The Florida Legislature passed a bill that stiffens existing penalties and creates new penalties for boating infractions, but lawmakers rejected mandatory boating education and driver license suspension for boating under the influence.
The House and Senate passed Lucy’s Law on May 2. Now it awaits the governor’s signature to become law.
The legislation is named after Lucy Fernandez, a 17-year-old Miami girl who died in a boating crash that also permanently disabled passenger Katerina Puig. Lucy’s Law was proposed by her parents, Andy and Melissa Fernandez.
George Pino, the driver of the boat who hit a channel marker, refused to submit to a breathalyzer test and was charged with felony vessel homicide in the 2022 Labor Day weekend crash in Biscayne Bay off Miami-Dade County.
What is Lucy’s Law in Florida?
The legislation:
Lawmakers initially proposed making boater education mandatory for everyone boating in and off Florida’s coast. The watered-down version of the bill makes it mandatory only when a boater is found guilty of a criminal or non-criminal boating infraction.
“The boating education is where we got the pushback,” Andy Fernandez told TCPalm. “It (the legislation) was not everything we wanted, but it was something … The good guys won. We didn’t get everything, but this is the first significant change in boating laws in years. We’re excited.”
State law currently requires boat drivers born on or after Jan. 1, 1988 — those younger than 36 — to complete a boating safety course. That leaves many boat owners without formal knowledge of essential maritime safety.
Fernandez and the bill’s initial sponsors proposed suspending boat drivers’ motor vehicle driver licenses if they’re convicted of boating under the influence, but that was stripped from the House and Senate bills.
No mandatory boater education training
Statistics show many fatal boating crashes involve drivers older than 36. About 83% of drivers involved in fatal crashes had no formal boater education, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s 2023 statistics.
Florida leads the nation in boat ownership — with 1.04 million registered vessels in 2023 — and boating crashes — with 659, resulting in 59 fatalities. On the Treasure Coast, there were:
“This is just the beginning,” Andy Fernandez said. “It’s a significant first step. You can bet your bottom dollar we will be back.”
The Fernandez family also created the Lucy Fernandez Foundation that provides scholarships and experiential learning opportunities for students at Our Lady of Lourdes Academy in Miami.
Tim O’Hara is TCPalm’s environment reporter. Contact him at tim.ohara@tcpalm.com.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Florida Legislature approves Lucy’s Law boating bill, but it was a watered-down version
Reporting by Timothy O’Hara, Treasure Coast Newspapers / Treasure Coast Newspapers
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