Florida Statutes 515.23 – Legislative findings and intent
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Terms Used In Florida Statutes 515.23
- Department: means the Department of Health. See Florida Statutes 515.25
- Residential: means situated on the premises of a detached one-family or two-family dwelling or a one-family townhouse not more than three stories high. See Florida Statutes 515.25
- Swimming pool: means any structure, located in a residential area, that is intended for swimming or recreational bathing and contains water over 24 inches deep, including, but not limited to, in-ground, aboveground, and on-ground swimming pools; hot tubs; and nonportable spas. See Florida Statutes 515.25
The Legislature finds that drowning is the leading cause of death of young children in this state and is also a significant cause of death for medically frail elderly persons in this state, that constant adult supervision is the key to accomplishing the objective of reducing the number of submersion incidents, and that when lapses in supervision occur a pool safety feature designed to deny, delay, or detect unsupervised entry to the swimming pool, spa, or hot tub will reduce drowning and near-drowning incidents. In addition to the incalculable human cost of these submersion incidents, the health care costs, loss of lifetime productivity, and legal and administrative expenses associated with drownings of young children and medically frail elderly persons in this state each year and the lifetime costs for the care and treatment of young children who have suffered brain disability due to near-drowning incidents each year are enormous. Therefore, it is the intent of the Legislature that all new residential swimming pools, spas, and hot tubs be equipped with at least one pool safety feature as specified in this chapter. It is also the intent of the Legislature that the Department of Health be responsible for producing its own or adopting a nationally recognized publication that provides the public with information on drowning prevention and the responsibilities of pool ownership and also for developing its own or adopting a nationally recognized drowning prevention education program for the public and for persons violating the pool safety requirements of this chapter.