Today by unanimous approval, State Senator Linda Stewart (D-Orlando) presented and passed the Child Safety Alarm Act through its first committee. The legislation comes after the tragic death of an Orlando three-year-old child last summer, Myles Hill, who was left unattended in a hot daycare van that reached temperatures of 144 degrees.
“This is a bipartisan effort to keep our children safe,” said Stewart. “We need to be doing everything we can to try to prevent our most precious cargo from being left in hot vans and I look forward to the same vote outcome at the Transportation Committee.”
Senate Bill 486 is designed to curtail the frequency of incidents in which children are left in hot daycare vehicles. The bill requires daycare centers that transport children to equip their vehicles with reliable safety alarm systems by 2019. These systems will alert drivers to inspect their vehicles for any children who may have been left behind.
The bill is expected to be taken up next for a vote in the Senate Transportation Committee, followed by the Rules Committee and a full floor vote.
A companion bill, House Bill 305, has been filed by Representative Bruce Antone (D-Orlando).
