The Northwest Marine Trade Association (NMTA) is inviting boaters and constituents from the 41st and 45th legislative districts to meet elected officials, discuss what’s important to you as a boater, and hear from the NMTA about their legislative priorities and how they’re representing boaters in Olympia. Representatives Judy Clibborn and Larry Springer and staff from the NMTA will attend along with newly-elected state Senator Steve Litzow of the 41st District. The meeting is from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 16, at the Kirkland Public Library, 308 Kirkland Ave., 98033.

The NMTA is the country’s oldest regional marine association and one of the most active. It was founded in 1947 to fight a proposed special tax on boaters, and has continued to represent and advocate tirelessly for the interests of boaters in the intervening 63 years. In addition to putting on the Seattle Boat Show every year, the NMTA Government Affairs Program advocates on behalf of the recreational boating industry and lobbies the legislature in support of boating.

Priorities for next year’s legislative session include:

Recreation and Resource Account (RRA) – The RRA is a dedicated account aimed at improving boating access throughout the state. Funds from the account have been used for items such as installing boat ramps and improving bathrooms. During the 2009-2010 legislative session, the legislature swept $9 million from the RRA to the state’s general fund.

Trade-in allowance – Legislators have proposed getting rid of the deduction that allows boaters to offset the value of their trade-in boat when they purchase a new boat. The bill associated with those efforts did not pass last year, but could come up again next session.

Sales tax cap – In Florida, sales and use tax for vessels is capped at $18,000. The cap is low enough to entice boat owners to homeport in Florida and pay the tax instead of registering their vessels in tax-haven states and countries. The NMTA wants to see a similar measure adopted in Washington to encourage more vessels to homeport here.

Cruising permit – Vessels cruising in Washington state are subject to a tax of almost 10 percent of their value unless owners obtain six-month or one-year cruising permits. The policy discourages yacht owners from staying in Washington waters and prompts them to keep their boats in Oregon or British Columbia.

Other issues include: the stormwater runoff treatment permitting process; a new tax on dry boat storage facilities; excise taxes applied to sales of boats (but not RVs and off-road vehicles); phasing out copper-based bottom paint; restoring funding to the state Boaters Activity Account; piloting requirements for visiting yachts; and establishing a state Office of Boating, among others.