On Friday, State Representative Bob Pritchard’s (R-Hinckley) boat racing certification reform bill, House Bill 4369, was signed Governor Rauner. The bill no longer requires temporary participants in a sanctioned and insured boat race in Illinois to have a valid Boating Safety Certificate of Competence issued by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.
Currently, temporary out-of-state boat racers between the ages of 12 to 18 are required to complete an eight hour course and pass an exam before racing on state sanctioned and insured events in Illinois. Since out-of-state racers have already completed similar training in their own states; the current certification requirement in Illinois is redundant and deters out-of-state competition. Read more here.