California

Harbors and Navigation Code - HNC

1,333 sections, each with the official text and a plain-English explanation of what it means for you.

• § 739 — Any person who violates any provision of this article, or any regulation adopted pursuant to this article, is liable for a penalty in an amount not less than one hundred dollars ($100) and not to exce
• § 740 — Any action taken in the enforcement of this article shall be commenced within three years of the department’s discovery of the facts constituting the grounds for that action.
• § 75 — The department has such powers and duties relating to vessels and vessel operators as are imposed upon the department by Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 650) of Division 3.
• § 754 — (a) Every keeper of a storage facility shall keep a written record of every vessel subject to registration with the Department of Motor Vehicles which is stored therein for compensation for a period l
• § 759 — For purposes of this article, the following provisions shall apply: (a) “Company” means any company, sole proprietorship, firm, partnership, private, municipal, or public corporation, limited liabilit
• § 759.10 — The protection against liability shall be continued in effect so long as the for-hire vessel company continues to offer its services for compensation.
• § 759.12 — The division may establish rules as are necessary to enforce this article.
• § 759.14 — Any for-hire vessel company that knowingly refuses or fails to procure protection against liability, as required by Section 759.
• § 759.16 — Following an administrative hearing, the division may impose a penalty of not less than fifty dollars ($50) nor more than one thousand dollars ($1,000) upon any for-hire vessel company that violates a
• § 759.18 — (a) Upon filing of the evidence of liability protection pursuant to Section 759.
• § 759.2 — The division shall require every for-hire vessel company to procure, and continue in effect so long as the for-hire vessel company continues to offer its services for compensation, adequate protection
• § 759.20 — Upon receiving notification of impending cancellation of liability protection pertaining to a for-hire vessel company, the department shall, effective upon the date of the cancellation, revoke the cer
• § 759.22 — Rules and regulations adopted by the Public Utilities Commission pursuant to its prior authority over insurance of for-hire vessel companies shall remain in effect until revised or repealed by the div
• § 759.24 — This article shall become operative on July 1, 2018.
• § 759.4 — The division shall, after a public hearing, set the amount of liability insurance, required by Section 759.
• § 759.6 — The protection required under Section 759.
• § 759.8 — With the consent of the division, a copy of an insurance policy, certified by the company issuing it to be a true copy of the original policy, or a photostatic copy thereof, or an abstract of the prov
• § 76 — It is the intent of the Legislature that Harbors and Watercraft Revolving Fund moneys be used to implement the intent of Section 71.
• § 76.1 — “Private marina owner” means a profit-oriented business enterprise which owns and operates, or intends to develop and operate, a small boat recreational facility providing boat berthing on a wet or dr
• § 76.2 — “Recreational marina” means a marina owned by a private marina owner which is used by the public primarily for recreational purposes.
• § 76.3 — (a) The department may make loans to private marina owners to develop a recreational marina.
• § 76.4 — (a) An application for a loan under Section 76.
• § 76.5 — In processing applications under this article, the division shall give priority to applications from qualified private marina owners who have not received previous loans from the department.
• § 76.6 — Loans made under this article shall include, but are not limited to, the following terms and conditions: (a) The minimum annual rate of interest charged by the division for a loan shall be set annuall
• § 76.7 — (a) All loans made by the department to private marina owners shall be funded from the Harbors and Watercraft Revolving Fund.
• § 76.8 — The department shall adopt regulations to implement or make this article more specific, including standards for the approval of loans, which shall include, but not be limited to, definitions of collat
• § 760 — As used in this article, “for-hire vessel” includes any vessel propelled by machinery carrying more than three passengers for hire, except the following: (a) A sea plane on the water.
• § 761 — No for-hire vessel, while carrying passengers for hire, shall be operated or navigated on the waters of this state except by a person who holds a valid license issued by the department pursuant to the
• § 762 — An applicant for an operator’s license shall submit his written verified application to the department.
• § 764 — Upon application for an operator’s license, the department shall require an examination of the applicant.
• § 765 — The examination may include a test of the applicant’s knowledge of safety rules, an actual demonstration of his ability to exercise ordinary and reasonable control in operating a vessel, and his menta
• § 766 — Upon completion of the examination, the department may, with or without hearing, issue the operator’s license or issue it for the partial exercise only of the privilege sought, and may attach to the e
• § 767 — An operator’s license issued by the department pursuant to the provisions of this article shall be valid for five years from the date of issuance or renewal and may be renewed every five years thereaf
• § 768 — (a) The department may suspend or revoke any license issued pursuant to this article on a finding that the licensee has violated any of the provisions in this chapter, or has violated any of the regul
• § 769 — The department shall be responsible for administering the licensing of operators of for-hire vessels and for enforcing the provisions of this article, and in this connection may inspect for-hire vesse
• § 77 — (a) The department, subject to the approval of the Director of Finance, may borrow funds from the Harbors and Watercraft Revolving Fund when a borrower has defaulted from any financial obligation and
• § 77.1 — The department, upon whatever terms and conditions it deems proper, may sell or otherwise dispose of property serving as collateral for a defaulted loan made under Section 76.
