A pair of competing bills regulating wake boats has Republicans divided.
Wisconsin lawmakers are once again weighing government regulation of recreational boating, as two competing bills have been introduced to restrict wake boats on state lakes.
The proposals differ significantly in scope. Assembly Bill 1033, backed by the watersports industry, would require wake-surfing boats to remain 200 feet from shore but includes no minimum water-depth requirement and places fewer restrictions on ballast systems used to create waves.
A separate bill, which has not yet been numbered, would impose stricter requirements, mandating that wake-enhanced boating remain at least 500 feet from shore and operate in water at least 20 feet deep while preserving local government authority to enact stronger rules if needed.
Legislative leadership has fast-tracked the first bill, with the possibility of a vote by the end of the week. Many conservatives in the Legislature, though, are wary of its excessive statewide mandates and erosion of local control. The boating industry has aggressively lobbied lawmakers on behalf of AB 1033, but conservationists are deeply concerned.
“It is a Trojan horse designed to gut local control and a slap in the face to the 76 towns that have already enacted wakesurf ordinances,” Scott Rolfs, president of Lakes at Stake Wisconsin, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “We are at a loss as to why an out-of-state special interest [wakeboat manufacturers] should influence how we protect our natural resources in Wisconsin.”
Lakes at Stake Wisconsin supports the alternative bill, but it is unclear whether it will even receive a hearing before AB 1033 is passed.
