Audiofn

Well I hope that this judge does not take as long to rule on this as some. It could be a LONG time. I am glad to see that the marine police are not enforcing the law tell this is over.

Jon

Magicfloat

Interesting editorial. www.dailyhome.com/opinion

Cash Bar

Here is a paste.....

Boat ban still making waves

10-04-2006

Some interesting reading can be found in the pages of depositions and testimony revolving around the lawsuit challenging the houseboat ban on three Alabama lakes.
The law that was to go into effect Sunday has been delayed because Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources is refusing to enforce it until the lawsuit has run its course.

The law would have banned on Martin, Weiss and Harris lakes any boats longer than 26 feet, 11 inches capable of speeds in excess of 60 mph. It also prohibited houseboats and recreational vehicles longer than 30 feet, 6 inches.

But long before final passage of a bill, which at one time applied to as many as 11 lakes in the state, marine police were questioning the constitutionality, the enforceability and the overall fairness of it.

And rightly so. Veteran officers in memos to higher-ups asking for opinions on the legislation pointed out that it was unfair to “penalize the majority of law abiding boaters that fall into these categories …”

They also cited laws already on the books to deal with some of the issues touted as impetus for the legislation.

On the issue of houseboats dumping raw sewage in lakes, there is a marine sanitation law. On the issue of dangerous speeds, there is a careless/reckless operation and the noise ordinance.

Conservation and Natural Resources Commissioner Barnett Lawley even offered a substitute bill that would have answered all the concerns, but promoters of the bill, including Alabama Power Co., kept pushing it through.

Why?

Senator Gerald Dial, D-Lineville, who offered the original bill, said from the beginning it was prompted by a possible multi-million dollar land deal on Lake Harris in his district, where potential developers wanted the ban.

Alabama Power, who owns a significant amount of acreage on that particular lake, kept raising speed and sanitation issues as the bill continued to make its way through both houses and onto the governor’s desk for approval.

Now, Lawley is forced to clean up the mess left behind this legislation since his department is charged with enforcing it and is the defendant in a lawsuit challenging its constitutionality.

He says he won’t enforce it until the court has had its say, and we think that is a wise decision. It appears those in his department who pointed out the inequities in the bill before its passage should have had more of an impact. But proponents of it seemed in quite a hurry to ram it through.

We certainly are not against economic development along any of Alabama’s lakes, but the boating public and the department that will enforce the final measure should have had a say in issues affecting them.

From where we sit, there was precious little input from anyone other than the developers and Alabama Power. And that just shouldn’t be.

Cash Bar

Sounds like a total crock to me.....azzholes.........

Indy

Yup...greedy corporate suit types make me puke.

Magicfloat

Well,it's been 2 weeks since the Oct 1 enactment date and 3 weeks since our last hearing,the judge still hasn't ruled and the Marine Police is still refusing to enforce it. As an eternal optimist,I am hoping that is a good sign that the judge is very seriously studying our position. On the other hand,without enforcement,maybe the judge thinks there is no hurry. Problem for me is,there are some boaters that may be ready to buy a "banned boat" but want to wait and see how this plays out,so the uncertainty is costing me potential sales I will keep everyone updated,cross your fingers,your lake could be next.

Magicfloat

A few members have e-mailed me for an update. We have another hearing scheduled for Jan 23rd. But a recent development just surfaced. Alabama Power Company,who has said all along that they were not involved has filed a motion to intervene. They have brought in their law firm with unlimited financial resources to fight us.But they always maintained it was not their fight(yeah,right)This is going to require more money for our attorney,we are meeting next week to discuss our next move. The power company says they are worried about large wakes damaging the shoreline,excessive overcrowding,and high speeds are unsafe. Solution is simple. Ban the wakeboard boats for large wakes,ban the PWC's for overcrowding,and ban the bassboats for high speeds. Problem solved,but makes about as much sense as the current ban we are fighting. Stay tuned. Robert

Griff

Good Luck with the next battle.

Magicfloat

Just set up a PayPal account,it's [email protected] .We still think we can win this fight,it is just going to get a little more expensive.Alabama Power paid lobbyists about $800,000 to ram the bill thru the legislature so it follows that will spend whatever it takes to try to beat us in this round.I got a commitment from my state senator today to set up a meeting with both sides to try to work something out,but it will be a tough road,the power company has in the past refused to compromise.May have an article in the paper tonite with new info. If so I will post the link. Thanks for the support. Robert

INDY27

That is my line of thinking also! Every boat manufacturer that has a boat 27' or longer should get involved and especially Mercury Marine!