Read the full stored bill text
Florida Senate
-
2026
SB 244
By
Senator Rodriguez
40-00312A-26 2026244__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to residential swimming pool
3 requirements; amending s. 515.27, F.S.; requiring that
4 swimming pools located on residential real property
5 that is transferred or sold on or after a specified
6 date meet certain pool safety and pool barrier
7 requirements; requiring home inspectors to report
8 violations of the law to a local enforcement agency;
9 amending s. 515.31, F.S.; conforming a cross
10 reference; making technical changes; providing an
11 effective date.
12
13 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
14
15 Section 1. Section 515.27, Florida Statutes, is amended to
16 read:
17 515.27 Residential swimming pool safety feature options;
18 penalties.—
19 (1) In order to pass final inspection and receive a
20 certificate of completion, a residential swimming pool must meet
21 at least one of the following requirements relating to pool
22 safety features:
23 (a) The pool must be isolated from access to a home by an
24 enclosure that meets the pool barrier requirements of s. 515.29;
25 (b) The pool must be equipped with an approved safety pool
26 cover;
27 (c) All doors and windows providing direct access from the
28 home to the pool must be equipped with an exit alarm that has a
29 minimum sound pressure rating of 85 dB A at 10 feet;
30 (d) All doors providing direct access from the home to the
31 pool must be equipped with a self-closing, self-latching device
32 with a release mechanism placed no lower than 54 inches above
33 the floor; or
34 (e) A swimming pool alarm that, when placed in a pool,
35 sounds an alarm upon detection of an accidental or unauthorized
36 entrance into the water. Such pool alarm must meet and be
37 independently certified to ASTM Standard F2208, titled “Standard
38 Safety Specification for Residential Pool Alarms,” which
39 includes surface motion, pressure, sonar, laser, and infrared
40 alarms. For purposes of this paragraph, the term “swimming pool
41 alarm” does not include any swimming protection alarm device
42 designed for individual use, such as an alarm attached to a
43 child that sounds when the child exceeds a certain distance or
44 becomes submerged in water.
45
(2)
A swimming pool, regardless of the year in which the
46
pool was built, located on residential real property that is
47
transferred or sold on or after October 1, 2026, must be
48
equipped with at least one pool safety feature as required in
49
subsection (1). A home inspector licensed under s. 468.8314 must
50
report a violation of this subsection to a local enforcement
51
agency as defined in s. 553.71. If the inspected pool safety
52
feature is the pool barrier, it must meet all of the
53
requirements in s. 515.29.
54
(3)
(2)
A person who fails to equip a
new
residential
55 swimming pool with at least one pool safety feature as required
56 in subsection (1)
or subsection (2)
commits a misdemeanor of the
57 second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s.
58 775.083, except that no penalty shall be imposed if the person,
59 within 45 days after arrest or issuance of a summons or a notice
60 to appear, has equipped the pool with at least one safety
61 feature as required in subsection (1)
or subsection (2)
and has
62 attended a drowning prevention education program established by
63 s. 515.31. However, the requirement of attending a drowning
64 prevention education program is waived if such program is not
65 offered within 45 days after issuance of the citation.
66 Section 2. Subsection (1) of section 515.31, Florida
67 Statutes, is amended to read:
68 515.31 Drowning prevention education program; public
69 information publication.—
70 (1) The department shall develop a drowning prevention
71 education program
. Such program must
, which shall
be made
72 available to the public at the state and local levels and
is
73
which shall be
required as set forth in
s. 515.27(3)
s.
74
515.27(2)
for persons in violation of the pool safety
75 requirements of this chapter. The department may charge a fee,
76 not to exceed $100, for attendance at such a program. The
77 drowning prevention education program
must
shall
be funded using
78 fee proceeds, state funds appropriated for such purpose, and
79 grants. The department, in lieu of developing its own program,
80 may adopt a nationally recognized drowning prevention education
81 program to be approved for use in local safety education
82 programs, as provided in rule of the department.
83 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026.