HF 2580

Introduction - 94th Legislature (2025 - 2026)

Posted on 04/10/2025 04:24 p.m.

A bill for an act
relating to natural resources; requiring removal and disposal of abandoned boats;
providing criminal and civil penalties; amending Minnesota Statutes 2024, sections
97A.223, subdivision 1; 97A.421, by adding a subdivision; proposing coding for
new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 86B.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

new text begin [86B.109] ABANDONED BOATS.
new text end

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Tagging authority; notice to owner. new text end

new text begin (a) A peace officer or an employee
designated by the commissioner under section 84.0835 may place a tag on a boat unlawfully
located on waters of this state or unlawfully located on property adjacent to waters of this
state if the boat appears to be:
new text end

new text begin (1) inoperative and neglected, wrecked, stranded, or substantially dismantled;
new text end

new text begin (2) in immediate danger of sinking; or
new text end

new text begin (3) unmoored and unattended.
new text end

new text begin (b) A peace officer or employee who places a tag on a boat under this subdivision must
notify the commissioner of placing the tag within 48 hours. The notification must include
a statement of the basis for the decision to place a tag on the boat.
new text end

new text begin (c) Upon receiving notification under paragraph (b), the commissioner must send a notice
by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the registered owner of the boat. The notice
must state that:
new text end

new text begin (1) the boat has been tagged and the condition that resulted in the boat being tagged
must be remedied immediately; and
new text end

new text begin (2) failure to remedy within 14 days of the notice being sent is a criminal violation that
may result in civil and criminal penalties and the forfeiture of the boat.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Failure to remedy. new text end

new text begin The registered owner of a boat who knowingly fails to
remedy the condition that resulted in the boat being tagged within 14 days of the
commissioner sending the notice required by subdivision 1, paragraph (c), is guilty of a
misdemeanor. In addition, the owner is liable to the Department of Natural Resources for
all costs incurred by the commissioner in enforcing this section against the owner and is
subject to a civil penalty of not less than two times nor more than five times the costs incurred
by the commissioner to remove, process, and dispose of the boat. Civil penalties imposed
under this subdivision may be enforced and distributed as provided in section 115A.99.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 3. new text end

new text begin Seizure of abandoned boats. new text end

new text begin Fourteen days after the commissioner sends the
notice required by subdivision 1, paragraph (c), to the registered owner, or concludes that
there is no registered owner, the commissioner must investigate the boat. If, upon inspection,
the boat has not been removed and the condition that prompted the peace officer or employee
to tag it has not been substantially remedied, the boat is considered abandoned and the
commissioner must seize and forfeit the boat according to section 97A.223.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 4. new text end

new text begin Respect for private property. new text end

new text begin A peace officer or employee may not enter
private property to tag or remove a boat under this section without the property owner's
express permission, a warrant, or another applicable court order.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 5. new text end

new text begin Relation to other law. new text end

new text begin An abandoned boat that becomes submerged and subject
to section 86B.107 must be removed and disposed of in accordance with that section.
new text end

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 97A.223, subdivision 1, is amended to read:

Subdivision 1.

Property subject to seizure and forfeiture.

(a) An enforcement officer
must seize:

(1) firearms possessed in violation of state or federal law or court order; deleted text begin and
deleted text end

(2) property described in section 97A.221, subdivision 1, where no owner can be
determined deleted text begin . deleted text end new text begin ; and
new text end

new text begin (3) a boat that is abandoned according to section 86B.109, subdivision 3.
new text end

(b) Property seized under this section is subject to administrative forfeiture.

Sec. 3.

Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 97A.421, is amended by adding a subdivision to
read:

new text begin Subd. 3c. new text end

new text begin Restrictions after conviction; abandoned boat. new text end

new text begin (a) After a conviction under
section 86B.109, subdivision 2, the following license and registration restrictions remain
in effect until the person reimburses the Department of Natural Resources for all the
department's costs under section 86B.109, subdivision 2:
new text end

new text begin (1) all the person's annual game and fish licenses are void;
new text end

new text begin (2) the person may not act under any lifetime game and fish license;
new text end

new text begin (3) all the person's watercraft licenses and registrations that are required to operate
watercraft in the state are void;
new text end

new text begin (4) all the person's off-highway vehicle and snowmobile licenses and registrations that
are required to operate those vehicles in the state are void; and
new text end

new text begin (5) the person may not obtain any of the licenses or registrations described in clauses
(1) to (4).
new text end

new text begin (b) If a conviction under section 86B.109, subdivision 2, was for abandoning a boat in
a boundary water of the state, the commissioner must coordinate with neighboring
jurisdictions to ensure that, to the maximum extent practicable, the person is subject to
similar consequences in the neighboring jurisdiction as those imposed under paragraph (a).
new text end