Florida Pool Safety Bills Moving to Address Record Number of Drowning Deaths

The 2026 regular session of the Florida Legislature may not make significant changes to the state’s property insurance statutes. But it could become known as the “water safety” session that approved measures aimed at reducing drowning deaths in the state—bills that could impact liability litigation and insurance costs.

Halfway through the session, one bill nearing a floor vote would mandate that rental properties with swimming pools be equipped with safety features. Senate Bill 658, which incorporated the similar SB 608, would require landlords or licensees of rental properties to comply with the same pool-safety standards already required for new residential pools.

That would include at least one of these: a pool enclosure or cover; exit alarms on doors and windows of the house; self-closing devices for doors that open to the pool area; a pool alarm that alerts when someone falls in the pool. The bill also would require safety features, such as door alarms, for rental homes that have no pools but are within 150 feet of another body of water.

Violators could be found guilty of a misdemeanor.

The bill, led by state Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith and Sen. Danny Burgess, has moved steadily through the Senate this year as reports about the number of children that have drowned at vacation homes has climbed in recent years have raised concerns. Children between the ages of 1 and 7 drown at a rate of five per 100,000 population and made up almost 20 percent of the drowning deaths in Florida in 2024, an analysis of SB 658 notes.

The bill could see a floor vote as early as Thursday in the Senate. Another bill, SB 610, would have required all residential property with pools that are sold after Oct. 1 to have pool safety barriers in place before the sale. That bill and two similar bills have stalled in Senate and House.

A few plaintiffs attorneys have said the pool safety bill would better define negligence by property owners, a change from current law that often considers drowning to be accidents. It could take a few years of litigation and court decisions to iron out the full impact of the bill on claims and liability, according to Law.com.

Another measure in the Florida Senate, SB 606, would require the state Department of Health to develop an education campaign on drowning prevention and safe bathing practices for children. That bill has progressed steadily through Senate committees and could see a floor vote this week. A companion bill in the House is now in the House Health and Human Services Committee.

A third bill, SB 428, would expand a swimming lessons voucher program, from children under age 4 to those aged 1 to 7. The current program, providing funding for lessons across the state, has proven to be quite popular, according to Florida Politics. The bill would give greater access to swimming skills for those kids who need it most, the sponsor said.

That bill and a companion House bill are expected to see floor votes before the session ends March 13.

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