SCR 192

SCR192:v99#DOCUMENT

Bill Start

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Concurrent Resolution

No. 192

Relative to open water lifeguards.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

SCR 192, as introduced, Stern. Open water lifeguards.

This measure would recognize open water lifeguards as first responders, in acknowledgment of their essential role in emergency response, public safety, and drowning prevention, as provided. The measure would urge all California public agencies employing open water lifeguards to formally recognize them as first responders in their training frameworks, emergency planning documents, and mutual-aid agreements, as provided.

Digest Key

Fiscal Committee: YES

Bill Text

WHEREAS, California’s open water lifeguards, employed by various cities, counties, fire departments, harbor districts, park districts, the Department of Parks and Recreation, and others, serve and protect beaches and lakes across the state and conduct aquatic rescues, respond to medical emergencies and traffic collisions, execute tactical extrications, and more, all of which fall under the tenets of a first responder classification; and

WHEREAS, The United States Lifesaving Association and the California Surf Lifesaving Association document that, based on statistics from 46 reporting California lifeguard agencies over the past 26 years from 2000 to 2025, inclusive, California’s open water lifeguards have protected more than 4,500,000,000 patrons and performed an astounding 96,022,795 preventative actions or mitigating incidents, and effected 1,400,585 rescues; and

WHEREAS, Open water lifeguards are frequently the first responders on scene, in addition to operating in tandem alongside peace officers, firefighters, and emergency medical personnel, to protect life, secure scenes, and preserve public safety until additional responders arrive; and

WHEREAS, The duties of open water lifeguards extend beyond aquatic rescue and include responding to emergencies on land, including cardiac arrests, traumatic injuries, and motor vehicle collisions occurring on or near beaches, parks, and public roadways; and

WHEREAS, Open water lifeguards undergo rigorous and continuous training, including high-performance cardiopulmonary resuscitation, automated external defibrillator use, emergency medical response, advanced rescue techniques, rescue watercraft operations, and emergency scene management; and

WHEREAS, Open water lifeguards respond to emergencies by attending to, treating, assisting, and transporting victims, which collectively satisfy the four defined duties of an emergency response employee under Section 300ff-133 of Title 42 of the United States Code; and

WHEREAS, Open water lifeguards not only protect human life but also safeguard property, preserve evidence, and protect the environment, which together represent the four core tenets commonly used to define a first responder; and

WHEREAS, In the performance of their duties, open water lifeguards routinely place themselves at significant risk to their own lives and physical safety in dynamic and hazardous ocean, surf, and shoreline environments; and

WHEREAS, Lifeguards have given their lives in the line of duty protecting the public on California’s neighboring coastlines, including Newport Beach ocean lifeguard Ben Carlson, who died on July 6, 2014, while rescuing a distressed swimmer, a sacrifice memorialized by the Ben Carlson Memorial and Scholarship Foundation and honored by the lifesaving community statewide; and

WHEREAS, In April 2026, the State of Hawaii adopted SR 54 and HR 42 recognizing open water lifeguards as first responders, with zero dissenting committee votes; and

WHEREAS, The California Water Safety Coalition’s California Water Safety Strategy identifies lifeguards as a critical layer of protection in drowning prevention and establishes an explicit priority to create sustainable and adaptable systems for the lifeguard workforce in California; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly thereof concurring, That the Legislature of the State of California hereby formally recognizes professional open water lifeguards, including, but not limited to, ocean lifeguards, lake lifeguards, and all nonsworn open water lifeguard personnel employed by state, county, municipal, and district agencies throughout California, as first responders in acknowledgment of their essential role in emergency response, public safety, and drowning prevention; and be it further

Resolved, That the Legislature urges all California public agencies employing open water lifeguards, including but not limited to cities, counties, fire departments, harbor and port districts, park districts, and the Department of Parks and Recreation, to formally recognize open water lifeguards as first responders in their training frameworks, emergency planning documents, and mutual-aid agreements, commensurate with the scope and gravity of the duties those lifeguards perform; and be it further

Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.