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| | HB4165 Engrossed | | LRB102 20009 AWJ 28935 b |
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| 1 | | AN ACT concerning water safety.
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| 2 | | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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| 3 | | represented in the General Assembly:
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| 4 | | Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Lake |
| 5 | | Michigan Rescue Equipment Act.
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| 6 | | Section 5. Definitions. As used in this Act: |
| 7 | | "Drop-off" means an area of a lake's shoreline that is |
| 8 | | intended to facilitate direct public access to the water. |
| 9 | | "High-incident drowning area" means an area within 100 |
| 10 | | feet of a pier or drop-off where more than one fatal drowning |
| 11 | | incident has occurred in the span of 5 years. |
| 12 | | "Pier" means a man-made, raised structure (such as a |
| 13 | | breakwater) extending into navigable water for use as a |
| 14 | | landing place or promenade or to protect or form a harbor. |
| 15 | | "Public rescue equipment" includes a range of water rescue |
| 16 | | devices available for public use in case of emergency, such as |
| 17 | | ring life buoys, throw bags, rescue tubes, and rescue poles.
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| 18 | | Section 10. Public rescue equipment on piers and |
| 19 | | drop-offs. |
| 20 | | (a) The owner of a pier or drop-off on Lake Michigan shall |
| 21 | | install public rescue equipment, including, at a minimum, ring |
| 22 | | life buoys, on each of the owner's piers or drop-offs along the |
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| | HB4165 Engrossed | - 2 - | LRB102 20009 AWJ 28935 b |
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| 1 | | Lake Michigan coast. The ring life buoy must not be |
| 2 | | permanently secured in any way to the station, rack, or pier. |
| 3 | | Each ring life buoy must be stowed inside a station to protect |
| 4 | | it from constant weather exposure. The station must be a |
| 5 | | bright orange or yellow color for high visibility and to allow |
| 6 | | for quick access to the ring. |
| 7 | | To reduce vandalism and theft, the station shall have |
| 8 | | signage that warns lakefront patrons that tampering with or |
| 9 | | misuse of public rescue equipment is strictly prohibited. |
| 10 | | (b) The owner of the pier or drop-off on Lake Michigan |
| 11 | | shall oversee the installation and maintenance of the public |
| 12 | | rescue equipment. The State or unit of local government owning |
| 13 | | a pier or drop-off shall also provide public education |
| 14 | | regarding public rescue equipment.
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| 15 | | Section 15. Ring life buoy requirements. Ring life buoys |
| 16 | | installed 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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| | HB4165 Engrossed | - 3 - | LRB102 20009 AWJ 28935 b |
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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.
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| 8 | | Section 20. Tracking, reporting, and analyzing drownings. |
| 9 | | Each unit of local government owning a pier or drop-off on Lake |
| 10 | | Michigan shall track and, at a minimum of twice per year, |
| 11 | | publish on the unit's website a report on lakefront drownings |
| 12 | | of which the unit is aware that have occurred within 100 feet |
| 13 | | of the unit's piers and drop-offs. The report shall include, |
| 14 | | at a minimum, a description of access to and use of public |
| 15 | | rescue equipment, location, temperature, time of day, |
| 16 | | conditions, demographics, and type of entry into the water. If |
| 17 | | there have been drownings during the reporting period, each |
| 18 | | unit of local government must also publish a water safety plan |
| 19 | | on the unit's website.
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| 20 | | Section 25. High-incident drowning area plans. Within one |
| 21 | | year after an owner's property becoming a high-incident |
| 22 | | drowning area, the owner shall update and disseminate a water |
| 23 | | safety plan as well as upgrade installed safety equipment as |
| 24 | | needed, which may include, but is not limited to, installing |