MN HF1355

Commercial mechanical control permit applicants for aquatic plant harvesting/destruction must disclose if scuba diving equipment will be used and provide documentation of a third-party on-site hazard survey completed within the past year by a qualified safety professional

Permits cannot be issued or renewed to applicants with willful OSHA violations involving scuba diving in the previous two years, or to "successor persons" sharing three or more characteristics with violators (same owners, similar work, same contact info, same employees/equipment)

Commercial scuba divers must hold valid open-water certification from a nationally accredited program, and employers must provide mandatory equipment including buoyancy-control device, mask, compressed-gas cylinder, regulator, emergency signaling device, and illuminated dive beacon

Employers must ensure a standby diver is available whenever a diver is in the water, and all divers and standby divers must be trained in CPR and first aid (American Red Cross standard or equivalent)

Named the "Brady Aune and Joseph Anderson Safety Act," with permit-related provisions effective October 1, 2025, and commercial diving operation requirements effective the day following final enactment