§851.37. Special certificate agents; rules and regulations

A.(1) The Department of Wildlife and Fisheries may establish a system of special certificate agents.

(2) The special certificate agents may do the following:

(a) Collect the certificate of number and other registration fees authorized by this Chapter, as well as applicable sales and use taxes, and issue registration certificates and decals to motorboats or sailboats.

(b) Receive and process applications filed for certificates of number and other registration certificates, duplicate registration certificates, renewals of registration, and registration of a homemade boat.

(c) Contract with the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries for the administration of an electronic media system to permit the voluntary recording of motorboat or sailboat registration information.

(d) Receive and process applications filed for commercial fisherman's licenses, issue commercial fisherman's licenses, and may collect the license fees authorized by R.S. 56:303.

(3) In accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act, the secretary shall develop and publish rules and regulations for the following:

(a) Implementation and governing of a system of special certificate agents.

(b) Requirement that special certificate agents other than municipal and parish governing authorities must furnish security for the faithful performance of their duties as follows:

(i) Each special certificate agent other than a municipal or parish governing authority shall execute a good and sufficient surety bond with a surety company qualified to do business in Louisiana as surety. The bond shall be for a sum of not less than ten thousand dollars nor more than one hundred thousand dollars as determined by the secretary. The bond shall name the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries as obligee and shall be subject to the condition that, if such special certificate agent shall, throughout the entire term of the bond, timely file with the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries all applications delivered to such special certificate agent for filing and remit all fees and taxes collected by such special certificate agent, then the obligation of the surety shall be void. If the special certificate agent does not do so, then the obligation of the surety shall remain in full force and effect. A special certificate agent having multiple locations need furnish only a single bond for a sum of not less than ten thousand dollars nor more than one hundred thousand dollars as determined by the secretary in addition to any other bonds required by law.

(ii) The surety bond furnished pursuant to this Subparagraph shall be delivered to the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.

(4) The secretary may enter into contracts with special certificate agents other than municipal and parish governing authorities. The contracts shall state the required procedures for the implementation of this Section. Such contracts may terminate upon violation of any of the provisions of this Section or as determined by rules and regulations issued pursuant thereto.

(5) No elected state official or employee of the state shall be allowed to become a special certificate agent.

B. The system of special certificate agents shall be in addition to the offices of the secretary delegated to collect the certificate of number and other registration certificate fees, and to issue the commercial fisherman's license.

C. Special certificate agents shall be authorized by contract to collect a convenience fee in addition to the registration certificate fees or commercial license fees. The convenience fee shall not exceed twelve dollars per certificate or license, and the special certificate agents shall retain the full amount of the collected convenience fee.

Acts 2005, No. 133, §1, eff. June 22, 2005.