The Marine Retailers Association of the Americas Board of Directors unanimously approved the adoption of the association’s 2021 advocacy priorities. The priorities were put together through responses to an industry-wide dealership survey where respondents ranked issues from most to least important. The responses were tabulated and the final recommendation was put together by MRAA’s Advocacy team.

Three overarching priorities were agreed upon to guide MRAA’s advocacy work at the state and federal level for 2021:

Protecting Small Business Growth

1. Advocate for state and federal fiscal policies to promote small business growth.
2. Ensure that boat dealers have a consistent regulatory environment to compete in.
3. Advocate for increased investment in trades schools, technical training, and on the job work experience to help build the pipeline for new marine technicians.
4. Address state tax conformity issues to ensure that Paycheck Protection Program loans are not taxed and administered according to Federal guidelines
5. Advocate for states to conform to the CARES Act’s tax relief provisions to ensure that recreational boat dealers can remain in business and rehire employees.

Promoting Recreational Fishing and A Safe Boating Environment

1. Increase investments for boating access and navigation infrastructure.
2. Restore marine ecosystems that balance healthy fisheries with recreation access.
3. Address the threat of Aquatic Invasive Species by securing federal and state funding for policies to manage or eliminate them.
4. Support recreational access in the international effort to conserve 30 percent of all lands and waters by 2030, dubbed “30 by 30.”
5. Fix the Renewable Fuel Standard to protect boaters from the harmful effects of misfuelling their vessels with E15 fuel.

Securing strong recreational infrastructure

1. Implementing the Great American Outdoors Act.
2. Develop disaster-resilient infrastructure for coastal communities.
3. Pass a major infrastructure package to address critical needs for our industry, including funding for boat ramps, dredging, and updating critical transportation infrastructure.
4. Reauthorize the Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund.

“This sort of responsive feedback from our membership will help guide MRAA’s advoacy work through a critical year for the recreational boating industry,” said Matt Gruhn, MRAA’s President. “Our team is eager to continue this important work with our state and industry association partners to help solve some of the most pressing issues facing boat dealers in North America”