Just 2 House members and 3 Senators pass sweeping bill to require official state training for boaters across Massachusetts!

“Training certificate” now required to operate a motorboat, jet-skis, wetbikes, etc. Other mandates also being imposed.

Passed into law by unconstitutional, corrupt informal sessions of House and Senate.

April 26, 2025

Until now, anytime you wanted to take your motorboat out and go fishing, water skiing, jet skiing, or just cruise around with friends – you just went out and did it. Or if you wanted to use jet-skis or similar things, you just did it. No permission from the state was required.

But now, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts mandates that you get official state “safe boating” training, and have your official certificate with you – as well as other new requirements – or face fines and/or punishments. According to its sponsor, the law is a reaction to a fatal boating accident that took place fifteen years ago (in 2010).

This sweeping law was not passed by the full Legislature with debates and roll-call votes. It was passed into law in the middle of the night, just before the session ended, in corrupt and unconstitutional “informal sessions.”

Late at night, after 11 pm on Dec. 30, 2024 (the day before the end of the session) just two House members and three Senators met and passed bill H4941. (It was later signed into law by the governor.)

The law is somewhat complicated to read, but here are the basic highlights. Let’s just say that life ain’t as easy as it used to be:

1. The law applies to anyone using a motorboat or a “personal watercraft” in Massachusetts waters. A personal watercraft includes jet skis, surf jets, wetbikes, jetlevs, flyboards, flyrides, jetovators, hydrolifts and jet-packs.
2. Those operating a motorboat or personal watercraft must now successfully complete a “boater safety education program” set up by the Commonwealth. Those who successfully take the course will be issued a “boater safety certificate.” No one under 12 may be issued a certificate.
3. Anyone operating motorboats and personal watercraft must have his boater safety certificate with him.
4. A person without a certificate may operate a motorboat if he is “accompanied on board and directly supervised” by a person 18 or older who has a certificate.
5. Every motorboat (of any size) must have a fire extinguisher on board that’s specially approved and unused.
6. An odd addition to the law is regarding Kayak instructors. The law describes specific training in paddling and other skills that must be given. Anyone teaching kayaking must also get the boating safety certification (even though kayaks are not motorized) plus first-aid certification and CPR training.
7. A new bureaucracy is set up to create the boating course, manage its implementation, create regulations and punishments for non-compliance, and manage the law’s  enforcement across the state.

Is all of this a good idea (and really necessary) or not? It’s pretty certain that virtually none of the legislators even read the bill (or knew that it existed).

There was certainly no debate, amendments, and no roll-call vote. It was simply rushed through –  literally in the middle of the night – by a tiny handful of legislators. The leadership and their lackeys made the decisions.

As shocking as it is that our laws are being made this way, our legislators – both Democrat and Republican – are perfectly comfortable doing things that way. And the equally corrupt media (even “conservative” media) has gone along with this for so long that they won’t rock the boat now (pun intended).