Sen. Maria Sachs to refile parasailing legislation

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State Sen. Maria Sachs intends to refile legislation that would put more regulations on the parasailing industry. “It’s clear we need basic regulations in place to prevent accidents to tourists and Floridians who go parasailing,” the South Florida Democrat said in a Twitter message Monday, reports the News Service of Florida.

Sachs sponsored a bill (SB 64) last session that would have required parasail operators to carry $2 million in insurance, prohibited operations when wind gusts exceeded 25 miles per hour or when wind speeds exceeded 20 mph for more than two minutes, or in rain, fog or when lightning was within seven miles. The bill failed to advance beyond the Commerce and Tourism Committee. Similar measures failed in 2011 and 2012. “Since (1998) there’s been 33 parasailing accidents in Florida alone,” Sachs wrote. “This is ridiculous, we can do better to protect our tourists and Floridians.”

Sidney Good and Alexis Fairchild, both 17, have been at Bay Medical Center in Panama City since July 1, when a parasail they were in broke loose from its tether, and strong winds sent them into a condominium and several cars in a parking lot. The 2013 bill had been named after Kathleen Miskell, a 28-year-old Connecticut woman who died last August after she fell from a harness while parasailing over the ocean off Pompano Beach, and Amber May White, 15, of Belleview, who died in 2007 after a line snapped on a parasail, resulting in her hitting the roof of a hotel.

Peter Schorsch is the President of Extensive Enterprises and is the publisher of some of Florida’s most influential new media websites, including SaintPetersBlog.com, FloridaPolitics.com, ContextFlorida.com, and Sunburn, the morning read of what’s hot in Florida politics. SaintPetersBlog has for three years running been ranked by the Washington Post as the best state-based blog in Florida. In addition to his publishing efforts, Peter is a political consultant to several of the state’s largest governmental affairs and public relations firms. Peter lives in St. Petersburg with his wife, Michelle, and their daughter, Ella.