Drowning has long been[1] the No. 1 cause of death[2] for Florida children ages 1 to 4. Sen. Ana Maria Rodriguez and Rep. Johanna López want to change that.
This week, they filed companion bills (SB 244[3], HB 117[4]) to require added safety measures for swimming pools on residential property.
If passed, the legislation would make it so home pools must have at least one safety feature in place — a barrier, cover, alarm or other safeguard when the property is transferred or sold on or after Oct. 1, 2026.
Home inspectors would also have to report violations of that requirement.
Florida has consistently led the nation in unintentional drowning deaths among children 1 to 4. It’s fourth nationwide among all ages, according to the Florida Department of Health[5].
Eighty-one percent of those deaths occur in residential settings, particularly in older homes where current laws do not apply, a press note from Rodriguez and López said.
“The age of a swimming pool should not be a factor in determining whether anyone, of any age, might die or be permanently disabled from something that could have been prevented,” Rodriguez, a Doral Republican, said in a statement.
“It has been 25 years since the passage of the Residential Swimming Pool Safety Act[6]. Current law only requires safety measures for residential pools built after Oct. 1, 2000. This legislation will amend the law to include all residential swimming pools, regardless of when they were built, potentially saving many more lives.”
Lopez, an Orlando Democrat, said too many families in Florida have lost loved ones due to “an entirely preventable tragedy.”
“This legislation is about protecting every Floridian who enters a pool, whether they’re a child or an adult who never learned to swim,” she said in a statement. “No family should have to endure such a heartbreaking loss when we have the means to prevent it.”
Lopez carried substantively identical legislation[7] last Session with Senate support from Orlando Democrat Carlos Guillermo Smith and Hollywood independent Jason Pizzo. It died in both chambers without a hearing.
Rodriguez and López also sponsored[8] the legislation in 2024, when it met an identical fate.
During the 2025 Session, Rodriguez and Highland Beach Republican Rep. Peggy Gossett-Seidman also sponsored legislation[9] to broaden anti-drowning protections in open waters and at camps, schools and child care centers. A key aspect of the bill would have required the installation of lifesaving rings at every beach, which could be thrown by anyone to rescue swimmers in distress.
Florida Statutes[10] include training standards for swimming instructors and lifeguards at public pools. State law includes mandates for life jackets on boats[11].
But there’s no requirement for lifeguards to be present at beaches and pools, nor are there any requirements for lifesaving rings, also called life buoys, at places where there is a drowning hazard.
That proposal also died unheard.
SB 244 and HB 117, which Fort Lauderdale Democratic Rep. Daryl Campbell is cosponsoring, await committee assignments.
References
- ^ long been (www.floridahealth.gov)
- ^ No. 1 cause of death (www.wlrn.org)
- ^ SB 244 (www.flsenate.gov)
- ^ HB 117 (www.flhouse.gov)
- ^ Florida Department of Health (www.floridahealth.gov)
- ^ Residential Swimming Pool Safety Act (www.watersmartfl.com)
- ^ substantively identical legislation (www.flhouse.gov)
- ^ also sponsored (www.flhouse.gov)
- ^ legislation (www.flsenate.gov)
- ^ Florida Statutes (www.leg.state.fl.us)
- ^ mandates for life jackets on boats (www.boatsmartexam.com)