suspicion before boarding for enforcement and emphasizes officer identification and trespass protections.
  • Effective date is not stated in the provided text; the usual process would require passage by both chambers and signature by the governor.

Conclusion

HB 756 modernizes terminology, tightens reporting requirements for boating incidents, refines enforcement procedures, and strengthens PWC safety requirements, with a notable emphasis on safer operation near other vessels and near people in the water.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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