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HB 845

Reduce Drowning Risk/Public Docks.

2025-2026 Session Introduced by Mary Belk and 20 co-sponsors

HB 845 Requires public piers to install rescue gear (ring buoys with lines, signage) and public education; $25,000 grant aid to help economically distressed localities comply.

Passed 1st Reading
0
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Bill Summary · HB 845

HB 845 — Reduce Drowning Risk / Public Docks (North Carolina)

Status: Introduced 2025; passed House and Senate actions in 2025 (see bill for final enactment dates).
Primary sponsor: Rep. Helfrich (and others)

Purpose / Intent

To reduce drowning risk at publicly accessible piers and water access points by requiring readily accessible water-rescue equipment (minimum: ring life buoys) and related public education, and to provide a small state grant appropriation to help economically distressed local governments comply.

Key provisions

  • Creates a new Article in G.S. Chapter 75A — the “State Waters Rescue Equipment Act.”
  • Definitions:
    • “Covered water access facility”: a pier or access point open to the public and owned/operated by the Wildlife Resources Commission, any State agency, or a unit of local government.
    • “Pier,” “access point,” and “high-incident drowning area” are defined in statute.
    • “Public rescue equipment” includes ring life buoys, throw bags, rescue tubes, rescue poles, etc.
  • Equipment requirement:
    • Owners/operators of covered facilities must install public rescue equipment, and at minimum must provide ring life buoys meeting the technical requirements below.
    • Each ring life buoy must:
    • Conform to U.S. Coast Guard SOLAS standards (46 C.F.R. Part 160, Subpart 160.050 or 160.150, or successor standards).
    • Have a buoyant line ≥ 100 feet with breaking strength ≥ 5 kilonewtons; the line end must not be secured to shore or pier.
    • Be marked with Type II retroreflective material (46 C.F.R. Part 164.018).
    • Be located no more than 200 feet from the shoreline at each access point.
    • Be stowed in a bright orange or yellow station (protected from weather), not permanently secured to the station.
    • Each pier must have appropriate signage alerting the public to equipment location and use.
  • Responsibilities:
    • Owner/operator must install, maintain the equipment and provide public education about use.
  • Grants and appropriation:
    • $25,000 nonrecurring appropriation from the General Fund (FY 2025–26) to the Wildlife Resources Commission to implement the act and provide grants to local governments in economic tier one areas.
    • Individual grants capped at $500 per unit of local government in tier one areas to help comply.
  • Effective dates (as in bill): Section 2 (appropriation) effective July 1, 2025; remainder effective upon enactment (check final law for exact effective date).

Who is affected

  • State agencies, the Wildlife Resources Commission, and units of local government that own/operate public piers and water access facilities (obligated to equip, maintain, and educate).
  • Residents and visitors using public piers/access points (improved emergency rescue capability).
  • Local governments may face modest equipment and maintenance costs; small grants available for the most economically distressed jurisdictions.

Fiscal and practical impact

  • Direct appropriation: $25,000 nonrecurring for FY 2025–26 to Wildlife Resources Commission to support compliance and small grants.
  • Expected costs to owners/operators: purchase and periodic replacement/maintenance of rescue equipment, signage, and education efforts. Costs are likely modest per facility but aggregate costs depend on number of covered facilities.
  • Anticipated public-safety benefit: increased availability of rescue devices at public docks/piers, which may reduce response times and drowning incidents.

Notes and implementation

  • Technical equipment standards reference specific U.S. Coast Guard regulations; agencies must follow those standards or successors.
  • The bill places responsibility on facility owners/operators rather than creating new enforcement penalties within the text; owners/operators are responsible for installation, maintenance, and public education.
  • For final effective dates, administrative guidance, or grant application details, consult the enacted statute and Wildlife Resources Commission guidance after enactment.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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