HF1355 adds new safety requirements for anyone using scuba gear while commercially removing or managing aquatic plants. The bill requires permit applicants who intend to use scuba equipment to complete a recent third-party safety-hazard survey and follow new rules that bar permits for companies with recent willful safety violations. It also creates the “Brady Aune and Joseph Anderson Safety Act,” which sets statewide standards for commercial diving operations, including required scuba certifications, mandatory safety equipment, CPR and first-aid training, and a standby diver for every dive. The Department of Labor and Industry must provide safety information to employers, and the Department of Natural Resources must enforce these requirements when issuing aquatic-plant-management permits.
The Minnesota State Senate passed HF1355 on April 10, 2025 by a vote of 54 to 10. We have assigned pluses to the nays because this bill exemplifies the ever-expanding nanny-state approach that substitutes government micromanagement for personal responsibility and private-sector standards. Rather than allowing trained professionals and businesses to determine appropriate safety practices, HF1355 layers on new mandates, certifications, and bureaucratic approvals that burden small operators and drive up costs. These one-size-fits-all rules empower state agencies to dictate how commercial divers operate, even though many in the industry already follow rigorous voluntary safety protocols. Such unnecessary regulation grows government for its own sake, interferes with free enterprise, and erodes the ability of individuals and businesses to make their own informed decisions.
