I didn’t know much about the marine industry when I started working at a ship chandlery back in the early ’90s. What I did know was that something was messing with my bottom line come paycheck time. The whole shop was on weekly furlough when I showed up for my first day, with every staff member working four days a week instead of five. For a single guy in his 20s, the extra day off was kind of nice. For my co-workers with families to support, it was a real struggle.
It turned out the industry was in a tailspin from a recession and a 10% luxury tax the federal government had slapped on the price of a yacht above $100,000 (and on cars, jewelry and planes that met a certain price threshold). According to a study done for the Joint Economic Committee in Congress, the tax vaporized 7,600 jobs in the marine industry alone.
Fast-forward a couple of years. I was on the store’s roof with other employees, watching the breakdown of the annual Annapolis Sailboat Show. As the cannon fired and the show ended, an announcement came over the loudspeaker: “Thanks to the hard work of BoatUS and the NMMA, we can now announce that the luxury tax on boats will be repealed.” Virtually everyone at the show, which occupied most of the downtown Annapolis waterfront, erupted in cheers.
That was the first time I witnessed successful advocacy in action. Without the hard work of BoatUS and the National Marine Manufacturers Association — and many other industry stakeholders — the luxury tax likely would have remained. Instead, by the next season, the marine industry was turning the corner, and by the end of the decade, our marine supply store celebrated its 50th year with higher sales than ever. The maritime community up and down the Chesapeake thrived. It was a good time to be in the business.
Twenty-five years later, advocacy is on my mind again as the NMMA’s American Boating Congress approaches. The event, which gathers marine industry stakeholders in Washington, D.C., every May, includes discussions with members of Congress and administration officials about what’s affecting our industry and where we need their help. It’s also where the NMMA outlines its advocacy efforts for the year and energizes attendees to invest time fighting for — or against — legislation that affects us all.
Last year was my first year attending this event. Full transparency: I expected to be bored. Rather, I ended each day having been thoughtfully reminded about how important it is to be involved.
Two of the biggest pieces of legislation on the table for discussion at ABC last year — and that NMMA lobbied for through 2022 — were the CHIPS and Science Act and the Water Resources Development Act of 2022. President Biden signed the CHIPS Act into law in August, with the intent to revitalize domestic manufacturing, create high-paying American jobs, strengthen supply chains, and accelerate the industries of the future. Biden signed the Water Resources Development Act into law in December, paving the way for federal funding for 30 new or modified water infrastructure projects.
Among the most important regulatory issues facing the industry this year is a proposal from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to impose a speed limit of 10 knots for all vessels 65 feet or larger in zones that stretch from New England to Florida. NOAA Fisheries says the speed limits will help protect critically endangered North Atlantic right whales from vessel strikes. Several industry stakeholders say the proposal is an existential threat to the boating industry.
Another important issue to watch, according to Callie Hoyt, NMMA’s senior director of federal government relations, involves the Prepare Act, which would create a program to provide marinas with loans for pre-disaster mitigation projects. Additionally, the NMMA wants to bolster funding for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers recreation area projects that serve boaters. According to Hoyt, these areas hosted more visitors in 2020 than all national parks combined. You can read about these initiatives and more with senior editor Eric Colby’s advocacy reporting on Page 36.
And don’t forget about all the hard work other organizations are doing on our behalf, including the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas, the International Council of Marine Industry Associations, the Association of Marina Industries and, of course, your local marine trades organizations. Without advocacy, we wouldn’t have a voice.
This article was originally published in the May 2023 issue.
