| |||||||
| |||||||
| |||||||
| 1 | AN ACT concerning transportation.
| ||||||
| 2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
| ||||||
| 3 | represented in the General Assembly:
| ||||||
| 4 | Section 5. The Boat Registration and Safety Act is amended | ||||||
| 5 | by adding Section 5-23 as follows: | ||||||
| 6 | (625 ILCS 45/5-23 new) | ||||||
| 7 | Sec. 5-23. Transportation of aquatic plants and animals; | ||||||
| 8 | placement of objects in navigable waters. | ||||||
| 9 | (a) No person may place or operate a vehicle, seaplane, | ||||||
| 10 | watercraft, or other object of any kind in waters of this State | ||||||
| 11 | if it has any aquatic plants or aquatic animals attached to the | ||||||
| 12 | exterior of the vehicle, seaplane, watercraft, or other object. | ||||||
| 13 | This Section does not require a person to remove aquatic plants | ||||||
| 14 | or aquatic animals from a vehicle, seaplane, watercraft, or | ||||||
| 15 | other object during the period of time when the vehicle, | ||||||
| 16 | seaplane, watercraft, or other object is being operated in the | ||||||
| 17 | same navigable body of water in which the aquatic plants or | ||||||
| 18 | aquatic animals became attached. | ||||||
| 19 | (b) No person may take off with a seaplane, or transport or | ||||||
| 20 | operate a vehicle, watercraft, or other object of any kind on a | ||||||
| 21 | highway with aquatic plants or aquatic animals attached to the | ||||||
| 22 | exterior of the seaplane, vehicle, watercraft, or other object. | ||||||
| 23 | (c) A law enforcement officer who has reason to believe | ||||||
| |||||||
| |||||||
| 1 | that a person is in violation of this Section may order the | ||||||
| 2 | person to: | ||||||
| 3 | (i) remove aquatic plants or aquatic animals from a | ||||||
| 4 | vehicle, seaplane, watercraft, or other object of any kind | ||||||
| 5 | before placing it in a navigable water; | ||||||
| 6 | (ii) remove aquatic plants or aquatic animals from a | ||||||
| 7 | seaplane before taking off with the seaplane; | ||||||
| 8 | (iii) remove from, or not place in, a navigable water, | ||||||
| 9 | a vehicle, seaplane, watercraft, or other object of any | ||||||
| 10 | kind; or | ||||||
| 11 | (iv) not take off with a seaplane, or transport or | ||||||
| 12 | operate a vehicle, watercraft, or other object of any kind | ||||||
| 13 | on a highway. | ||||||
| 14 | (d)
No person may refuse to obey the order of a law | ||||||
| 15 | enforcement officer acting under subsection (c) of this | ||||||
| 16 | Section. | ||||||
| 17 | (e) This Section does not prohibit a person from: | ||||||
| 18 | (i) transporting or operating a vehicle, seaplane, | ||||||
| 19 | watercraft, or other object of any kind with duckweed that | ||||||
| 20 | is incidentally attached to the exterior of the vehicle, | ||||||
| 21 | seaplane, watercraft, or other object; or | ||||||
| 22 | (ii) transporting or operating commercial aquatic | ||||||
| 23 | plant harvesting equipment that has aquatic plants or | ||||||
| 24 | animals attached to the exterior of the equipment, if the | ||||||
| 25 | equipment is owned or operated by a local governmental | ||||||
| 26 | unit, is being transported or operated for the purpose of | ||||||
| |||||||
| |||||||
| 1 | cleaning the equipment to remove aquatic plants or animals, | ||||||
| 2 | and is being transported to or operated at a suitable | ||||||
| 3 | location away from any body of water. | ||||||
| 4 | (f) The Department shall prepare a notice that contains a | ||||||
| 5 | summary of the provisions under this Section and shall make | ||||||
| 6 | copies of the notice available to persons required to post the | ||||||
| 7 | notice under subsection (g) of this Section. | ||||||
| 8 | (g) Each owner of a public boat access site shall post and | ||||||
| 9 | maintain the notice described in subsection (f) of this | ||||||
| 10 | Section. For purposes of this Section, a "public boat access | ||||||
| 11 | site" means a site that provides access to a navigable water | ||||||
| 12 | for boats and that is open to the general public for free or | ||||||
| 13 | for a charge or that is open only to certain groups of persons | ||||||
| 14 | for a charge.
| ||||||