---
type: "Bill"
title: "WATERCRAFT TOWING"
description: "Amends the Boat Registration and Safety Act. Requires operators of a watercraft towing a person or persons to display red or orange flags on their watercraft."
jurisdiction: "us/states/il"
legislature: "Illinois General Assembly"
session: "98th"
identifier: "SB 2731"
citation: "Illinois SB 2731 (98th)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: []
version_count: 3
action_count: 31
vote_count: 2
first_action: "2014-01-28"
last_action: "2014-07-07"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/cd47a7a9-186b-4f0b-a0b0-f61fc66ea93b"
source_url: "http://ilga.gov/legislation/BillStatus.asp?DocNum=2731&GAID=12&DocTypeID=SB&LegId=78485&SessionID=85&GA=98"
source_hash: "9aedeb78bebff7ea8cd31ce83b24276c50989031efa346527bfc3baec4b779c1"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-il"]
---

# Illinois SB 2731 (98th) — WATERCRAFT TOWING

Amends the Boat Registration and Safety Act. Requires operators of a watercraft towing a person or persons to display red or orange flags on their watercraft.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **Introduced** (filed) — [source](http://ilga.gov/legislation/fulltext.asp?DocName=09800SB2731&GA=98&SessionId=85&DocTypeId=SB&LegID=78485&DocNum=2731&GAID=12&Session=&print=true)
2. **Engrossed** (committee substitute) — [source](http://ilga.gov/legislation/fulltext.asp?DocName=09800SB2731eng&GA=98&SessionId=85&DocTypeId=SB&LegID=78485&DocNum=2731&GAID=12&Session=&print=true)
3. **Enrolled** (enrolled) — [source](http://ilga.gov/legislation/fulltext.asp?DocName=09800SB2731enr&GA=98&SessionId=85&DocTypeId=SB&LegID=78485&DocNum=2731&GAID=12&Session=&print=true)

## Votes

- Third Reading — **97–7** (pass) · lower
- Third Reading — **45–0** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- JoAnn D. Osmond — cosponsor (person)
- Julie A. Morrison — primary (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2014-01-28** Filed with Secretary by Sen. Julie A. Morrison `filing`
- **2014-01-28** First Reading `reading-1`
- **2014-01-28** Referred to Assignments `referral-committee`
- **2014-02-11** Assigned to Special Committee on Watercraft Safety `referral-committee`
- **2014-02-19** Added as Co-Sponsor Sen. Melinda Bush
- **2014-03-20** Senate Committee Amendment No. 1 Filed with Secretary by Sen. Pamela J. Althoff `amendment-introduction`
- **2014-03-20** Senate Committee Amendment No. 1 Referred to Assignments `referral-committee`
- **2014-03-25** Senate Committee Amendment No. 1 Assignments Refers to Special Committee on Watercraft Safety
- **2014-03-27** Senate Committee Amendment No. 1 Adopted `amendment-passage`
- **2014-03-27** Do Pass as Amended Special Committee on Watercraft Safety; 004-000-000 `committee-passage`
- **2014-03-27** Placed on Calendar Order of 2nd Reading April 1, 2014
- **2014-04-03** Second Reading `reading-2`
- **2014-04-03** Placed on Calendar Order of 3rd Reading April 7, 2014
- **2014-04-07** Added as Chief Co-Sponsor Sen. Pamela J. Althoff
- **2014-04-07** Third Reading - Passed; 045-000-000 `reading-3, passage`
- **2014-04-07** Arrived in House `introduction`
- **2014-04-07** Chief House Sponsor Rep. Kelly Burke
- **2014-04-07** First Reading `reading-1`
- **2014-04-07** Referred to Rules Committee `referral-committee`
- **2014-04-28** Assigned to Transportation: Vehicles & Safety Committee `referral-committee`
- **2014-05-07** Do Pass / Short Debate Transportation: Vehicles & Safety Committee; 010-000-000 `committee-passage`
- **2014-05-07** Placed on Calendar 2nd Reading - Short Debate
- **2014-05-07** Added Alternate Co-Sponsor Rep. JoAnn D. Osmond
- **2014-05-13** Second Reading - Short Debate `reading-2`
- **2014-05-13** Placed on Calendar Order of 3rd Reading - Short Debate
- **2014-05-16** Third Reading - Short Debate - Passed 097-007-001 `reading-3, passage`
- **2014-05-16** Passed Both Houses
- **2014-06-13** Sent to the Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2014-07-07** Governor Approved `executive-signature`
- **2014-07-07** Effective Date January 1, 2015
- **2014-07-07** Public Act . . . . . . . . . 98-0697 `became-law`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/cd47a7a9-186b-4f0b-a0b0-f61fc66ea93b`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Illinois legislature records).