Good afternoon NH Boaters –

A couple of updates for you on our efforts to protect access to NH waterways as we move into the Thanksgiving holiday:

- “Wake Boat” Definition legislation. Members of the NH Marine Trades Association met last week with various policy makers and state officials to explain why we oppose the proposed legislation to define “wake boats.” We met in one meeting with Rep. John MacDonald (Prime sponsor of the bill) and members from the NH LAKES Association. Tom O’Brien, President of NH LAKES clearly stated the association’s intent to lobby hard for a legal definition and then use it to enact future statewide restrictions and locally-petitioned bans on individual lakes. It was clear by the end of the meeting that there is no interest in a compromise on this issue at this time. **Note: During the HB 137 Commission it was noted that the following brands of boats would be impacted by this dangerous legislation: Nautique, MasterCraft, Malibu, Supra, Moomba, Tige, Centurion, Yamaha, Bryant, Regal, Hey Day, Sea Ray, Monterey, Four Winns, Glastron, Chaparral, Scarab, Cobalt.

- Survey of Boaters. THANK YOU! More than 260 boaters have taken the NH Boater Survey so far. If you haven’t already, please take the survey ASAP and pass it on to other friends/neighbors who are family boaters that enjoy watersports. We’d love to get over 500 responses to the survey. https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Y3Q9NXN PLEASE TAKE SURVEY BY November 30th.

NEXT STEPS:

- Legislative Outreach. The new NH Legislature (State Senate and House of Representatives) will be organized on December 2nd and contact information will be updated for the newly elected officials soon thereafter. Over the coming weeks, we will be putting together talking points and guidelines for contacting your local state legislator. We will start to contact legislators in mid-late December. From a timing perspective, legislation (like the “Wake Boat” definition bill) will be assigned a number and assigned to a House Committee in the coming weeks. A public hearing on the bill will likely be scheduled in the January – March timeframe. We will continue to update everyone weekly so that our messages of opposition are unified and effective.

- Association Development. A new national Association dedicated to recreational boaters and watersport enthusiasts is being developed. Once launched, New Hampshire can become one of the first state chapters which will help us will help us organize into a strong voice for recreational boaters who share our commitment to protecting access to NH waterways. More to come…

If anyone has any questions about the legislative effort, our opposition, or next steps, please do not hesitate to contact me.

I hope you all enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday. 😊

Jodi

Jodi Grimbilas, President
J Grimbilas Strategic Solutions LLC
(Office) 4 Park Street, Suite 101, Concord
(Mail) PO Box 233, Northwood, NH 03261
(Cell) 603-496-2638
jodi@jgstrategies.com