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SECOND REGULAR SESSION
HOUSE BILL NO. 2398
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBL Y
INTRODUCED BY REPRESENT A TIVE SCHMIDT .
4199H.01I JOSEPH ENGLER, Chief Clerk
AN ACT
T o amend chapter 210, RSMo, by adding thereto one new section relating to summer and day
camps.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Chapter 210, RSMo, is amended by adding thereto one new section, to be
2 known as section 210.212, to read as follows:
210.212. 1. This section shall be known and may be cited as "Grant Br own's
2 Show Me a Lifeguard Law".
3 2. As used in this section, the following terms mean:
4 (1) "Aquatic activities", activities that take place in or ar ound a body of water
5 including, but not limited to, swimming, swimming instruction, wading, or visits to
6 water parks. The term does not include water play activities, such as water table play ,
7 slip and slide activities, or playing in sprinklers;
8 (2) "Camp counselor", an employee of a summer camp or day camp who
9 interacts with and is res ponsible for the supervision and safety of children at a summer
10 camp or day camp and engages in activities including, but not limited to, planning and
11 leading grou p events, maintaining a schedule of activities for children at the camp, and
12 r esponding to safety or behavioral incidents;
13 (3) "Lifeguard", a person who is trained and certified by the American Red
14 Cr oss, or an organization or association equivalent to the American Red Cr oss, in water
15 safety that is appr opriate to any body of water , first aid, and cardiopulmonary
16 r esuscitation and whose job is to keep an individual who is participating in aquatic
17 activities safe by pr eventing and r esponding to water emergencies;
EXPLANA TION — Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in the above bill is not enacted and is
intended to be omitted from the law . Matter in bold-face type in the above bill is proposed language.
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18 (4) "Medical emergency", an injury or the sudden and, at the time, unexpected
19 onset of a health condition that manifests itself by symptoms of sufficient severity that
20 would lead a prudent layperson, possessing an average knowledge of health and
21 medicine, to believe that the absence of immediate medical car e could result in:
22 (a) Placing the person's health in significant jeopardy;
23 (b) Serious impairment to a bodily function;
24 (c) Serious dysfunction of any bodily organ or part; or
25 (d) Inadequately contr olled pain;
26 (5) "Public swimming pool", any structur e, chamber , or tank containing an
27 artificial body of water used by the public for swimming, diving, wading, recr eation, or
28 therapy , together with buildings, appurtenances, and equipment used in connection with
29 the body of water , regar dless of whether a fee is charged for its use. The term includes
30 municipal, school, hotel, motel, apartment, boardinghouse, athletic club, or other
31 membership facility pools and spas, spas operating for display at temporary events, and
32 artificial swimming lagoons;
33 (6) "Specialized r ecreat ional activity", an activity that may expose a child to a
34 risk of serious injury because of the inher ent danger of the activity and includes, but is
35 not limited to, zip-lining, diving, boating, horseback riding, rock climbing, shooting
36 sports, high r opes courses, operating all-terrain vehicles, canoeing, and aquatic activities
37 involving a pool or other body of water .
38 3. Any person or organization operating a summer camp or day camp in this
39 state shall ensur e that employees of the summer camp or day camp are fully trained and
40 certified when certification exists as an industry standard in operating equipment used
41 in a specialized recr eational activity offered by the summer camp or day camp.
42 4. A summer camp or day camp offering aquatic activities shall pr ovide an
43 individual who has a curr ent lifeguard training certificate issued by the Red Cros s or
44 other training determined by the department of health and senior services to be
45 equivalent to Red Cr oss training appr opriate for both the type of body of water and
46 type of aquatic activity . A lifeguard supervising a child under this section shall continue
47 any training re quir ed to maintain curr ent lifeguard certification. In addition to any
48 applicable rules adopted reg arding participation in aquatic activities, the following are
49 r equir ed for childr en participating in aquatic activities at summer camps or day camps:
50 (1) A ratio of two lifeguards for the first twenty-five childre n and one additional
51 lifeguard for every fifteen children or portion ther eof;
52 (2) A lifeguard chair that positions each lifeguard at a height no less than six feet
53 fr om the grou nd;
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54 (3) A mandatory swim test in a public swimming pool before aquatic activities
55 begin. If a child is unable to swim acr oss the widest part of the public swimming pool, a
56 pr operly fitted, U.S. Coast Guard-appr oved life jacket is requ ired for that child at all
57 times while engaging in aquatic activities; and
58 (4) If a U.S. Coast Guard-appr oved life jacket is requ ired under subdivision (3)
59 of this subsection, the life jacket shall meet the following requi rem ents:
60 (a) Appr opriately sized for the intended child;
61 (b) In good and serviceable condition; and
62 (c) Pr operly stowed when not in use, but readi ly accessible.
63 5. Participation in the following types of aquatic activities is proh ibited under
64 this section:
65 (1) Hot tubs;
66 (2) Spas;
67 (3) Saunas or steam roo ms;
68 (4) Portable wading pools; and
69 (5) Other unfilter ed, nondisinfected containments of water .
70 6. (1) Any person or organization operating a summer camp or day camp in this
71 state shall establish and r etain onsite a written site-specific emergency plan, which shall
72 be appr oved by the dir ector of the summer camp or day camp, outlining proce dures
73 that addr ess the following emergency situations:
74 (a) Natural disasters;
75 (b) A lost child or children;
76 (c) Fir es;
77 (d) T ransportation emergencies;
78 (e) Medical emergencies;
79 (f) Unauthorized persons on or near the premis es of the summer camp or day
80 camp;
81 (g) Aquatic emergencies, as appr opriate for the site; and
82 (h) Other emergency situations, as appr opriate for the site.
83 (2) Summer camp or day camp employees, including the direc tor and camp
84 counselors, shall be trained in implementing the emergency plan pr ocedur es pr ovided
85 for under subdivision (1) of this subsection.
86 7. All camp counselors and any dire ctor employed by a summer camp or day
87 camp shall be trained in cardiopulmonary re suscitation and in the use of an automated
88 external defibrillator .
89 8. Any specialized recr eational activity offered by a summer camp or day camp
90 to childr en attending the camp shall be inspected annually by the r elevant state
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91 department including, but not limited to, the department of health and senior services,
92 the department of public safety , or the department of conservation. Such inspections
93 may be completed by local agencies if the standards employed by local personnel are
94 substantially equivalent to state standards and local personnel ar e available for
95 enfor cement of such standards.
96 9. Any person or organization operating a summer camp or day camp in this
97 state shall maintain record s of all inspections req uir ed under subsection 8 of this section
98 of specialized recr eational activities offered by the summer camp or day camp to
99 childr en attending the summer camp or day camp.
100 10. The department of elementary and secondary education and the department
101 of health and senior services may pr omulgate all necessary rules and regul ations for the
102 administration of this section. Any rule or portion of a rule, as that term is defined in
103 section 536.010, that is crea ted under the authority delegated in this section shall
104 become effective only if it complies with and is subject to all of the provi sions of chapter
105 536 and, if applicable, section 536.028. This section and chapter 536 are nonseverable
106 and if any of the powers vested with the general assembly pursuant to chapter 536 to
107 r eview , to delay the effective date, or to disappr ove and annul a rule are subsequently
108 held unconstitutional, then the grant of rulemaking authority and any rule pr oposed or
109 adopted after August 28, 2026, shall be invalid and void.
✔
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