SB 142 requires an operator of any watercraft vessel to require every person on such
vessel age 12 or younger to wear a U.S. Coast Guard-approved personal flotation device while aboard or being towed by a vessel unless the person is below decks or in an enclosed cabin. The bill requires the Secretary of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism to promulgate rules and regulations regarding required personal flotation devices. Regulation of personal flotation devices had been set in statute. The bill also updates the reference in current law, regarding commercialization of wildlife, to the guidelines of the American Fisheries Society special publication number 30 (first published in 2003) to special publication number 35 (published in 2017).