HB 413 is a broad swimming and water safety bill that would create new requirements for child supervision at public bathing places and public swimming pools, expand residential pool safety law, and establish a new open-water safety program. The bill is named the "Kareem Angel Green Autism Drowning Prevention Act" and would require organizations such as camps, schools, preschools, and child care arrangements to obtain documentation from a parent or guardian before allowing certain children to access water. That documentation could be a swimming certification, a parent attestation of swimming ability, or a waiver acknowledging the child cannot swim or is at risk. If a child is identified as unable to swim or at risk, the organization generally would have to provide an appropriate U.S. Coast Guard-approved personal flotation device, unless the child is in supervised swimming instruction or competition.
The bill also revises chapter 515, Florida Statutes, which currently governs residential swimming pool safety, by renaming the chapter and clarifying that it contains both residential and public water safety provisions. It keeps the existing residential pool safety framework largely intact while conforming related definitions, exemptions, contractor disclosure requirements, education programs, and rulemaking authority. In addition, it would create a new part focused on open water safety, requiring larger counties and municipalities to run pilot programs installing drowning prevention stations at high-risk public water access areas, with reporting to the Department of Environmental Protection and a final statewide implementation report to the Governor and Legislature if the pilot is successful.
The bill would also add a school-based reporting requirement for students diagnosed with autism. Beginning in the 2025-2026 school year, parents or guardians of students with autism would have to provide their public school annual information related to water safety and swimming certifications. The bill further directs public schools to continue providing water safety information to families at initial enrollment, and it authorizes the Department of Health and the Department of Environmental Protection to adopt rules to implement the new provisions. Overall, the measure would expand state involvement in drowning prevention through schools, child-serving organizations, public pools, and open-water access points.
The general sentiment reflected in the bill text is strongly supportive of drowning prevention and child safety, especially for children with autism, who are singled out in the title and school reporting provisions. The bill’s findings emphasize drowning as a leading cause of death for young children and a significant risk for medically frail elderly persons, framing the proposal as a public safety and public health response. Although there is no committee transcript or recorded vote data in the provided context, the bill’s death in the Human Services Subcommittee suggests it did not advance despite its safety-focused purpose.
The main points of contention likely center on the scope and practicality of the new requirements. The bill would impose new documentation, signage, flotation device, and potential access-refusal obligations on organizations and public facilities, which could raise concerns about administrative burden, liability, enforcement, and cost. The open-water pilot program also requires local governments in larger jurisdictions to install and monitor drowning prevention stations, with possible future statewide expansion, which may prompt questions about funding, maintenance, rural feasibility, and whether such stations should be required at all public water access areas or only high-risk locations. The business sponsorship provision may be viewed as a partial funding solution, but it also introduces advertising at safety stations, which could be another point of debate.
HB 413 would substantially expand Florida’s water safety statutes by creating new child water access rules in chapter 514, renaming and reorganizing chapter 515, and adding a new open-water safety program. It would affect public bathing places, public swimming pools, camps, schools, preschools, child care arrangements, pool contractors, home builders, local governments in larger jurisdictions, and the Departments of Health and Environmental Protection. The bill also adds a new annual information-sharing requirement for parents of students with autism and preserves existing residential pool safety obligations while conforming related statutory provisions.
The bill appears to be driven by a strong pro-safety, anti-drowning sentiment, with a particular emphasis on protecting children and individuals with autism. Its findings and title frame the measure as a prevention-focused response to a serious public health problem. At the same time, the fact that it died in the Human Services Subcommittee suggests that, whatever support it may have had as a safety measure, it did not secure enough legislative momentum to advance.
Likely areas of contention include the burden placed on organizations and public facilities to collect documentation, provide or arrange personal flotation devices, and post warning signage before allowing water access. Local governments may also object to the costs and logistics of installing and maintaining drowning prevention stations, especially under the pilot program’s reporting and implementation requirements. Additional debate may arise over the autism-specific school reporting mandate, the liability waiver language, and whether the bill’s requirements are too broad or difficult to enforce in practice.