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Safe diving measure becomes law
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Posted on Jul 14 2008
Gov. Benigno R. Fitial has signed into law a bill that gives more teeth to the Safety Diving Act.
House Bill 16-11, now Public Law 16-6, grants the Department of Public Safety the power to enforce the diving law. Specifically, it allows police officers to issue citation to those who operate businesses for scuba instruction or scuba diving tours without meeting legal requirements.
The new law also urges DPS to work with the Department of Finance and the Department of Lands and Natural Resources to assess the level of difficulty of each dive site throughout the Commonwealth and to set forth restrictions to ensure the safety of divers.
Sponsored by Rep. Ramon A. Tebuteb, the legislation amends the Safety Diving Act of 1990, which regulates tour diving and diving instruction businesses in the Commonwealth.
Under the law, diving instructors are required to be certified and to obtain substantial liability insurance to ensure that only skilled divers will be permitted to provide recreational dive services to residents and tourists on the islands.
