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House sends Lucy’s Law boating‑safety bill to final passage after amending Senate changes
Summary
The House concurred in Senate amendments to CS for CS for HB 289 (branded on the floor as Lucy's Law), combining House and Senate language on boating‑safety penalties and online-course standards, then passed the measure with bipartisan support.
The House on Tuesday took up CS for CS for HB 289, known on the floor as "Lucy’s Law," and concurred in a Senate amendment that the sponsor said reestablished the House version while preserving a Senate provision requiring Florida Fish and Wildlife to set minimum standards for online boating safety courses.
Representative Oliver said the House language reinserted the provisions the House had passed earlier, including aligning criminal penalties for certain boating offenses with motor vehicle statute penalties and preserving a temporary boating card for new boaters. The House also retained the Senate requirement that the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission adopt minimum standards for online boating-safety education.
Members asked whether any misdemeanor penalties were decreased; Representative Oliver confirmed the bill reduced reckless or careless boating from a first-degree misdemeanor to a second-degree misdemeanor to align with motor-vehicle law. Sponsor Oliver said the body had separately escalated other penalties so that causing death by reckless boating would carry similar weight to comparable motor-vehicle offenses.
The House adopted the House amendment to the Senate amendment and then the full Senate amendment as amended. The final roll call was recorded as 105 yays and 5 nays as announced on the floor.