• § 770 — The division shall make rules and regulations to carry out the provisions of this article, including adopting a schedule to establish reasonable fees that cover the division’s cost for exams, licensin
• § 771 — It is unlawful and constitutes a misdemeanor for any person to violate, or to fail to comply with, any provision of this article after April 1, 1964.
• § 772 — The authority and power granted to the department in this article shall not be construed to conflict with or diminish in any manner the jurisdiction of the Public Utilities Commission over for-hire ve
• § 773 — The Legislature finds and declares that the charter boat industry operates in the public interest by providing jobs, nutritious food, education, recreation, and joy for Californians and their visitors
• § 773.1 — This article shall be known and may be cited as the Charter Boat Safety Act of 1983.
• § 773.2 — As used in this article, the following definitions shall apply: (a) “For-hire vessel” means a for-hire vessel as defined in Section 4661 of the Public Utilities Code, irrespective of the number of pas
• § 773.3 — No person shall take or offer to take seven or more passengers on a charter boat unless the vessel is licensed by the United States Coast Guard.
• § 773.4 — (a) No operator or charterer shall prevent any person from complying with, or direct any person to violate, any provision of this article, or direct the captain to get underway over the captain’s obje
• § 773.5 — The operator of a charter boat, or the operator’s employee or agent, shall require each passenger to don a life preserver under any of the following conditions: (a) When conditions of rough weather or
• § 773.6 — An operator, or the operator’s employee or agent, who directs the passengers to the life preservers while announcing that the passengers are required for their safety to don them shall be deemed to ha
• § 773.7 — The operator, or the operator’s employee or agent, of a charter boat, prior to getting underway, shall orient each passenger concerning emergency procedures.
• § 773.8 — (a) A charterer or operator who organizes charter boat trips shall inform each adult passenger as soon as practicable after the passenger contracts or pays for passage or boards the charter boat, whic
• § 774 — (a) Every charterer and every charter boat operator shall include in all advertising for any charter trips in the coastal zone, as defined in Section 30103 of the Public Resources Code, the statement
• § 774.1 — No operator of a for-hire vessel shall leave or enter Morro Bay after being directed by the harbormaster of the harbor not to do so because of the condition of the weather, the sea, the vessel, or a c
• § 774.2 — The operation of Section 655, 773.
• § 774.3 — (a) Except as provided in Section 774, violation of any provision of this article is a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for not more than six months in the county jail, or a fine of not more tha
• § 774.4 — (a) This article does not impose any mandatory duties upon any public entity to monitor sea or weather conditions or to warn or prevent vessels from leaving or entering a harbor entrance during unsafe
• § 775 — (a) The Legislature hereby finds and declares all of the following: (1) Marine sanitation devices should be regulated pursuant to uniform standards and procedures, and California vessel owners should
• § 775.5 — The definitions in this section govern the construction of this chapter: (a) “Vessel terminal” means any private or public shoreside installation on any waters of this state which provides mooring, do
• § 776 — (a) Every vessel terminal shall, as required by the regional board for the protection of the quality of the waters of this state, be equipped with vessel pumpout facilities for the transfer and dispos
• § 777 — (a) Vessel pumpout facilities for the transfer and disposal of sewage from marine sanitation devices, floating restrooms, and onshore toilets shall be operated and maintained in a manner that will pre
• § 778 — The state board shall adopt standards for the location, construction, operation, and maintenance of vessel pumpout facilities.
• § 779 — Every peace officer of the state and of any city, county, or other public agency, all state and local public health officers, and all boating law enforcement officers shall enforce this chapter and an
• § 780 — (a) A person shall not disconnect, bypass, or operate a marine sanitation device so as to discharge sewage into the waters of this state, unless the particular discharge is expressly authorized or per
• § 781 — The Attorney General, at the request of the department, the state board, any regional board, or any aggreived person, shall petition the superior court for injunctive relief, as may be appropriate, to
• § 782 — (a) Excepting laws regulating the discharge of sewage into or upon the navigable waters of any lake, reservoir, or freshwater impoundment of this state, and notwithstanding Section 660, no vessel, as
• § 783 — Nothing in this chapter precludes the regulation of houseboats, as defined in Section 13901 of the Water Code, under other provisions of law by the state board, any regional board, or any local agency
• § 784 — Nothing in this chapter is intended to affect the operation of Section 117505 of the Health and Safety Code.
