Proposed Md. Boat Registration Hike Scaled Back

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) -- Maryland's Department of Natural Resources says it's scaling back proposed increases in boat registration fees.

Department officials say the changes were made after meeting with boaters and others who would be affected.

Boat registration currently costs $24 every two years. DNR says it will now propose fees ranging from $25 for boats under 16 feet
up to $300 for boats more than 65 feet long. A bill before state lawmakers originally called for fees ranging from $50 to $700.

The department says registration fees have not increased since 1983. And revenues from a tax on boat sales, the major source for a fund used to maintain waterways, have dropped along with declining boat sales.

DNR says that has left it able to fund 11 percent of requests for fiscal 2012.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)