The proposed legislation would have required that all vessels at least eight feet long be registered with the state Department of Environmental Protection.
Panaroni, who is also a member of the Public Health and Public Safety committees, said that while the bills are dead, he still accomplished what he wanted by generating communication between the DEP, kayakers and motorboat owners.
"My concern right along has been safety," he said, adding that after the terrorist attack on the U.S.S. Cole by a small inflatable, even Homeland Security may be looking at monitoring kayaks in the near future. "At this point, I'm interested in getting some semblance of order so people understand there are safety procedures out there."
Bill 6025 proposed mandatory registration to help identify vessels in an emergency, reduce the increasing number of paddle sport fatalities in the last five years by requiring safety course attendance and provide funding to improve boat launching facilities.
Panaroni, who has been working for years to pass different versions of the bill, said he anticipates little more of the registration bills for a few years, but he intends to reword and reintroduce a bill this year to require more universal use of life-jackets or personal floatation devices.
Daily of Westbrook introduced Senate Bill No. 600 during the January session: "An act requiring the registration of all vessels at least 10 feet in length regardless of propulsion." She could not be reached for further comment.
Even though the issue appears to have been put to rest, the debate over small craft registration is still swirling. Norman Cavallaro, co-owner of Old Saybrook's North Cove Outfitters Inc., said legislating self-powered craft won't stop accidents, it will only blunt an already-weakened state economy.
"Yeah, I'm concerned because I'm not sure that the original intent isn't being masked by other things," he said. "Now, there are two bills out there stating a purpose - to register boats at least 8 or 10 feet long - but no regulations or reasons behind it."
He said regardless of the bills' progress through the legislature, DEP patrols are already stretched to the limit without having to check to see if kayaks are registered. With paddle sports the biggest part of his business, Cavallaro said requiring people to take a course to use a kayak would discourage tourism.
"You can't legislate intelligence," he said, "common sense should prevail."
But Old Saybrook Harbor Master Grant Westerson, who is the executive director of Connecticut Marine Trades Association, said either bill would be an improvement, noting that if it helped saved lives it would be worthwhile. He said a recent presentation from the Coast Guard revealed that nearly half of the boating fatalities in Connecticut involve small, unregistered crafts.
"We want to see education for everyone out there on the water and the easiest way is to have a regulation," he said. "I think the bills are a good way to save lives. If the kayaking industry doesn't want to help itself, then I don't know where we're going to go from here."
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