Brianna Lieneck Boating Safety Act of 2025
H.R. 2772, the Brianna Lieneck Boating Safety Act of 2025, is a study bill. It directs the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard operates to complete a comprehensive review of recreational vessel operator education and training and to report its findings to Congress within 180 days. The study examines existing training programs run by the Coast Guard Auxiliary and Power Squadrons, state boating education programs (including NASBLA), and other hands-on training options. The report will consider how courses are designed, taught, assessed, and aligned with boating risks, and it will evaluate how federal and state programs could harmonize, whether there should be minimum standards, and how a potential federal education/testing program might interact with or affect current state programs, including phase-in timelines, bypass options for experienced boaters, and whether training would be required across all waters of a state. In short, the bill seeks to lay the groundwork for possible future federal standards for recreational boating education and testing by assessing current programs, state-to-federal alignment, and the practicality of a nationwide uniform approach. It does not itself create new mandatory federal training, but it directs a detailed study that could inform future legislation or policy changes.
Key Points
- 1Scope and deadline: Requires the Coast Guard (through the Secretary of the department housing the Coast Guard) to study and report on recreational vessel operator training within 180 days to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
- 2Programs reviewed: The study must review Coast Guard Auxiliary and Power Squadron training, existing state boating education programs (including NASBLA), and other hands-on training options available to recreational vessel operators.
- 3Focus areas of the study: Examines course materials, content, training and assessment methodologies, and how relevant the training is to real risks faced by recreational boaters.
- 4Contents of the report: Includes sections on (a) steps taken to encourage states to adopt mandatory training, (b) how well states can harmonize education and testing, (c) reciprocity between states for mandatory and voluntary programs, (d) uniformity among states with mandatory programs, (e) minimum standards for boater education, (f) how a federal program could harmonize with state programs, (g) course content and delivery relevance, (h) current phase-in periods for state mandatory education and recommended phase-in timelines (assessing impact on availability and cost), (i) whether experienced boaters can bypass training and how a bypass option could work, (j) how the Coast Guard would administer a potential federal education/testing program, and (k) whether a federal program should apply to all waters of a state, including internal waters.
- 5Potential outcomes: The bill would inform Congress about the feasibility and design of a federal boating education, training, and testing program, including how it might coexist with or supersede state programs and what the nationwide implementation would entail.