Politics

After being shot down multiple times, bill to install alarms to save children from hot car deaths back on the table

It was a scorching August day in Orlando more than three years ago when 3-year-old Miles Hill was left in a daycare van for about 12 hours.

By the time he was found at 8 p.m., there was nothing anyone could do to save the little boy.

But there was something lawmakers could do to make sure this didn’t happen again.

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“To save a child’s life, that is priceless,” said Corey Esters, Hill’s grandfather.

In 2018, lawmakers presented bills to require alarm systems that would force a driver to sweep the entire vehicle before exiting.

The bill, backed by Sen. Linda Stewart, didn’t pass in 2018. It stated the systems would have cost a few hundred dollars.

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The same bill passed the Senate again, but died in the House in 2020.

The bill passed the Senate once more, but met the same fate in the House.

On Wednesday, Steward once again brought forth the bill, which once again passed in committee by a unanimous vote.

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But, like previous years, the bill doesn’t seem to have support from the House.

Today, Stewart once again brought forth the bill, which once again passed the committee by a unanimous vote.

The bill still doesn’t seem to have support from the House, where it has failed each year for the last three years and once again faces an uncertain future.

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So why has the house been so hostile to this legislation?

In the past, House members have raised objections to the cost, which is just a few hundred dollars per van.

They have also sought to make the program voluntary.

Adam Poulisse, WFTV.com

Adam Poulisse joined WFTV in November 2019.