Bill HF2419, SF2767

1.1          A bill for an act
1.2          relating to natural resources; requiring life jackets for children aboard watercraft
1.3          to have reflective material;amending Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 86B.501,
1.4          subdivision 3.
1.5          BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.6          Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 86B.501, subdivision 3, is amended to read:
1.7                          Subd. 3.Grant Allen Law; life jacket required for children. (a) No person may operate
1.8          a watercraft under way with a child under ten years of age aboard unless the child is:
1.9          (1) wearing an appropriate personal flotation device approved under subdivision 1; or
1.10       (2) below the top deck or in an enclosed cabin.
1.11       (b) Paragraph (a) does not apply to commercial watercraft where the child is a passenger
1.12       and the operator is licensed by the state of Minnesota or the United States Coast Guard to
1.13       carry passengers for hire. Paragraph (a) also does not apply if the watercraft is anchored for
1.14       the purpose of swimming or diving.
1.15       (c) A first violation of this subdivision prior to May 1, 2006, shall not result in a penalty,
1.16       but is punishable only by a safety warning.
1.17       (d) Any (c) A violation other than a violation addressed in paragraph (c) of this
1.18       subdivision is to be considered a petty misdemeanor.
1.19       (d) Beginning January 1, 2027, a personal flotation device required under this subdivision
1.20       must have at least 31 square inches of retroreflective material attached to its front side, at
1.21       least 31 square inches of retroreflective material on its back side, and, if the item is reversible,
1.22       at least 31 square inches of retroreflective material on each of its reversible sides. The
2.1          retroreflective material attached on each side of the device must be divided equally between
2.2          the upper quadrants of the side, and the retroreflective material in each quadrant must be
2.3          attached as closely as possible to the shoulder area of the item.
2.4          (e) Before May 1, 2028, and notwithstanding paragraph (c), a first violation of paragraph
2.5          (d) does not result in a penalty, but is punishable only by a safety warning.