§ 78. Boating safety certificate. 1. "Boating safety certificate" shall mean a certificate issued by the commissioner evidencing that the holder thereof has successfully completed a course of instruction in boating safety as provided in this section. The commissioner shall put into effect a plan for the training of all boat operators and the issuance of such boating safety certificates. For the purposes of this section, the term "boating safety" shall include instruction in the safe operation of personal watercraft and specialty prop-craft.

2. "Boating safety certificate" shall also mean a certificate issued by the commissioner evidencing that the holder thereof has successfully completed a course of instruction in the safe operation of vessels including personal watercraft and speciality prop-craft. The commissioner is authorized to collect a fee not to exceed ten dollars for the issuance of such certificate which fee shall be deposited in the "I love NY waterways" boating safety fund established by section ninety-seven-nn of the state finance law, as added by chapter eight hundred five of the laws of nineteen hundred ninety-two, and shall be solely available to support the administration of personal watercraft and specialty prop-craft safety training and enforcement.

3. The commissioner is authorized and directed to establish a system for tracking and replacing boating safety certificates issued by the commissioner. The commissioner is further authorized to require that any other entity approved by the commissioner to provide courses of instruction and award boating safety certificates establish a system for tracking and replacing boating safety certificates so as to enable the replacement of lost or stolen certificates to those who have previously been awarded such certificates.