The best way to beat the summer heat is jump in the water. But swimmers that are near docks/marinas should be aware… electric currents can be in the water, and cause "electric shock drownings”.

 
Sen. Jay Costa, a Democrat from Pittsburgh and the Senate Minority Leader, has proposed SB845 to help protect swimmers.
 
The legislation would require all boat dock and marina operators to post warning signs in the area, that say “ELECTRIC SHOCK HAZARD RISK: NO SWIMMING WITHIN 100 YARDS OF THE BOAT DOCK”.
 
Docks and marinas would also have to purchase a “main over current protective device”. The device could help prevent water electrification, and some versions might be able to alert dock owners if there is electricity in the water.
 
Costa says that dock owners he’s spoken with support the bill. The legislation is still early in consideration, so he expects some concerns to be raised. The bill does have bipartisan support, with several Republican senators signed on as co-sponsors.
 
Other states have passed similar legislation.
 
 
 
 
An interview of the transcript is below:
 
 
KARA JEFFERS, STATE GOVERNMENT REPORTER: "Hello. I'm Kara Jeffers here with Senator Jay Costa. We're going to take a break, talk about a bill. You have something that deals with electric shocks in the water. Tell me about this problem that we've got here."
 
SEN. JAY COSTA (D-PITTSBURGH): "So the problem has been that where individuals are jumping off their boats and going in to swim in the lake or a pond or whatever the case might be, and there happens to be an electric current that's in the water itself. We are trying to do legislation that would let people know that before they jump off a boat, dock off a boat, or whatever the case might be, that they need to be thoughtful about what's taking place."
 
JEFFERS: "And the electric shock is like coming from…  maybe sometimes the boat? or maybe if there's like a restaurant on a dock nearby? Like how does the shock get in the water?"
 
COSTA: "Exactly. The shock comes either maybe from a current that's now escaped from the boat and gone into the water. Or could be the dock itself may have some electric wiring that's made its way into the water and electrifies the water and in turn, that location.
 
"And people unknowingly jump into the water for recreation to be able to relax, take a swim or whatever the case might be, and don't realize that the water has been electrified and ultimately results and in [drowning]. Some instances resulted in death."
 
JEFFERS: "Specifically, what will your legislation do?"
 
COSTA: "The legislation will require boat docks, for example, to be able to do postings. We'd also like to go a little further and have them be able to put into place devices that would detect whether or not there is any electricity in the water itself.
 
"And if in fact, the water is electrified, there could be some signal or something that would come up, light or whatever the case might be, to demonstrate that. So people would then definitely know not to jump in."
 
JEFFERS: "Is there any opposition or concern that's been brought to you?"
 
COSTA: "There's been no concerns being brought to me. Even from the dock owners and the like, I mean, they recognize that this is something we need to address. But I think going forward, as we begin to advance, we'll hear some concerns that come forward. But it's bipartisan support. I think it's important and we're excited about the opportunity to be able to move it forward in the Senate."
 
JEFFERS: "And then would there be any cost to taxpayers, any savings for taxpayers?"
 
COSTA: "Well, there will be probably some savings to taxpayers, but may also be some costs to some municipal dock ownerships or whatever the case might be.
 
"But the more important thing is it's a safety precaution. And it's saving lives at the end of the day of individuals who run the risk of being sort of paralyzed while they're in the water because of the electric current in their body. So I think it'll be a very important piece of legislation to save lives. And that's what we're really focusing on."
 
JEFFERS: "Definitely. Thank you so much for your time, Senator.
 
COSTA: “Thank you for having me."
 
JEFFERS: "This has been Bill Break, where we talk about the legislation that doesn't always get into the limelight."