Lieske amendment adds life-saving equipment requirements
The Minnesota Senate has overwhelmingly approved the Brady Aune and Joseph Anderson Safety Act (HF1355), a bipartisan bill to improve safety standards for commercial divers. Senator Bill Lieske (R–Lonsdale), who worked closely with chief author Senator Liz Boldon (DFL–Rochester), played a key role in strengthening the bill by offering an amendment focused on essential dive equipment.
“Two young men lost their lives because they were sent into the water without proper training or gear,” Sen. Lieske said. “After hearing the full story and talking to master divers and safety experts, I knew we had to act. This bill will save lives and hopefully prevent tragedies like what happened to Brady and Joseph from ever happening again.”
Joseph Anderson and Brady Aune died in separate diving incidents while working jobs that involved removing aquatic plants. In both cases, they lacked critical safety training and equipment. One boy had just 15 minutes of instruction before being sent underwater. Neither job site had the right supervision or tools to prevent the tragedies, or respond when things went wrong.
Senator Lieske’s amendment, adopted by voice vote, adds a list of basic, life-saving equipment that every commercial diver must have on the job. It also allows divers to request additional gear depending on the conditions they face. The amendment was shaped with input from industry professionals and a certified master diver.
Required items include:
- A buoyancy control device
- A breathing gas monitoring device
- A quick-release weight system
- An audible emergency signaling device
- An illuminated dive beacon
Optional items upon diver request include:
- A depth-monitoring device
- Fins and snorkel
- Alternate air source
- Exposure protection
- Dive computer or planner
The bill passed the Senate with a bipartisan vote of 54-10. The bill will now be sent back to the House of Representatives, where they will either concur with the Senate changes or a conference committee will be created to work out the differences between the House and Senate versions.
ADDITIONAL MEDIA