• § 785 — Nothing in this chapter shall prevent the state board from taking any action pursuant to subdivision (f) of Section 312 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act.
• § 786 — (a) Any loan made pursuant to Section 71.
• § 790 — The provisions of this Division shall not be construed to apply to the extent to which they are not within the legislative power of this state, except in so far as they may be permitted to apply under
• § 8 — Writing includes any form of recorded message capable of comprehension by ordinary visual means.
• § 80 — (a) The Harbors and Watercraft Commission and its successor, the Navigation and Ocean Development Commission, are continued in existence in the Department of Parks and Recreation and within the Divisi
• § 80.2 — The commission shall be composed of seven members appointed by the Governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate.
• § 80.6 — Members of the commission may receive a salary for their services in an amount of one hundred dollars ($100) for each day, up to a maximum of 14 days per year.
• § 80.8 — The members of the commission may be removed from office by the Governor for inefficiency, neglect of duty, misuse of office, or misfeasance in office, in the manner provided by law for the removal of
• § 800 — The master of a vessel is appointed by and holds his appointment at the pleasure of the owner.
• § 801 — The master of a vessel shall be always on board when it is entering or leaving a port, harbor, or river unless the vessel is in charge of a mate who possesses a master’s license.
• § 802 — On entering or leaving a port, harbor, or river, the master of a vessel, the navigation of which is not in charge of a pilot, licensed for that port, harbor, or river, shall take a pilot if one offers
• § 803 — The master of a vessel may enforce the obedience of the mate and seamen to his lawful commands by confinement and other reasonable corporal punishment; but the master is responsible for the abuse of h
• § 804 — The master of a vessel may confine any person on board, during a voyage, for wilful disobedience to his lawful commands.
• § 805 — If, during a voyage, the vessel’s supplies fail, the master, with the advice of the officers, may compel persons who have private supplies on board to surrender them for the common want, or payment of
• § 806 — The master of a vessel shall not abandon it during the voyage, without the advice of the other officers.
• § 807 — The master of a vessel, upon abandoning it, shall carry with him, so far as it is in his power, the money and the most valuable of the goods on board, under penalty of being personally responsible.
• § 808 — The master of a vessel, who engages for a common profit on the cargo, shall not trade on his own account, and if he does, he shall account to his employer for all profits thus made by him.
• § 809 — The master of a vessel shall use great care and diligence in the performance of his duties, and he is responsible for all damage occasioned by his negligence.
• § 81 — The commission shall, immediately after the effective date of this section, organize and elect from its members a chairman and a vice chairman who shall serve for one year or until their successors ar
• § 81.2 — The commission shall adopt a seal.
• § 81.4 — No action shall be taken by the commission by less than a majority of its members.
• § 81.6 — The Department of General Services shall furnish suitable offices and equipment for the use of the commission.
• § 81.8 — The deputy director shall act as the secretary of the commission.
• § 810 — The master of a vessel is a general agent for its owner in all matters concerning the vessel.
• § 811 — The master of a vessel has authority to borrow money on the credit of its owner, if it is necessary to enable him to complete the voyage, and if neither the owner nor his proper agent for such matters
• § 812 — During a voyage, the master of a vessel is a general agent for each of the owners of the cargo, and has authority to do whatever they might do for the preservation of their respective interests, but h
• § 813 — The master of a vessel may procure all its necessary repairs and supplies, may engage cargo and passengers for carriage, and, in a foreign port, may enter into a charter-party.
• § 814 — The master of a vessel may hypothecate the vessel, freightage, and cargo, and sell part of the cargo, in the cases prescribed by the articles on bottomry and respondentia, and in no others, except tha
• § 815 — When a vessel, whether foreign or domestic, is seriously damaged, or the voyage is otherwise broken up beyond the possibility of pursuing it, the master, in case of necessity, may sell the vessel with
• § 816 — The master of a vessel may sell the cargo if the voyage is broken up beyond the possibility of pursuing it, and no other vessel can be obtained to carry it to its destination, and the sale is otherwis
• § 817 — The master of a vessel in case of its capture may engage to pay a ransom for it in money or in part of the cargo, and his engagement will bind the vessel, freightage, and cargo.
• § 818 — The power of the master of a vessel to bind its owner, or the owners of the cargo, ceases upon the abandonment of the vessel and freightage to insurers.
• § 819 — Unless otherwise expressly agreed, or unless the contracting parties give exclusive credit to the owner, the master of a vessel is personally liable upon his contracts relative to the vessel, even whe
• § 82 — The division, consistent with Section 82.
• § 82.3 — The commission shall have the following particular duties and responsibilities: (a) To be fully informed regarding all governmental activities affecting programs administered by the division.
