© 2024 Northeast Indiana Public Radio
A 501(c)3 non-profit organization. Public File 89.1 WBOI

Listen Now · on iPhone · on Android
NPR News and Diverse Music
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Support for WBOI.org comes from:

Bill to prevent drownings in Lake Michigan passes Indiana Senate

A U.S. Coast Guard crew rescue members of a sailboat that capsized near Holland, Michigan, in 2014.
U.S. Coast Guard District 9
/
Wikimedia Commons
The bill would require those who maintain public beaches and piers on the lake to have highly visible, emergency flotation devices available. Local governments would also have to report drownings at public sites at least twice a year.

A bill that aims to reduce drowning deaths on Lake Michigan passed the Indiana Senate on Tuesday.

SB 253, authored by Sen. Rodney Pol (D-Chesterton), would require those who maintain public beaches and piers on the lake to have highly visible, emergency flotation devices available. Local governments would also have to report drownings at public sites at least twice a year.

Six people drowned last year alone along Lake Michigan beaches and other public sites in Indiana.

READ MORE: Bill to require rescue equipment along Lake Michigan aims to prevent drownings

Join the conversation and sign up for the Indiana Two-Way. Text "Indiana" to 765-275-1120. Your comments and questions in response to our weekly text help us find the answers you need on statewide issues, including our project Civically, Indiana and our 2024 legislative bill tracker.

The bill now moves to state House for consideration. Pol proposed a similar bill last year, but it was stalled when it didn’t receive a hearing in the House Natural Resources Committee.

Rebecca is our energy and environment reporter. Contact her at rthiele@iu.edu or follow her on Twitter at @beckythiele.

Tags
Rebecca Thiele covers statewide environment and energy issues.