Florida Senate - 2023 SB 74



By Senator Rodriguez





40-00057-23 202374__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to child water safety requirements;
3 providing a short title; creating s. 514.073, F.S.;
4 defining terms; providing that certain organizations
5 that care for or supervise children must require
6 parents or legal guardians to attest certain
7 information in writing before taking children under
8 their care or supervision to public bathing places or
9 public swimming pools; providing requirements for such
10 organizations when they conduct certain activities in
11 public bathing places or public swimming pools;
12 providing an exception; providing for disciplinary
13 action against such organizations for certain
14 violations; providing applicability; authorizing the
15 Department of Health to adopt rules; providing an
16 effective date.
17
18 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
19
20 Section 1. This act may be cited as the “Kareem Angel Green
21 Act.”
22 Section 2. Section 514.073, Florida Statutes, is created to
23 read:
24 514.073 Child water safety requirements for certain
25 entities.—
26 (1) As used in this section, the term:
27 (a) “Child” means a person younger than 12 years of age.
28 (b) “Organization” means a summer day camp, a summer 24
29 hour camp, a school, a preschool, a kindergarten, a nursery
30 school, a child care facility as defined in s. 402.302, or any
31 other facility providing child care services which is licensed
32 by the Department of Children and Families.
33 (c) “Public swimming pool” has the same meaning as in s.
34 514.011, but does not include a wading pool.
35 (d) “Wading pool” means a pool, including a pool that
36 contains a public interactive water feature or fountain, with a
37 maximum water depth of no more than 18 inches.
38 (2) An organization that takes a child in its care or under
39 its supervision to a public bathing place or a public swimming
40 pool or otherwise allows a child access to a public bathing
41 place or public swimming pool must require the child’s parent or
42 legal guardian to attest in writing whether the child is able to
43 swim or is at risk of injury or death when swimming or otherwise
44 accessing a pool or body of water.
45 (3) Except as provided in subsection (4), if an
46 organization conducts an activity that provides a child in its
47 care or under its supervision access to a public bathing place
48 or a public swimming pool, during the time each child who is
49 unable to swim or is at risk of injury or death when swimming or
50 accessing a body of water is present within a fenced-in area
51 around a public bathing place or public swimming pool or within
52 100 feet of a public bathing place or public swimming pool
53 without a fenced-in area, the organization must:
54 (a) For a public bathing place, provide to the child a Type
55 II United States Coast Guard-approved personal flotation device.
56 (b) For a public swimming pool, provide to the child a Type
57 II or Type III United States Coast Guard-approved personal
58 flotation device.
59 (c) Ensure that the personal flotation device that it
60 provides to the child is properly fitted to and fastened for the
61 child.
62 (4) An organization need not provide a child with a
63 flotation device as required under subsection (3) if the child
64 is actively participating in swimming instruction and the
65 organization ensures that each such child is supervised during
66 the instruction.
67 (5) An organization licensed or otherwise regulated by the
68 state which violates this section or rules adopted pursuant to
69 this section is subject to disciplinary action, including, but
70 not limited to, the imposition of an administrative penalty by
71 any state regulatory agency with the power to take disciplinary
72 action against that organization in the same manner as if the
73 organization violated that agency’s licensing or other
74 regulatory laws or rules.
75 (6) This section does not apply to child-placing agencies,
76 family foster homes, or residential child-caring agencies as
77 those terms are defined in s. 409.175(2).
78 (7) The department may adopt rules necessary to implement
79 this section.
80 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023.