Governor signs lake safety bills

The Traverse City Record-Eagle reports on two water saftey bills recently passed into law:

Gov. Jennifer Granholm on Monday signed into law two bills making it a more serious crime in Michigan to steal or vandalize publicly owned marine-safety equipment.

If a stolen life ring is a contributing factor in a drowning, the thief now can be charged with a felony and, if convicted, sentenced to a maximum of 15 years in prison and fined up to $10,000.

Republican Sens. Wayne Kuipers of Holland and Jud Gilbert of Algonac each sponsored one of the bills.

"Warning people about tough penalties for stealing life preservers will help reduce the number stolen and vandalized each year," Kuipers said Monday in a statement. "Too often life preservers are taken as a prank or as a souvenir, but people need to know that removing them jeopardizes lives."

The lake safety laws are Public Acts 233-234.