04-09-2020, 02:52 PM
HB255 is the new bill that just passed the legislature and was signed by the Governor and makes changes to the existing Utah Aquatics Invasive Species (AIS) Program. It will start on July 1, 2020. I was very much against this bill because it was poorly written and didn’t fix some major problems with the old system. Be that as it may, here is an update on one of the new requirements directly from the Utah DWR AIS Office: the newly required Boat Owner Education Course.
The current course available online (which I already completed for 2020), will fulfill the Boat Owner Education Course requirement set forth in HB255. The course may be revised slightly to account for non-resident boaters taking the course, but regardless, a completion certificate from any 2020 version will satisfy the HB255 requirement for Utah residents. So, if you are a Utah resident and have completed the 2020 on-line version and printed out the completion certificate, you are good for the rest of your 2020 boating season.
The DWR is currently working out the details for a payment portal and Boat Owner Education Course for non-residents. So, if you are a non-resident, you may want to hold off on taking the current AIS course, or you may be required to take the course again after then non-resident requirements have been established.
If any of you would like to reach out to the AIS Coordinator, contact me directly via PM/email and I will be glad to forward your concerns to him.
The current course available online (which I already completed for 2020), will fulfill the Boat Owner Education Course requirement set forth in HB255. The course may be revised slightly to account for non-resident boaters taking the course, but regardless, a completion certificate from any 2020 version will satisfy the HB255 requirement for Utah residents. So, if you are a Utah resident and have completed the 2020 on-line version and printed out the completion certificate, you are good for the rest of your 2020 boating season.
The DWR is currently working out the details for a payment portal and Boat Owner Education Course for non-residents. So, if you are a non-resident, you may want to hold off on taking the current AIS course, or you may be required to take the course again after then non-resident requirements have been established.
If any of you would like to reach out to the AIS Coordinator, contact me directly via PM/email and I will be glad to forward your concerns to him.