EQUIPMENT REQUIREMENTS; EXEMPTION FROM THROWABLE PERSONAL FLOTATION DEVICES REQUIREMENT.

SEC. 827. [46 U.S.C. 4302 note] EQUIPMENT REQUIREMENTS; EXEMPTION FROM THROWABLE PERSONAL FLOTATION DEVICES REQUIREMENT. Not later than one year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating shall— (1) prescribe regulations in part 160 of title 46, Code of Federal Regulations, that treat a marine throw bag, as that term is commonly used in the commercial whitewater rafting industry, as a type of lifesaving equipment; and (2) revise section 175.17 of title 33, Code of Federal Regulations, to exempt rafts that are 16 feet or more overall in length from the requirement to carry an additional throwable personal flotation device when such a marine throw bag is onboard and accessible.