Rep. Kelly M. Cassidy

Filed: 2/22/2022

 

 


 

 


 
10200HB4165ham001LRB102 20009 AWJ 36566 a

1
AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 4165

2    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 4165 by replacing
3everything after the enacting clause with the following:
 
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

 

 

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1ring life buoys, throw bags, rescue tubes, and rescue poles.
 
2    Section 10. Public rescue equipment on piers and
3drop-offs.
4    (a) The owner of a pier or drop-off on Lake Michigan shall
5install public rescue equipment, including, at a minimum, ring
6life buoys, on each of the owner's piers or drop-offs along the
7Lake Michigan coast. The ring life buoy must not be
8permanently secured in any way to the station, rack, or pier.
9Each ring life buoy must be stowed inside a station to protect
10it from constant weather exposure. The station must be a
11bright orange or yellow color for high visibility and to allow
12for quick access to the ring.
13    To reduce vandalism and theft, the station shall have
14signage that warns lakefront patrons that tampering with or
15misuse of public rescue equipment is strictly prohibited.
16    (b) The owner of the pier or drop-off on Lake Michigan
17shall oversee the installation and maintenance of the public
18rescue equipment. The State or unit of local government owning
19a pier or drop-off shall also provide public education
20regarding public rescue equipment.
 
21    Section 15. Ring life buoy requirements. Ring life buoys
22installed under Section 10 must meet the following:
23        (1) The ring life buoy shall meet the requirements of
24    46 CFR Part 160 Subpart 160.050 or 46 CFR Part 160 Subpart

 

 

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1    160.150 for SOLAS-approved equipment or successor
2    standards issued by the United States Coast Guard.
3        (2) There shall be attached to each ring life buoy a
4    buoyant line of at least 100 feet in length with a breaking
5    strength of at least 5 kilonewtons. The end of the line
6    must not be secured to the shore.
7        (3) Each ring life buoy shall be marked with type II
8    retroreflective material meeting the requirements of 46
9    CFR Part 160, Subpart 164.018.
10        (4) Each ring life buoy shall be placed at a distance
11    not to exceed 200 feet from the shoreline of the lake and
12    be available for emergency rescue operations.
13        (5) Each pier shall have a ring life buoy installed
14    with appropriate signage.
 
15    Section 20. Tracking, reporting, and analyzing drownings.
16Each unit of local government owning a pier or drop-off on Lake
17Michigan shall track and, at a minimum of twice per year,
18publish on the unit's website a report on lakefront drownings
19of which the unit is aware that have occurred within 100 feet
20of the unit's piers and drop-offs. The report shall include,
21at a minimum, a description of access to and use of public
22rescue equipment, location, temperature, time of day,
23conditions, demographics, and type of entry into the water. If
24there have been drownings during the reporting period, each
25unit of local government must also publish a water safety plan

 

 

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1on the unit's website.
 
2    Section 25. High-incident drowning area plans. Within one
3year after an owner's property becoming a high-incident
4drowning area, the owner shall update and disseminate a water
5safety plan as well as upgrade installed safety equipment as
6needed, which may include, but is not limited to, installing
7equipment that automatically contacts 9-1-1 or other safety
8improvements.
 
9    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect one year
10after becoming law.".