HB4165eng 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HB4165 Engrossed LRB102 20009 AWJ 28935 b

AN ACT concerning water safety.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Lake Michigan Rescue Equipment Act.

Section 5. Definitions. As used in this Act:

"Drop-off" means an area of a lake's shoreline that is intended to facilitate direct public access to the water.

"High-incident drowning area" means an area within 100 feet of a pier or drop-off where more than one fatal drowning incident has occurred in the span of 5 years.

"Pier" means a man-made, raised structure (such as a breakwater) extending into navigable water for use as a landing place or promenade or to protect or form a harbor.

"Public rescue equipment" includes a range of water rescue devices available for public use in case of emergency, such as ring life buoys, throw bags, rescue tubes, and rescue poles.

Section 10. Public rescue equipment on piers and drop-offs.

(a) The owner of a pier or drop-off on Lake Michigan shall install public rescue equipment, including, at a minimum, ring life buoys, on each of the owner's piers or drop-offs along the Lake Michigan coast. The ring life buoy must not be permanently secured in any way to the station, rack, or pier. Each ring life buoy must be stowed inside a station to protect it from constant weather exposure. The station must be a bright orange or yellow color for high visibility and to allow for quick access to the ring.

To reduce vandalism and theft, the station shall have signage that warns lakefront patrons that tampering with or misuse of public rescue equipment is strictly prohibited.

(b) The owner of the pier or drop-off on Lake Michigan shall oversee the installation and maintenance of the public rescue equipment. The State or unit of local government owning a pier or drop-off shall also provide public education regarding public rescue equipment.

Section 15. Ring life buoy requirements. Ring life buoys installed under Section 10 must meet the following:

(1) The ring life buoy shall meet the requirements of 46 CFR Part 160 Subpart 160.050 or 46 CFR Part 160 Subpart 160.150 for SOLAS-approved equipment or successor standards issued by the United States Coast Guard.

(2) There shall be attached to each ring life buoy a buoyant line of at least 100 feet in length with a breaking strength of at least 5 kilonewtons. The end of the line must not be secured to the shore.

(3) Each ring life buoy shall be marked with type II retroreflective material meeting the requirements of 46 CFR Part 160, Subpart 164.018.

(4) Each ring life buoy shall be placed at a distance not to exceed 200 feet from the shoreline of the lake and be available for emergency rescue operations.

(5) Each pier shall have a ring life buoy installed with appropriate signage.

Section 20. Tracking, reporting, and analyzing drownings. Each unit of local government owning a pier or drop-off on Lake Michigan shall track and, at a minimum of twice per year, publish on the unit's website a report on lakefront drownings of which the unit is aware that have occurred within 100 feet of the unit's piers and drop-offs. The report shall include, at a minimum, a description of access to and use of public rescue equipment, location, temperature, time of day, conditions, demographics, and type of entry into the water. If there have been drownings during the reporting period, each unit of local government must also publish a water safety plan on the unit's website.

Section 25. High-incident drowning area plans. Within one year after an owner's property becoming a high-incident drowning area, the owner shall update and disseminate a water safety plan as well as upgrade installed safety equipment as needed, which may include, but is not limited to, installing equipment that automatically contacts 9-1-1 or other safety improvements.

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect one year after becoming law.