• § 82.4 — All meetings of the commission shall be open and public and all persons shall be permitted to attend any meetings of the commission.
• § 82.6 — All records of the commission shall be open to inspection by the public during regular office hours.
• § 820 — The master of a vessel is liable to third persons for the acts or negligence of persons employed in its navigation, whether appointed by him or not, to the same extent as the owner of the vessel; but
• § 821 — The owner of a vessel is bound to pay to the owner of the cargo, at the time of arrival of the vessel at the port of the destination, the market value of that portion of the cargo which has been sold
• § 830 — The general agent for the owners, in respect to the care of a ship and freight, is called the manager.
• § 831 — Unless otherwise directed, it is the duty of the manager of a vessel to provide for its complete seaworthiness; to take care of it in port; and to see that it is provided with necessary papers, with a
• § 832 — A managing owner is presumed to be without right to compensation for his own services.
• § 833 — A manager may make contracts requisite for the performance of his duties.
• § 834 — Without special authority a manager shall not borrow money or give up the lien for freightage, or purchase a cargo, or bind the owners of the vessel to an insurance.
• § 85 — All moneys received by the department, including any moneys received by the department from the purchase or condemnation by any other person or agency of any property acquired by the department for th
• § 85.2 — (a) All moneys in the Harbors and Watercraft Revolving Fund are available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for expenditure by the Department of Parks and Recreation for boating facilities devel
• § 86 — (a) The local public agency shall annually certify to the department that for a small craft harbor or boating facility project that is, or has been, funded pursuant to Section 70, 70.
• § 860 — The mate is the officer next in rank to the master, and in case of the master’s disability the mate becomes the master.
• § 861 — All persons employed in the navigation of a vessel, or upon a voyage, other than the master and mate, are seamen within the provisions of this code.
• § 862 — The mate and seamen of a vessel are engaged by the master, and may be discharged by him at any period of the voyage for wilful and persistent disobedience or gross disqualification, but they can not b
• § 863 — A mate or seaman is not bound to go to sea in a vessel that is not seaworthy.
• § 864 — A seaman can not by agreement be deprived of his lien upon the vessel, or of any remedy for the recovery of his wages to which he would otherwise have been entitled.
• § 865 — A seaman can not, by special agreement, impair any of his rights, or add to any of his obligations, as defined by law, unless he fully understands the effect of the agreement and receives for it a fai
• § 866 — Except as otherwise provided by law, the wages of seamen are due when, and so far only as, freightage is earned, unless the loss of freightage is due to the fault of the owner or master.
• § 867 — The right of a mate or seaman to wages and provisions begins either from the time he begins work, or from the time specified in the agreement for his beginning work, or from his presence on board, whi
• § 868 — If a voyage is broken up before departure of the vessel, the seamen shall be paid for the time they have served, and they may retain for their indemnity any advances they may have received.
• § 869 — When a mate or seaman is wrongfully discharged, or is driven to leave the vessel by the cruelty of the master on the voyage, it is then ended with respect to him, and he may recover his full wages.
• § 87 — The department shall give consideration for funding the planning, construction, development, or improvement of small craft harbors to projects which are financially feasible and which make existing sm
• § 870 — If a vessel is wrecked or lost, a seaman is entitled to his wages up to the time of the loss or wreck, whether freightage has been earned or not, if he exerts himself to the utmost to save the vessel,
• § 871 — A certificate from the master or chief surviving officer of a vessel, to the effect that a seaman exerted himself to the utmost to save the vessel, cargo, and stores, is presumptive evidence of the fa
• § 872 — When a mate or seaman is prevented from rendering service by illness or injury, incurred without his fault in the discharge of his duty on the voyage, or by being wrongfully discharged, or by a captur
• § 873 — If a mate or seaman becomes sick or disabled during the voyage, without his fault, the expense of furnishing him with suitable medical advice, medicine, attendance, and other provision for his wants,
• § 874 — If a mate or seaman dies during the voyage, his personal representatives are entitled to his wages to the time of his death, if he would have been entitled to them had he lived to the end of the voyag
• § 875 — A mate or seaman who deserts his vessel without cause, or who is justifiably discharged by the master during the voyage for misconduct, or for a theft of any part of the cargo or appurtenances of the
• § 876 — A mate or seaman may not, under any pretext, ship goods on his own account without permission from the master.
• § 88 — A small craft harbor or boating facility funded pursuant to Section 70, 70.
• § 9 — Whenever reference is made to any portion of this code or of any other law of this state, such reference applies to all amendments and additions now or hereafter made.
• § 90 — The provisions of this Division, in so far as they are not in conflict with the admiralty and maritime jursidiction and laws of the United States, apply to navigable waters of the United States.