Public Act 0850 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HB3888 Enrolled LRB097 13620 HEP 58156 b

Public Act 097-0850

AN ACT concerning transportation.

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

Section 5. The Boat Registration and Safety Act is amended by adding Section 5-23 as follows:

(625 ILCS 45/5-23 new)

Sec. 5-23. Transportation of aquatic plants and animals; placement of objects in navigable waters.

(a) No person may place or operate a vehicle, seaplane, watercraft, or other object of any kind in waters of this State if it has any aquatic plants or aquatic animals attached to the exterior of the vehicle, seaplane, watercraft, or other object. This Section does not require a person to remove aquatic plants or aquatic animals from a vehicle, seaplane, watercraft, or other object during the period of time when the vehicle, seaplane, watercraft, or other object is being operated in the same navigable body of water in which the aquatic plants or aquatic animals became attached.

(b) No person may take off with a seaplane, or transport or operate a vehicle, watercraft, or other object of any kind on a highway with aquatic plants or aquatic animals attached to the exterior of the seaplane, vehicle, watercraft, or other object.

(c) A law enforcement officer who has reason to believe that a person is in violation of this Section may order the person to:

(i) remove aquatic plants or aquatic animals from a vehicle, seaplane, watercraft, or other object of any kind before placing it in a navigable water;

(ii) remove aquatic plants or aquatic animals from a seaplane before taking off with the seaplane;

(iii) remove from, or not place in, a navigable water, a vehicle, seaplane, watercraft, or other object of any kind; or

(iv) not take off with a seaplane, or transport or operate a vehicle, watercraft, or other object of any kind on a highway.

(d) No person may refuse to obey the order of a law enforcement officer acting under subsection (c) of this Section.

(e) This Section does not prohibit a person from:

(i) transporting or operating a vehicle, seaplane, watercraft, or other object of any kind with duckweed that is incidentally attached to the exterior of the vehicle, seaplane, watercraft, or other object; or

(ii) transporting or operating commercial aquatic plant harvesting equipment that has aquatic plants or animals attached to the exterior of the equipment, if the equipment is owned or operated by a local governmental unit, is being transported or operated for the purpose of cleaning the equipment to remove aquatic plants or animals, and is being transported to or operated at a suitable location away from any body of water.

(f) The Department shall prepare a notice that contains a summary of the provisions under this Section and shall make copies of the notice available to persons required to post the notice under subsection (g) of this Section.

(g) Each owner of a public boat access site shall post and maintain the notice described in subsection (f) of this Section. For purposes of this Section, a "public boat access site" means a site that provides access to a navigable water for boats and that is open to the general public for free or for a charge or that is open only to certain groups of persons for a charge.