1547.542 Annual certificate of livery registration.

1547.542 Annual certificate of livery registration.

Any person or organization owning any number of canoes, rowboats, inflatable watercraft, or sailboats for the purpose of rental to the public may apply with the chief of the division of watercraft for and receive an annual certificate of livery registration. No watercraft shall be rented to the public from a livery or other place of business in this state unless it first has been numbered and registered in accordance with this section or section 1547.54 of the Revised Code. Certificates of livery registration shall be issued by an authorized agent who is selected by the chief from among those designated under section 1547.54 of the Revised Code. The certificate shall display the name of the owner of the livery, the date of issuance, the date of expiration, the number of watercraft registered, the fee paid, an authorized facsimile of the signature of the chief provided by the authorized agent who is selected to issue the certificate, and the signature of the livery owner. The certificate shall bear the livery watercraft registration number assigned to the livery owner, which shall be displayed in accordance with section 1547.57 of the Revised Code on each watercraft in the fleet for which the certificate was issued. The owner of a livery shall obtain an amended certificate of livery registration from the chief whenever the composition of the fleet changes.

The fee for each watercraft registered under this section shall be an annual registration fee. The fee shall be one-third of the triennial registration fees prescribed in section 1547.54 of the Revised Code. However, if the size of the fleet does not increase, the fee for an amended certificate of livery registration shall be the fee prescribed for issuing a duplicate registration certificate under section 1547.54 of the Revised Code, and the chief shall not refund to the livery owner all or any portion of an annual registration fee applicable to a watercraft transferred or abandoned by the livery owner. If the size of the fleet increases, the livery owner shall be required to pay the applicable annual registration fee for each watercraft registered under an amended certificate of livery registration that is in excess of the number of watercraft contained in the annual certificate of livery registration.

In addition to the fees established in this section, watercraft that are not powercraft shall be charged a waterways conservation assessment fee. The fee shall be collected at the time of the issuance of an annual livery registration under this section and shall be one dollar and fifty cents for each watercraft included in the registration. The fee shall be deposited in the state treasury and credited to a distinct account in the waterways safety fund created in section 1547.75 of the Revised Code.

The certificate of livery registration, rental receipts, and required safety equipment are subject to inspection at any time at the livery’s place of business by any authorized representative of the division of watercraft or any law enforcement officer in accordance with section 1547.63 of the Revised Code.

Except as provided in this section, all watercraft registered under this section are subject to this chapter and Chapter 1548. of the Revised Code.

The chief may issue an order temporarily or permanently restricting or suspending a livery certificate of registration and the privileges associated with it without a hearing if the chief finds that the holder of the certificate has violated this chapter.

Amended by 128th General Assembly File No. 9, HB 1, § 101.01, eff. 7/17/2009.

Effective Date: 07-05-2002