The National Association of State Boating Law Administrators

Excerpt from U.S. Coast Guard Proceedings of the Marine Safety & Security Council magazine by Col. Terry West, Boating Law Administrator and Assistant Director, Georgia Department of Natural Resources
President, National Association of State Boating Law Administrators

The National Association of State Boating Law Administrators (NASBLA) is a non-profit organization that works to develop public policy for recreational boating safety. The association addresses its mission by:

• fostering partnerships among the states, the Coast Guard, and others;
• crafting model boating laws;
• maintaining national education and training standards;
• providing members with critical knowledge and skills;
• assisting in homeland security challenges on our waterways;
• advocating the needs of the state boating programs before Congress and federal agencies.

Partnering to Protect Boaters
One major task is to ensure that boating safety funds from the Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund are allocated for state boating safety programs.

Safety Standards and Reference Materials
In another effort to promote uniformity and reciprocity among the states, the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators developed boating safety education standards in the 1970s. Working with Penn State University and boating safety partners such as the United States Power Squadrons, U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, and National Safe Boating Council, NASBLA adopted the National Boating Education Standards in 1999.

Law Enforcement, Investigation, and Detection Efforts
Through cooperation with the U.S. Coast Guard and the National Transportation Safety Board, NASBLA conducts courses that teach officers how to conduct consistent, thorough accident investigations.

In 2004, National Association of State Boating Law Administrators began teaching boating under the influence (BUI) detection and enforcement courses that cover planning for BUI enforcement, arrest decisions, BUI suspect processing procedures, essential elements of the arrest report, note taking and report writing, pre-trial conferences and presentation of evidence, and proper administration of sobriety tests.

For more information:
Website: http://nasbla.org/.

Full article is available at http://www.uscg.mil/proceedings/fall2010.

Subscribe online at http://www.uscg.mil/proceedings/subscribe.asp.