HB4165 EnrolledLRB102 20009 AWJ 28935 b

1    AN ACT concerning water safety.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Lake
5Michigan Rescue Equipment Act.
 
6    Section 5. Definitions. As used in this Act:
7    "Drop-off" means an area of a lake's shoreline that is
8intended to facilitate direct public access to the water.
9    "High-incident drowning area" means an area within 100
10feet of a pier or drop-off where more than one fatal drowning
11incident has occurred in the span of 5 years.
12    "Pier" means a man-made, raised structure (such as a
13breakwater) extending into navigable water for use as a
14landing place or promenade or to protect or form a harbor.
15    "Public rescue equipment" includes a range of water rescue
16devices available for public use in case of emergency, such as
17ring life buoys, throw bags, rescue tubes, and rescue poles.
 
18    Section 10. Public rescue equipment on piers and
19drop-offs.
20    (a) The owner of a pier or drop-off on Lake Michigan shall
21install public rescue equipment, including, at a minimum, ring
22life buoys, on each of the owner's piers or drop-offs along the

 

 

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1Lake Michigan coast. The ring life buoy must not be
2permanently secured in any way to the station, rack, or pier.
3Each ring life buoy must be stowed inside a station to protect
4it from constant weather exposure. The station must be a
5bright orange or yellow color for high visibility and to allow
6for quick access to the ring.
7    To reduce vandalism and theft, the station shall have
8signage that warns lakefront patrons that tampering with or
9misuse of public rescue equipment is strictly prohibited.
10    (b) The owner of the pier or drop-off on Lake Michigan
11shall oversee the installation and maintenance of the public
12rescue equipment. The State or unit of local government owning
13a pier or drop-off shall also provide public education
14regarding public rescue equipment.
 
15    Section 15. Ring life buoy requirements. Ring life buoys
16installed under Section 10 must meet the following:
17        (1) The ring life buoy shall meet the requirements of
18    46 CFR Part 160 Subpart 160.050 or 46 CFR Part 160 Subpart
19    160.150 for SOLAS-approved equipment or successor
20    standards issued by the United States Coast Guard.
21        (2) There shall be attached to each ring life buoy a
22    buoyant line of at least 100 feet in length with a breaking
23    strength of at least 5 kilonewtons. The end of the line
24    must not be secured to the shore.
25        (3) Each ring life buoy shall be marked with type II

 

 

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1    retroreflective material meeting the requirements of 46
2    CFR Part 160, Subpart 164.018.
3        (4) Each ring life buoy shall be placed at a distance
4    not to exceed 200 feet from the shoreline of the lake and
5    be available for emergency rescue operations.
6        (5) Each pier shall have a ring life buoy installed
7    with appropriate signage.
 
8    Section 20. Tracking, reporting, and analyzing drownings.
9Each unit of local government owning a pier or drop-off on Lake
10Michigan shall track and, at a minimum of twice per year,
11publish on the unit's website a report on lakefront drownings
12of which the unit is aware that have occurred within 100 feet
13of the unit's piers and drop-offs. The report shall include,
14at a minimum, a description of access to and use of public
15rescue equipment, location, temperature, time of day,
16conditions, demographics, and type of entry into the water. If
17there have been drownings during the reporting period, each
18unit of local government must also publish a water safety plan
19on the unit's website.
 
20    Section 25. High-incident drowning area plans. Within one
21year after an owner's property becoming a high-incident
22drowning area, the owner shall update and disseminate a water
23safety plan as well as upgrade installed safety equipment as
24needed, which may include, but is not limited to, installing

 

 

HB4165 Enrolled- 4 -LRB102 20009 AWJ 28935 b

1equipment that automatically contacts 9-1-1 or other safety
2improvements.
 
3    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect one year
4after becoming law.