Bill would drastically increase boat registration fee in Maryland
Flat $24 cost would become graduated payment based on boat size
Boats on racks Thursday at the Bert Jabin Yacht Yard in Annapolis.… (Lloyd Fox / The Baltimore Sun)February 16, 2012|By Candus Thomson, The Baltimore SunA state proposal to raise boat registration fees for the first time in nearly three decades has dismayed many boat owners.

A bill filed Thursday morning in Annapolis would replace the flat $24 boat registration fee paid every two years with fees ranging from $50 to $700, depending on the size of the boat. The increases would be phased in over four years, beginning in October, for Maryland's 191,000 registered boat owners.