HR5063-119

What This Bill Does

The Safe Beaches, Safe Swimmers Act responds to lifeguard shortages at federally managed swimming areas and beaches. When the Interior Secretary determines that a designated swim location has a staffing shortage, the Secretary must seek an agreement with local government agencies so local lifeguards can staff the site during normal seasonal operating hours, ensure visitor safety, and provide rescue and first aid services. Interior must reimburse the local agency for all reasonable costs and must amend existing agreements to provide that reimbursement even if the original agreement used cost sharing. Covered sites are swim areas or beaches on lands and waters managed by the National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, or Bureau of Reclamation that are normally monitored by federal lifeguards.

Who Benefits and How

Visitors at federal swimming areas benefit because staffing shortages would trigger local lifeguard agreements instead of leaving beaches unmonitored. Local government lifeguard agencies benefit because Interior must reimburse all reasonable costs for staffing federal swim locations. National Park Service beach managers benefit from a mechanism to keep seasonal swim areas monitored when federal lifeguard hiring falls short. Families using federal beaches benefit from rescue and first aid coverage during normal seasonal operating hours.

Who Bears the Burden and How

Interior Department recreation staff must identify staffing shortages and seek local government agreements. Federal land managers must amend existing lifeguard agreements to reimburse reasonable local costs. Federal taxpayers bear the cost of reimbursing local lifeguard services at covered swim locations. Local agencies must provide lifeguard staffing, visitor safety, rescue, and first aid services under the agreements.

Key Provisions

• Requires Interior to seek local lifeguard agreements when federal swim locations have staffing shortages.
• Requires reimbursement of all reasonable local government costs for lifeguard services.
• Requires existing agreements to be amended when needed to provide reimbursement.
• Defines covered swim locations on NPS, Fish and Wildlife, BLM, or Bureau of Reclamation lands and waters.
• Defines staffing shortages as levels likely to leave designated swim locations unmonitored during seasonal hours.