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The following opinion is presented on-line for informational use only and does not replace the official version. (Mich Dept of Attorney General Web Site - www.ag.state.mi.us)


STATE OF MICHIGAN

FRANK J. KELLEY, ATTORNEY GENERAL

Opinion No. 6021

January 6, 1982

MARINE SAFETY ACT:

Use of certificate of number in testing or demonstrating vessel

VESSELS:

Use of certificate of number in testing or demonstrating vessel

WORDS AND PHRASES:

'Testing or demonstrating'

A dealer may use a certificate of number on a vessel while engaged in using the vessel to determine or display its attributes and performance characteristics, as in a race, or while demonstrating the vessel to a prospective purchaser to display its special value or merits.

Honorable Michael J. Bennane

State Representative

State Capitol

Lansing, Michigan

You have requested my opinion on the following question:

What is the meaning of the phrase 'testing or demonstrating' as used in the Marine Safety Act, 1967 PA 303, Sec. 36?

Your request indicates that certain persons, firms, or corporations engaged in the sale of vessels have been cited by the Marine Safety Act enforcing authorities for the improper use of the required certificate of number of watercraft (dealer MC number). You further state that a boat dealer has been cited by the Department of Natural Resources for the improper use of such certificate of number in entering a sailboat in the Port Huron to Mackinac race in order to demonstrate the boat's capabilities.

The Marine Safety Act, 1967 PA 303, as amended, MCLA 281.1001 et seq; MSA 18.1287(1) et seq; Sec. 36, states:

'A manufacturer of vessels requiring numbering by this act, or a person, firm, or corporation engaged in the sale of vessels requiring numbering by this act, upon application to the secretary of state, on forms prescribed and provided by him, may obtain certificates of number for use in the testing or demonstrating of the vessels upon payment of $15.00 for each registration. Certificates of number so issued may be used by the applicant only in the testing or demonstrating of vessels by temporary placement of the numbers on the vessels tested or demonstrated. Any 1 certificate issued pursuant to this section may be used on only 1 vessel at any given time. The temporary placement of numbers shall be as prescribed by rules promulgated by the commission.'

Although 1967 PA 303, supra, includes a number of sections containing definitions, no definition of 'testing or demonstrating' is contained therein.

In the absence of the statutory definition of a term, words of a statute are to be given their plain and ordinary meaning. Bingham v American Screw Products Co, 398 Mich 546, 563; 248 NW2d 537 (1976).

Webster's New Third International Dictionary defines the term 'test' as

'to determine the attributes or performance characteristics of . . ..'

Testing means the act of proving the quality of anything by experiment. Ainsworth v McKay, 55 Mont 270; 175 P 887 (1918).

Webster's New Third International Dictionary defines the term 'demonstrate' as

'to show . . . or prove to a prospective customer (as by actual operation) the special value or merits of (an article or product) . . ..'

Thus, the ordinary meaning of the term 'testing or demonstrating' as used in 1967 PA 303, as amended, Sec. 36, supra, refers to the use of dealers' or manufacturers' certificates of numbers by dealers or manufacturers while engaged in using the vessel to determine and display its attributes and performance characteristics, as in a race or regatta, or when operating the vessel in the presence of a prospective purchaser of the vessel to display its special value or merits of the vessel.

The permitted use of certificate of number is similar to the issuance of plates to automobile dealers pursuant to the Michigan Vehicle Code, 1949 PA 300, Sec. 244(g), MCLA 257.244g; MSA 9.1944.

It is my opinion, therefore, that the term 'testing or demonstrating' as used in 1967 PA 303, Sec. 36, supra, authorizes the use of a dealers' certificate of number on a vessel while engaged in using the vessel to determine or display its attributes and performance characteristics, as in a race, or while demonstrating the vessel to a prospective purchaser to display its special value or merits.

Frank J. Kelley

Attorney General

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