SALTWATER USER FEE IS ON THE WAY OUT

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, February 21, 1993                   TAG: 9302210086
SECTION: BOAT SHOW                    PAGE: BS-15   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: BILL COCHRAN
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short
SALTWATER USER FEE IS ON THE WAY OUT
If you are heading to the coast this year to launch your boat into saltwater you won't have to worry about paying the federal recreational vessel fee provided your craft is 21 feet or less.
The so-called user fee, which was highly unpopular with boaters, is being phased out, thanks to one of the last acts by President Bush while in office.
The "A" type federal decal that cost $25 annually and was required on boats 16 to 21 feet in tidal-influenced water is no longer necessary.
Boaters who purchased decals on or after Oct. 1 last year have been able to get a refund.
Owners of boats over 21 feet but less than 37 feet will have to continue purchasing a `B' type decal through Oct. 1. It costs $35.
The "C" and "D" decals for even larger boats continue until Oct. 1, 1994.
Anyone with questions can call the Coast Guard Boating Safety Hotline, 1-800-368-5647.
The decal legislation was designed to help offset the federal deficit, but it brought in only about 18 percent of the money its supporters said it would.
The 430,000-member Boat Owners Association of the United States lobbied against it, urging boaters to contact their legislators and the president during an "Appeal for Repeal Days" last fall.

by Archana Subramaniam by CNB