"We have about 60 drowning victims per year in Hawai'i and with the threat of lawsuits it discourages the counties from providing lifeguard services at more of our beaches," said Hirono, who is serving as governor while Gov. Ben Cayetano is on a trip in Asia.

"This is a practical and viable means to promote the hiring of additional lifeguards while lowering the number of drowning victims," she said.

The law, which expires in five years, will allow the counties to again provide lifeguards without the potential of costly lawsuits "hanging over their heads," said Ralph Goto, Honolulu's Ocean Safety Division administrator. "From the lifeguards' perspective, it allows us to get along with our work."

"On Maui and Kaua'i, there were state beaches that were guarded under contract with the counties, but because they didn't have the (legal) protection, those two counties decided not to guard those beaches," Goto said.

The bill was introduced last year and during public hearings by House and Senate committees had strong support from the county governments and state agencies as well as the tourist industry, but was opposed by attorneys who represent accident victims and their families.

It was still before a House-Senate conference committee when the 2001 legislative ended but emerged from that committee just before the 2002 session ended in early May.

The measure adds protection to a law passed four years ago providing the state and counties with immunity from lawsuits if the signs warning of dangerous conditions at the beaches meet specific state standards, said Deputy Attorney General Charles Fell.

By posting lifeguards at a beach, the state and counties give beachgoers the sense that they are being protected, but that responsibility opened the counties to legal liability in claims they didn't provide adequate protection, he said.

Sen. J. Kalani English, who introduced the bill last year, said the law extends to the counties the same sovereign immunity from lawsuits that the state enjoys.

"When I sat on the (Maui County) Council, we were paying out two- to three-million (dollars) a year in liability settlements because we didn't enjoy this protection," said English, (D-Wailuku-Kahului-Upcountry).

"And so we were stuck with the choice of since we have an unguarded beach there's no liability if someone starts drowning. If they drown, we don't get sued, but if we have a lifeguard there and they drown, we get sued," he said. "We couldn't afford the payouts."