Arizona Laws 5-391. Enforcement; violation; classification
A. Any person who violates any provision of this chapter, except section 5-341, subsection A, B, C or D, section 5-349, section 5-350, subsection C, section 5-393, 5-395, 5-396 or 5-397 and subsection C, D, G or H of this section or any rule issued thereunder, is guilty of a petty offense. Any person who violates section 5-350, subsection C is guilty of a class 2 misdemeanor.
Attorney's Note
Under the Arizona Laws, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:| Class | Prison | Fine |
|---|---|---|
| Class 5 felony | up to 2 years | up to $150,000 |
| Class 6 felony | up to 1 1/2 years | up to $150,000 |
| Class 2 misdemeanor | up to 4 months | up to $750 |
Terms Used In Arizona Laws 5-391
- Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
- Department: means the Arizona game and fish department. See Arizona Laws 5-301
- Operator: means a person who operates or is in actual physical control of a watercraft. See Arizona Laws 5-301
- Peace officers: means sheriffs of counties, constables, marshals, policemen of cities and towns, commissioned personnel of the department of public safety, personnel who are employed by the state department of corrections and the department of juvenile corrections and who have received a certificate from the Arizona peace officer standards and training board, peace officers who are appointed by a multicounty water conservation district and who have received a certificate from the Arizona peace officer standards and training board, police officers who are appointed by community college district governing boards and who have received a certificate from the Arizona peace officer standards and training board, police officers who are appointed by the Arizona board of regents and who have received a certificate from the Arizona peace officer standards and training board, police officers who are appointed by the governing body of a public airport pursuant to section 28-8426 and who have received a certificate from the Arizona peace officer standards and training board, peace officers who are appointed by a private postsecondary institution pursuant to section 15-1897 and who have received a certificate from the Arizona peace officer standards and training board and special agents from the office of the attorney general, or of a county attorney, and who have received a certificate from the Arizona peace officer standards and training board. See Arizona Laws 1-215
- Person: includes any individual, firm, corporation, partnership or association, and any agent, assignee, trustee, executor, receiver or representative thereof. See Arizona Laws 5-301
- Petty offense: A federal misdemeanor punishable by six months or less in prison. Source: U.S. Courts
- Watercraft: means any boat designed to be propelled by machinery, oars, paddles or wind action on a sail for navigation on the water, or as may be defined by rule of the commission. See Arizona Laws 5-301
- Wilfully: means , with respect to conduct or to a circumstance described by a statute defining an offense, that a person is aware or believes that the person's conduct is of that nature or that the circumstance exists. See Arizona Laws 1-215
B. All peace officers of the state, counties and cities shall enforce the provisions of this chapter and all laws and rules relating to the operation of watercraft.
C. In the enforcement of this chapter, the operator of the watercraft on being hailed by any peace officer shall stop immediately and lay to, or maneuver in such a way as to permit the peace officer to come aboard or alongside. The operator may be ordered ashore to correct any unlawful condition, issued a written warning or written repair order or issued a citation for any violation of this chapter.
D. An operator of a watercraft who wilfully flees or attempts to elude a pursuing law enforcement officer issuing an order pursuant to subsection C of this section is guilty of a class 5 felony. The law enforcement watercraft shall be appropriately marked to show that it is an official law enforcement watercraft.
E. In the enforcement of this chapter, sections 13-2506 and 13-3903 apply.
F. Each failure to obey an order or to comply with a warning order issued under subsection C of this section shall constitute a separate offense punishable as a separate violation of this chapter.
G. A person is guilty of a class 6 felony who knowingly removes, defaces, obliterates, changes, alters or causes to be removed, defaced, obliterated, changed or altered a factory, engine, serial, outdrive, lower unit, power trim or hull identification number or mark on a watercraft.
H. A person is guilty of a class 2 misdemeanor who:
1. Knowingly displays or has in the person’s possession a fictitious, stolen, revoked or altered certificate of number, department issued number or annual decal.
2. Lends to or knowingly permits the use of the person’s certificate of number, department issued number or annual decal on a watercraft for which those items have not been issued.
I. On receipt of notice of conviction of a person under subsection G or H of this section, the department may revoke the numbers and decals issued to the watercraft that was involved in the violation and any other watercraft owned by the person convicted.